[ARCHIVE] Stillwater River Report 04/29/19

With cooler weather this week, flows have dropped, stabilized and regained clarity. Water temperature has dropped as well, so there’s no hurry to get out on the water. The overcast weather days are perfect conditions for BWOs to come off by late morning. Try a smaller size Purple Haze, Parachute Adams, BWO or Smoke Jumper pattern if fishing to rising fish. A few March Browns were showing up before the cold snap, so look for them to appear in greater numbers as the water warms up again. A March Brown nymph dropped off of a Purple Haze or Parachute Adams will produce. The number one dry fly pattern for the March Brown hatch is the Trina’s Carnage Drake March Brown in size 14. Otherwise, nymphing is always a good bet with standard Stillwater beadhead mayfly nymph patterns like a hare’s ear, pheasant tail, or red copper john. A beadhead prince nymph is always a good choice too. For streamers, use darker color patterns like black buggers or the Grinch either dead drifted or stripped depending on the type of water being fished.