November 2022
UPDATED 11/04/2022

Happy November to all of you here in the Madison Valley as well as readers abroad! High winds, projected snowfall, and bare trees are all in this weekend's forecast according to Weatherman Wayne. In terms of Valley news, the town of Ennis has a new taco truck in town. Stop on by Fully Loaded Tacos and see what the buzz is all about! If you happen to share the same strange predilection towards cold-weather fishing that has grasped my complete enthrallment, now is the time to take to the water. Anglers are few while trout are still plenty. Last week’s en route river tunes included a fan favorite Marshall Tucker Band assortment. The chilly wind has us singing along to Shotgun Willie and the Cold November Wind… Get some!

Let’s talk trout. We’re looking at frigid week of air temperatures ahead, most of which will be staying around that 30° mark. Water temperatures are making their way into the low 30’s, look to see them drop further as the week progresses. Flows at Cameron are currently running at 972 CFS, be wise when picking your lines out there! Fish are slowly starting to congregate into deep and slow moving water. I’ll often downsize my leader & tippet as we enter the colder months of the year to help deal with spooky fish. Honestly, I’ve been throwing the exact flies as last week so not much has changed on that front. Be careful when removing ice from your guides, it’s all fun and games until you’re stopping by the fly shop to send in a rod repair!

Hot Flies:

Streamers: Wooly Bugger Black, Mini Dungeon Olive, Laser Legal Olive/White, Silk Kitty White and Tan, Mini D&D White/Pearl, Peanut Envy Olive and Black, El Sculpito Olive, Eric’s Smooth Criminal Olive, Sculpin Leech Gray.

Dry Flies: Dornan's Water Walker Royal and Green, X-Stimulator Royal, X-Stimulator Yellow, Holo Humpy Orange, X-Fly Parachute Adams, Royal Ant, Parachute Flying Ant Rust.

Nymphs: Mega Prince, Rain Drop - Pearl, Zebra Midge Black and Red, Shop Vac, Tungsten Jig SF-Olive, Hustler CDC Dark & Light, King Prince, TB Lightning Bug Pearl, Spanish Perdigon Rodrigues - Black, Pat’s Rubber Legs Black, Improved Wire Worm Red, Globug Egg Cream.

Looking for some fly tying material to create these patterns? Check out our fly tying collection online or stop by the shop! Continue to practice your best fish handling techniques. Avoid fish pictures for the gram whenever possible so that we can continue to have healthy fish populations for years to come.

- MRFC Guide Danny Eiden