Winter fly fishing in Missoula is at the top of no one’s list. To most anglers, winter fishing is synonymous with short days, cold temps and colder toes. But to the brave few, winter fly fishing in Missoula can boast great fishing on uncrowded rivers. Getting out and catching a few solid trout is well worth the frozen digits! While everyone else has traded out the fly rods for skis this winter, layer up, fish deep and put a bend in the rod with these five winter flies for trout fishing in Montana.
1. Zebra Midge
Arguably the most simple fly in the fly bins is undoubtedly one of the best for winter fly fishing. No need to over complicate this one. Aquatic insect activity in the winter is slim. Yet most, if not all, winter insect activity is dominated by midges. The small, dark insect can often be seen emerging in droves in the winter. When this is happening, it’s likely that fish are capitalizing on the emergence by keying in on the midges subsurface. Fishing a zebra midge in sizes 18-22 on light tippet behind a heavy stonefly nymph or worm is a great one-two punch for those picky, lethargic winter trout.
2. Front St. Stone
If you walk into the Grizzly Hackle with a one-off fishing question, it’s likely that Matt Bryn has the answer (some regard him as a sort of local fishing legend.) Matt developed the Front St. Stone with winter fishing in mind. The Front St. Stone is designed to get deep, and get deep quickly. The oversized tungsten bead is super heavy, quickly sinking the minimalist pattern with little resistance. This fly can be fished effectively in a tight-line or indicator nymph rig. No need to use weight with this fly. Fishing the Front St. Stone will allow you to get weightless flies deep, like light Zonkers, buggers, worms or midge emergers. Pro tip– the smaller size 14 Front St. Stones make great droppers in high water!
3. Hi-Vis Parachute Midge
Every now and then the stars will align, and a warm winter afternoon will provide a short, yet exciting dry fly window. Those midges emerging from the river bottom will hang around and dry their wings long enough on the water’s surface to bring the trout to the surface. Being caught without your dry fly box when this happens is devastating. A simple, yet surefire way to catch these picky winter sippers is by having a couple Parachute Midges and some desiccant in your pack this offseason.
4. Jig San Juan Worm
Ye old faithful San Juan worm. This time of year, however, reach for those slightly heavier jig options. The heavier the worm, the better. After heavy precipitation or a warm winter day, worms are flooded into the river. Opting for a heavy worm pattern will get the attention of those big winter fish lurking at the bottom of the pools.
5. Sparkle Minnow
“Low and slow” is the name of the game when it comes to winter streamer fishing. After the spawn, those big fish aren’t up to chase streamers and would rather hunker down and wait out the long winter, looking for easy meals to come floating by. Dead drifting or crawling a sparkle minnow through deep troughs or tailouts won’t produce a ton of fish, but it can often fool “the one.” Pro tip– white or pearl is a great color choice to imitate dying/dead whitefish during the winter months.
Visit our Missoula fly shop for our in-store selection of flies for winter fly fishing in Montana or visit our shop to find the best gear for winter fly fishing!
