It still feels very much like summer in Big Sky with warm, sunny weather predominating. September is right around the corner though, and is a favored month by many anglers… locals and visitors alike. September is a month of transition in Montana, the days grow shorter, and the nights longer. Frosty mornings give way to beautiful afternoons and we often see our first snow of the season in the high country. The kids are back in school, and as hunting season opens we see less and less pressure on many of our local waters. It’s a fantastic time of year to spend some time knee-deep in a Montana river.

From a fishing standpoint September is a time that finds increased hatch activity on our area rivers, with fall baetis and October caddis enticing trout to rise. Hoppers, Ant’s and Beetles typically remain in play throughout the month, providing additional dry fly opportunities. The nymph bite remains solid, with baetis nymphs and emergers generally being the go-to patterns. But perhaps more than anything else, it is the streamer bite that gets many anglers excited about September fishing. The Madison River in Yellowstone National Park should see its first push of browns and rainbows migrating in from Hebgen Lake. It’s a bit early still to really focus on the fall-run fish, as their numbers are relatively low compared to how  many fish will be in the system a month from now – but there are fish to be caught, and the fishing pressure is light. As the month of September progresses the streamer bite gets better and better as the brown trout become increasingly aggressive prior to their spawning season. In fact beginning in mid- to late-September our guides begin focusing almost exclusively on the fall-run of brown trout in and around Yellowstone National Park – it’s an incredible experience.