[ARCHIVE] Stillwater River Report 09/16/19

Flows have continued to drop after spiking with the rain. Be prepared to drag your raft in spots. For the wade fisherman, the entire river is accessible, best bet is to head up above Absarokee where it’s much easier access. With cooler mornings, fishing usually picks up by mid to late morning and on into the afternoon. Nymphing is a good way to go early, or use a long dropper with a beadhead nymph like a pheasant tail, copper john, batman, or prince nymph off of a searching dry fly pattern like a Jack Cabe, PMX, Stimulator, or Purple Haze. By late morning, fish are looking to eat the small dry fly on top. Smaller dries like a PMD, Caddis or purple haze are working well in the afternoon. There are still hoppers out in the warmer afternoons. Look to fish smaller hopper patterns too like a Fat Frank, Yeti, or Yellowstoner or Schroeder’s in peach, pink, grape, tan or olive body colors. If you can catch a cloudy, overcast and showery weather day, look for some nice BWO hatches. Use a smaller size Purple Haze or Parachute Adams.