Streamers are very effective for fly fishing in the fall. How late into the season this action will last depends upon how quickly cold weather approaches. Normally I experience good smallmouth fishing on the Shenandoah drainage until mid-late October. However, some years I do well on into mid November.
Top 5 Flies for Fly Fishing in the Fall
- 1. Murray’s Magnum Creek Chub
- 2. Shenk’s White Streamer Both of these in size 4 are excellent chub imitators. By working the heavy water in the upper parts of the pools and the deep cuts between ledges with a down and across presentation you’ll take a good number of nice smallmouth in the fall. A slightly different ploy which works well with chub patterns is what I call the “bounce retrieve”. The streamer is cast up or up and across stream at a very slight angle on a short line and allowed to sink to the bottom. Then, keeping a tight line with the line hand the rod is methodically raised and lowered about every three or four feet of the drift. The goal is slowly jig the streamer along the stream bottom.
- 3. Murray’s Magnum Bluegill The natural bluegills are now large enough to attract the bigger bass. Fish this along the banks and below the tails of the pool by swimming it slowly across the stream bottom with a 6 inch line hand stripping action every 10 seconds.
- 4. Murray’s Magnum Darter The natural darter minnows can easily withstand the cold river temperatures and the bass feed on these readily. The Magnum Darter not only imitates the darter minnow, but try using it as a hellgrammite or sculpin pattern.
- 5. Murray’s Magnum Chartreuse Lethargic large bass are often jolted awake in the fall by bright, flashy food and the Murray’s Magnum Chartreuse Streamer sure does this. A fast stripping action often brings solid strikes. I also like to use this in low light levels and when the water is slightly murky.
Suggested Equipment
I like to use a 9ft. 7-weight fly rod for my smallmouth fishing because it enables me to cast the large flies smoothly and accurately. Most of my bass fishing is done with a weight forward (WF-7) floating line but I do find that (WF-7-F/S) sink tip III line very helpful in deep fast water. I use either a Bright Butt 9ft 2X Leader or if you want a sinking leader, the Murray’s Fluorocarbon 2X leader.
Fall is such a wonderful time to be on the bass streams that I try to be on them at least some time of each day. A word of advice: keep going until skunked 3 times in a row.