Flows are still very low at the moment, though we should see the river recover some volume with fall rains. We had some heavy rain in late august which brought us a much-needed bump in water volume. Currently we’re sitting at 520 CFS, slightly better than the worst of this summer, though still pretty low.

Cooler weather and overcast skies will have the mayflies coming off the water a little later in the afternoon, especially once we start having frost on the ground in the mornings. Waking up at the crack of dawn is always good for good fishing, but don’t expect killer dry fly fishing til the air warms up. That early morning pattern is best fished with attractors and streamers until you start seeing some bugs emerging. Tricos and PMDs are going to be the predominant hatch on the water. BWOs will become more prevalent as the weather cools and the Trico and PMD hatches come to a close, and they’ll continue until mid-November at the latest. The mayflies will usually peak out in early afternoon, you’ll still see them around the river, but the fish won’t be as fixated on them when they aren’t actively hatching. Fish will still go for a dry in that slow period, but it’s also a good time to alternate to a streamer or nymph. The ever-reliable hopper dropper rig is also a great way get a little more activity mid-day with the chance of opportunistic fish going after the dry. The hoppers will become less prevalent as the weather cools, but the best indicator is always the indicator with a hook, I.E. a big foam hopper, Chubby Chernobyl or foam ants to float a small bead-head nymph.

Summer streamer fishing on the ‘Root is largely a pike game, but as we roll into the end of the moth and the beginning of October the browns will begin running to their spawning holes and fall streamer fishing will be in full swing. While the water is still low and clear, small flashy and fast patterns like a kreelex, skiddish smolt, or small sparkle yummy is the route to go. As the weather cools and we get some fall rain and increased water volume, larger profile flies that push water like the Dungeon, Wedgehead, Kill Whitey, or Silk Kitty have all yielded good results.

Nymphing on the root is always a good option, and a great way to fish the lulls between hatches or when there simply aren’t any bugs hatching. Small perdigon patterns like the cracked back bullet, hot spot PMD, or a tungsten copper john are great picks for imitating the emerging mayflies either on a tight-line set up or as a dropper. For fishing the deeper holes and runs with indicator rigs or sink tip lines the Pat’s rubber legs, TJ hooker, Anderson’s bird of prey, or the double-bead stone are all great picks.