Fall Fishing Preview  

As I write this in early September, my guiding clients and I are enjoying some of the best warmwater fishing of the year. But with the gradual but steady decrease in water temperature that fall weather brings, this fishing will inevitably draw to a close until next spring. 

But not to worry, there is a consolation prize. Those cooler temperatures will rejuvenate the holdover trout in our streams, both stocked and wild. And some area streams will receive a fresh input of stocked trout, courtesy of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, local fishing clubs, or both. 

By the time you read this in early October, there still may be a bit of warmwater fishing left. The various bass and panfish species shut down for the winter in a fairly predictable order. The smaller fish stop hitting first, and the larger bass are the last to go dormant. In early to mid-October, we are usually near the end of that progression. If you are lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time, your chances of hooking up with a big smallmouth are quite good. It’s certainly worth a try. As the bass migrate from shallower water to the deep holes where they will overwinter, they can be quite receptive to the right fly. Fairly large minnow imitations, fished deep, are usually your best option. 

Fall trout fishing can be excellent, and streams in southeastern Pennsylvania can be fished all winter long if they do not freeze up. In early fall terrestrial patterns still produce quite well. Holdover and wild trout have been feeding on ants, beetles, and other terrestrial fare all summer and will continue to take them readily. These familiar flies will still appeal to the trout for a while even after the first killing frost or two. Ant colonies sometimes swarm in early to mid-fall, and this activity can produce selective feeding to a particular size and color of ant. Sometimes it looks like someone wielded a giant pepper shaker over the stream, there are so many ants on the surface. 

Another category of terrestrial insect that finds its way into the stream are bees and wasps. This is the very best time of the year to fish such fly patterns. In paper wasp and hornet colonies, typically only the queen overwinters. All of the workers die off in the fall, and they frequently expire during sorties to streams to obtain water for their paper-building activities. The trout are used to seeing these insects, and since few anglers fish them they are seldom refused by a hungry trout. 

There are also some hatches of aquatic insects in the fall. The most important of these are the tiny autumn Blue-Wing Olives and Slate Drakes, along with the ever-present midges. You are certainly not going to run into a hatch every time you go fishing in the fall, but it's wise to be prepared. 

A major factor in your fall fishing is the presence of leaves on the surface of the water. Although most people don’t notice it, annual leaf fall begins quite early, typically in mid-August. The pace gradually quickens and peaks, of course, in mid to late-October. A lot of people quit fishing during peak leaf fall, since virtually every cast that doesn’t catch a trout does catch a leaf. If you are of impatient temperament, you are indeed best off not to fish during this annual phenomenon. But if you are happy to be outdoors at a beautiful time of year, patiently stalking rising trout, you can have some excellent sport when the stream surface is carpeted with floating leaves. Find a feeding fish, cast a foam beetle pattern above him, and twitch the fly off any leaf it may land on as it approaches the fish’s feeding station. You really have to work for your trout at this time, but it’s so satisfying to hook up. 

Post leaf-fall fishing can be a bit chilly, but very productive. This is the time to fish Glo-Bugs and other egg patterns. Both holdover and freshly stocked trout will attempt to spawn in our streams, even though it’s very rare for any of the eggs they deposit in the gravel to hatch. But stray eggs are often found in the drift at this time of year, and trout are by no means above exploiting this fine source of protein. You can fish Glo-Bugs in a wide range of colors, and on some days one color may outperform another by a big margin. It pays to experiment, but I have the most confidence in a fairly realistic pattern consisting of a natural egg-colored fly with an orange yolk dot.

By late December the water is cold enough that the trout’s metabolism has slowed to the point that they no longer feed aggressively. You can still catch them on nymphs of various kinds fished slow and deep, dead-drift. And any relatively warm winter afternoon can produce an emergence of midges that will trigger some surface activity. This is very challenging fishing, requiring fine tippets, tiny flies, and precise presentation. But as with all difficult fishing, any success you achieve is very sweet. 

I usually quit fishing for the year when weather and water are cold enough to be uncomfortable. But if you’re a die-hard, the season never really ends. Good luck!

--Mary S. Kuss--
Autumn 2007 Issue