Is September a great dry fly month? No, not really. Can you dry fly fish in the month of September? oh, yeah.
What you will see in the month? Some caddis and some Psuedocloens and some Callibaetis and some terrestrial action too.
Will it all drive you absolutely nuts? Yes, of course.
While September is not our best dry fly month you can expect to bump into some decent hatches on any given day. Have these flies available or a selection similar when you head out into the September Missouri River mayhem.
Caddis Flies
September brings this cinnamon/blonde skittering caddis that will keep you entertained in rifles throughout the river. If you see a few, tie it on and let it roll.
They are of the moving variety. So keep ’em moving, or skittering, or dragging as it may be.
Snowshoe Caddis, CDC Para Caddis, BK’s Red Stag, Missouri River Specials, Stalcups Ginger Para Caddis, and AC Caddis will get ‘er done for the month of September. Look for the rare October Caddis rocking the airways during the month. A big orange fluffy feller can raise a few.
Missouri River Ants
Ants and terrestrials are still in the mix and will be for the remainder of the summer. It has been the fly of choice for many blind fishing excursions through the entire season. The year of the ant, meaning 2013. Get some more, get them today. Do it.
Hi-Vis Black, Hi-Vis Cinnamon, Gallup’s Ant Acid, and Dominick’s Reneball Orange is my personal favorite. Use them for searching riffles, blinding down a gentle slick, or use them as a lead fly with a little something behind you cannot see!
Missouri River Callibaetis Magic
The forgotten fly of the Missouri River. The step child so to speak. Many forget to include this insect in the mix. We don’t. Whenever you see fish exploding on a fly when it appears like nothing is present, or during a spectacular spinner fall of Trico’s…it is a fish piping a Callibaetis spinner. Or dun.
We like the Harrop’s Callibaetis Spinner, Harrop’s D & D Cripple, Tilt Wing Dun, or this mostly overdressed Jake’s Hebgen Dun Callibaetis. We have a few more patterns in our well stocked fly bins. Come in and stock up for the season. The end of the season. The magic of a Callibaetis never stops.
Missouri River Pseudocloen, Midges, Etc.
To round out the dry fly opportunities during the not so good dry fly month of September we bring you the Psuedo’s the midges, adn other randoms. The other randoms, what are they? Well, we don’t know. Some sporadic white mayflies downstream with a look alike PMD deal, random caddis flies…you know, weird shit. You got stuff like that in your box. We all do. Tie on a fly that has never worked before, or one you got down the street at a random fly shop.
Harrop’s CDC Psuedo Spinner, Weise’s Purple Phase, Snowshoe Micro Midge Cluster, Cripple Thor BWO, Quigley’s Midge Cluster, CDC Hanging Midge…and many, many more for additional random flies. You cannot go wrong with small impressionistic flies like these above.
In a bind, cannot figure the fly out? Tie on a small Buzzball, Parachute Adams, Griffith’s Gnat, with a Zebra dragging behind it. Perfect. If the trout do not respond to that, leave them behind!
Missouri River September Flies
September is not our best dry fly month as the nymph bite comes on strong during the color change. You may bump into a nice period of time when the fish are keyed into those damn psuedo’s…try one of the patterns above for Missouri River September Flies success.
Trico’s can be a factor early int he month with sporadic hatches that will blow your mind. Don’t toss out the Trico box yet, you may need it.
Hoppers and Beetles can play a role too. September is a month upon anything can happen. Be prepared for the best, the worst, the average. Some beer in the cooler is a safe bet too.
The weather is really quite fine with cool and crisp mornings followed by pleasant afternoon temperatures for your fishing pleasures.
Fall is around the summer corner…
Book now for the fall. Lodging is going away, and so are the best guides. Give the fantastic booking staff a shout and get yourself wedged into the fall action. If you like the BWO bite, as we predict it will come early…get on the horn and book it. September is a nice time period on the river with the days shorter yet still pleasant enough for short sleeves…then come October. Streamers, BWO’s, snow…
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