Fly Fishing in October Podcast by Harry Murray

Fly Fishing in Stocked Trout Streams & Delayed Harvest Areas

Many states stock large numbers of rainbows at this time in the large delayed harvest streams. Since these trout move throughout the length of these streams, a productive tactic is to use a streamer  to cover every possible feeding station.  Productive flies include the Shenandoah Silver Ghost, Shenandoah Skunk Streamer, Shenandoah Sunrise Streamer and Shenandoah Nine Three Streamer all in size 10.

I start at the head of the pool, right below the riffle and cast across stream and allow the streamer to sink deeply. By stripping the streamer 6 inches every 10 seconds I can effectively mimic the natural swimming action of the minnows the trout feed upon.

The two areas which I find very productive are the runs right below the riffles and the deep cuts below the undercut banks on the far side of the stream. By wading slowly downstream from pool to pool and covering these two feeding stations thoroughly you can catch many large trout.

Fly Fishing for Bass

Early in October the bass are spread throughout the river so you can catch many bass in the same feeding stations that produced all summer. The aquatic grassbeds, the riffles and the undercut shaded banks are all productive.

However, by mid-October many large bass undergo a mini migration to the deeper parts of the river. Some of my  most productive areas are the deep cuts between the ledges that run across the river perpendicular to the current. These ledges may be 30 feet apart and some may be 200 feet apart. The water between them usually runs from 3 feet deep to 6 feet deep and the fishing is outstanding because in October many bass feed here.  One of my most productive tactics is to wade into the river immediately below the downstream side of the ledge.  The Murray’s Olive Strymph is very effective because it matches both the minnows and nymphs which the bass feed on in these cuts. From my position below the ledge,  I cast my strymph upstream and up and across stream to fan my casts over all of the lower part of the pool as I wade slowly across the river. A slow line hand stripping action–about 6 inches every 10 seconds–swims my Strymph right along the stream bottom.