Just before winter, fall shoots a last blast of energy. It’s in the brown trout gearing up to spawn (and some are starting to do that), the wild orange brook trout, the angles of ducks in the sky, the sneaky deer hunters, the dainty gray-looking BWOs, the wild, torn skies off of Lake Michigan, the yellow in the poplars (and the encroaching yellow in the tamaracks), the short days, the desperation that soon this — whatever this energy is, this fall energy — will end. The last two days have been slow fishing. Lake effect rain (and hail) today. Leaf-ripping wind. This isn’t like some great harvest season. We aren’t catching big trout on dry flies. But there is an undeniable excitement. It last a few weeks, usually around the end of October. Whether you are an angler, a hunter, a biker, a runner — if you like the outdoors at all — you can feel it.
How do we fish this time of year?
We pitch (primarily black) streamers at the shallow cover. We avoid the shiny ovals that mark the first brown trout beds. We fish nymphs in the dark water (Milkman (white bead Hare’s Ear), eggs, hot spot Pheasant tails). On the gray afternoons, we hunt out the shallow flats for October BWOs. When it comes to how to fish, it’s really that simple. The more difficult part to fall fishing is the where. I’m talking specific water types. What does a good shallow water nymph run look like? Well, it has cobbles but no weeds, it’s just dark enough that you can barely make out the bottom but can’t see individual stones. How many such runs can you find on a day of wading? Three? Four? This makes it difficult, because each good little drop-off must be fished carefully and at distance. And that’s just for nymph fishing. By next week, most of the brown trout will be near spawning gravel. We generally avoid them, but in the dark pockets behind the gravel there might be a few good rainbows, and just down from that a big flat with a few post-spawn brook trout rising. It’s tedious, fickle fishing. It’s why so many people just tie on the streamer and go have fun stripping the flies and absorbing the fall weather (and, on a wet afternoon like today, I do mean absorbing).
We are halfway through our last week of full-on being open. After breakfast is served on Sunday we’ll close up the restaurant, and our hours will switch from 9 am – 2 pm. We will continue to rent rooms through the fall, but quietly. We are right now writing orders not only for next year, but this tying season as well. It’s going to be a good one…almost time to start cranking!
