Is September the Best Month?

Cooler temps, consistent weather, improved fishing.

When you look at the course of the fishing season there are some months that really stand out for great fishing opportunities.

We of course love spring, months like April, May and June which offer excellent insect hatches (if not the best), but these months can be plagued with spring runoff so hitting the rivers when they are not raging can be limited. Summertime like July and August can be sweltering heat, tons of inner tubers, extreme water temps and hoot-owl conditions on nearby Montana rivers. They’re called the dog days for a reason! That leaves us months like September, October, and MAYBE November to round out the “main” fishing season. We won’t include the winter months because frankly, hardly anyone fishes those months!

Out of the “fall-ish” months of September - November, September really stands out in my opinion. September has all the traits of summer with warmer temps, consistent weather, and terrestrial fishing opportunities. However, what really starts to change is kids are back in school so tourist angling pressure is down, the infamous inner tuber hatch is minimal if not over, night time temps cool off which helps bring down water temperatures, big fish come back to play a little more often, and stillwater opportunities start to show up again. Another major advantage of September versus spring, is that there are no major runoff occurrences to bugger up river levels. Top it off with the transition into fall hatches like mahogany duns and October caddis.

Oh... and how could I forget... steelhead start showing up in September!

So with all the “pluses” for why September could be the best month for fishing (at least in our region) I just might have to go out on a limb here and say it has my vote for the best.

See you in the shop or on the water!