[ARCHIVE] Stillwater River Report 8/3/2020

Stillwater 8/3: Flows have continued to drop after a spike last week due to a rain event. The upper river is pretty much done for float fishing unless one is an experienced oarsmen with a light load and doesn’t mind dragging their boat in a few spots. Anglers are picking up fish on big dries like PMXs, Stimulators, Jack Cabe and smaller size chubbies in the early morning to midafternoon. Dropper nymphs like smaller size prince nymphs and red copper johns, and Lil’ Spankers are picking up fish as well Straight nymphing with a double nymph setup of a bigger rubber leg like a girdle bug or pat’s rubber leg along with a smaller beadhead nymph like a prince or batman has been productive as well. Some PMDs and yellow sallies are still sporadically coming off mid-morning, so a PMD nymph as a dropper is picking up fish as well as a small dry pattern dropper. There may be an afternoon lull in the heat of the day. Later in the afternoon, look for caddis. A smaller size stimulator should get some action. Another good combination has been to fish a double dry setup with a purple haze as a lead spotter fly trailed by a size 14 Jack Cabe or stimulator. Stillwater fish love the Jack Cabe. The rubber leg variant has been effective as a big dry pattern. Water temperatures on the lower river are heating up, so play and land fish promptly. We recommend getting on early and off early to avoid stressing the fish more than necessary.