The Fall continues to fish well. During the late morning and early afternoon, we are seeing a lot of small mayflies coming off. The fish in the Fall River tend to "pod" together, so always keep moving and keep your eyes out for fish. Once you spot a couple feeding fish, stay with them until you've either spooked them or caught them (we hope its the second one!). This is because while fishing the Fall, you should try your best not to "leave fish to find fish." Besides mayflies, small tan and black caddis can be seen bouncing around on the water, so its always good to have a few of those in your box. On those windier August afternoons, throw on a grasshopper pattern with a dropper nymph 18-24 inches below. It doesn't get much better than fishing big dries on a small spring creek! The fish seem to react pretty well to the hopper this time of year so don't hesitate to give it a try. If you spot a fish that appears to be actively moving about, but not rising to the surface, the trout is most likely feeding on subsurface insects. Small nymphs tied with tungsten beadheads can help you get down a little deeper in this river because no split shot or other weight is permitted. Small tungsten midge nymphs have produced well in subsurface-fishing situations for us this year.
Once we begin to see the first signs of autumn, small mahogany duns will appear on this river, and that is a very fin hatch to fish. For now, the mosquitoes can still be vicious once the sun goes down, so always have bug repellent nearby. I have even gone as far as wearing a mosquito net, but I'm pretty nerdy when it comes to that stuff. Get out there and enjoy this beautiful spring creek while the weather (and the fishing) is hot!!
