Fly fishing in October can provide some excellent fishing on the delayed harvest streams. The VA DWR starts stocking again on October 1 so be sure to get your trout license.
Many of these trout feed heavily below the riffles on the minnows and nymphs that live in these riffles. To catch these trout I’ve developed some very heavy Tungsten Bead Marauders in size 10. Sometimes I fish these alone and sometimes I attach a Murray’s Dark Stonefly Nymph size 12 on a 4X dropper below the streamer.
I start on the side of the stream right below the riffle and make my first cast 30 feet across stream. After my flies sink deeply, I strip them 6 inches ever 5 seconds to swim them along the stream bottom. Successive cast are made several feet longer until I’m casting across the stream. In order to cover all of this water thoroughly, I wade downstream pausing every 5 feet to repeat the fly-swimming tactic. Listen to the entire Podcast>>>
Fly Fishing for Bass in the Fall
As a kid growing up in Edinburg, I remember all the old pros taking vacation in October. They all participated in the biggest bass competition for a prize. As the water temperatures start to drop the bigger bass will be looking for a big mouthful. I watched these fellow for many years and learned their favorite spots, what they were using and some overall useful information. Since then, I have experimented with different flies, created some of my own, and applied some of the techniques the old timers used. I might not catch as many smallmouth bass in October but that is usually when I catch my biggest bass.
Watch our video on Smallmouth Minnow Matching Tactics.
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