Since there is not much fly fishing going on in December except on the stocked trout streams and delayed harvest areas, let’s take a look at them. The large rainbows tend to live in the riffles and feed mostly on nymphs. The Dark Stonefly Nymph, Olive Strymph, and March Brown Nymph seldom let me down.
Start right at the riffles and cast across stream, stripping the nymph 4 inches every 6 seconds to crawl it right along the stream bottom. Then wade slowly downstream pausing every 5 feet to continue this technique as far as the riffles extend. If recent rains have cause the streams to be higher than normal, use a Sink Tip III line.
Fly Fishing for Browns
Drawing from my many years of fishing the Yellowstone River around Livingston, MT I came to realize the two brown trout hot spots are the head of the pool and the tail of the pool. Wade into the side of the pool where the riffle empties into the pool. Cast across the current and after the streamer sinks deeply swim it across the stream bottom. Strip it 6 inches every 5 seconds. Listen to the rest of my podcast for more tip and flies to use.>>
Smallmouth Bass
As the water temperature becomes cooler, the bass seek sections of the river with a slow current. These areas range from 4-6 feet deep and usually hold good populations of minnows. The back eddies which form along the stream banks opposite where the strong riffle enters the pool produce these Lazy Susans that have great appeal for the bass. Listen to the rest of my podcast for more tip and flies to use.>>
Learn To Fly Fish in our Spring 2023 Mountain Trout Schools
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