About the Author

Joe Rotter

Joe is the "blogger in chief" here at Red's in addition to being our guide service manager and partner here at Red's. He is a father of 3 spunky children his wife Kelly can only be found fishing when the temperature gets above 85 degrees and the fish are gobbling up dry flies.

In addition to being a fly fishing junkie, Joe is a hard core bowhunter, is a volunteer Hunter's Eductation Instructor, and loves riding horses with his kiddos. Joe still guides a small part of the time but spends most of his time working on web marketing, travel, and helping customers find the right tools and information for the job.

Nice Day... Tough Fishing

September 25, 2016

Yesterday was one of those. Yep, beautiful weather, clear water.... rough fishing. I guided from Red's to MM10 for the afternoon with a couple of rookies but got them trained up plenty well enough to catch some fish but it was tough!

The fish were laying pretty dormant most of the afternoon with the exception of a few that I found feeding on #20 BWO emergers. Not a beginner friendly opportunity there to say the least. In the evening as the sun got behind the hill the fish got a bit more aggressive and we hooked several nicer fish on a Tungsten Baetis Nymph #18 which is my favorite nymph right now.

This Week's Forecast

The next two days are going to be amazing weather. If you plan to fish... lucky you! It is going to be in the mid 80's. How nice is that? I anticipate good fishing in the mid morning time frame, with it slowing down about 1 pm - 5 pm, with an evening bite on October Caddis dry flies.

Mid week the clouds will roll in and that is the time I believe the fishing on streamers and nymphs will pickup, and hopefully kick loose a BWO hatch in the afternoon allowing us dry fly or die guys a chance to pick off some feeding fish.

Tips for When You Find Yourself on a Tough Bite

Have a beer, pop, sandwich or some sunflower seeds. Slow down, don't fight it. Take your fish ONE AT A TIME. What this means is that you treat the casts you do make with a higher level of concentration and consequence. Don't just slop it in there. Make sharp, delicate drifts through the best water. Use stealth. You don't need to go super ninja on every spot belly crawling through the brush, but when come to a spot you like make sure your first cast is perfect and covers the seamline from head to toe in one drift if possible. If you are in a good piece of water, adjust the fly selection, depth of your indicator, or weight. Dial in till you get the first fish and gain a grasp on what might work. The first trout is the most important!