The legends of the fall fishing season in Montana are rooted in tales of large brown trout. Once the leaves change, the morning frost becomes common, and many anglers head for the hills to chase four-legged game, the possibility of landing the largest trout of the year exists on every cast. During late fall--mid-October through November--large fish that have been either too smart or too hidden the rest of the angling year suddenly become less wary and more aggressive. A lot of big fish pushing the 10- to 15- pound mark also run out of reservoirs and into rivers like the Madison River and Upper Missouri Rivers. This is a beautiful time to fish with snow on the peaks and changing leaves on the aspens and cottonwoods...just be sure you have these 5 Flies for Big Brown Trout This Fall.
Sculpzilla
With a name taken right out of a Halloween monster movie, this fly is deadly when it comes to catching fish. If you are a streamer angler who likes to strip your streamer more than drag, dead-drift, or swing, then the Sculpzilla is possibly the best steamer…ever. Tied with a conehead, articulated body, plenty of marabou, and one of the sharpest hooks on the market, this pattern may be responsible for more big fish than any on this list. Like many successful streamers, the Sculpzilla features over-sized eyes; by using red eyes the Sculpzilla takes it one step further. The red eyes possibly mimic the terror in a baitfish’s eyes as a large predatory trout is in search and destroy mode when fishing big trout water.
Parachute Purple Haze
Like the bubbling witches brew or a Jimi Hendrix riff, this fly should put a spell on you. Yes, it is a dry fly, but big fish in the fall also sip Blue Winged Olives just as much as they snarfle streamers. Experienced anglers fish a Parachute Purple Haze regularly when large trout become selective. From Chile’s famous Patagonia Baker Lodge to Montana’s Missouri River and on other waters where large trout sip adult mayflies, this fly is often the one-and-only solution. Inspired by the original Parachute Adams, the Parachute Purple Haze is the perfect blend of variation to the time-tested original Parachute Adams. With a white post and hackle tied to help the fly float high, the fly is easy to see in all types of water and is a go-to for even the most selective trout.
Sparkle Minnow
Just like your Halloween tricks and treats should always include some sparkle, never go fly fishing in Montana in the fall without a few Sparkle Minnows in your fly box. This is one of the easiest and most effective streamers that is catching fish out there—there are no articulated hooks to get tangled and its conehead makes casting easy. The ice dubbing pulses when stripped or puffs when dead-drifted. If you have not yet discovered the Sparkle Minnow, well, that’s less fish you’ll discover too. Our veteran Montana fly fishing guides have the used the Sparkle Minnow for a long time as either a single fly or part of a two-fly rig. Greg Coffey was the original creator of this fly meant for bass, but it quickly became a go-to for fly fishing for large trout.
Eggs...and other bright stuff
Sure. We said it. We called out the elephant in the room...or should we say the egg-lephant. During fall when brown trout are spawning there can be a good bit of eggs being displaced and floating free in the current. During October and November trout need to eat high protein meals to put on bulk for the long winter. A trout eating eggs is doing exactly that. IMPORTANT: Do not fish to or bother spawning fish; do not fish redds; do not walk on redds; and do not target redds in any way. We need those fish that are spawning to be left alone so they can produce more fish for the future. However, during fall, non-spawning fish often take up feeding lies downstream of redds and spawning fish. These fish can be targeted using high protein meals like egg patterns.
Sex Dungeon
During the Halloween season dungeons are scary places...so are the lairs where big brown trout seek out and destroy prey. This fly has possibly caught more large trout on Montana's Madison River than any other fly. Created by large trout expert Kelly Galloup, the Sex Dungeon has dumbell eyes, a spun hair head, and an articulated body. Our favorite color pattern is in natural tones and the size is BIG. It is not uncommon to fish a size 2 because big brown trout won’t leave their deep lair for a small morsel. This fly is best fished as a single fly and also best fished by stripping--either fast or slow.
Fly fishing in Montana is often pictured with blue bird days and warm summer experiences. But the fair weather summer time fishing is bookended by some great fly fishing in the spring and the trophy-trout hunting season of late fall. Many of our local Montana fly fishing guides look forward to going fishing in October and November every year because they know there are less anglers on the water and the big trout are on the prowl as the fish bulk up for winter. The five flies above are time-tested proven patterns to help you find some big trout during the fall fishing season in Montana.