Fly Fishing the Stillwater River.gif)
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 From
its origin down to the town of Nye, the Stillwater River is
very lightly fished. As one might expect, fly fishing the
Stillwater River on this section involves lots of pocket water
fishing. With the fast current, rocks and whitewater, the
rivers excellent trout populations will be held up wherever
they can find shelter from the strong current.
For fly-fishing,
virtually any dry fly imitation or attractor will work just
fine on this stretch of the Stillwater River. The fish are
not picky about what they take. The fish tend to be on the
small side, between 8-10 inches. The fish in the wilderness
portion of the Stillwater River consist of cutthroat, rainbow
and brook trout, with an occasional golden trout as well.
Spin fisherman can have success with small spoons.
Below Nye, brown
trout start showing up both in decent numbers and size. Rainbow
trout and cutthroat trout are also found along this stretch.
When fishing for the brown trout, use standard brown trout
tactics. Use large streamers, floating them down into the
pools, along submerged obstructions and near any undercut
banks that are found. Large nymphs, such as a Hare's Ear,
also work well, when fished near the bottom. For the rainbow
and cutthroat trout, standard dry fly and attractor patterns
work as well on this section as they do further upstream.
Brown trout exceeding twenty inches can be found in the Stillwater
River and average 12-14 inches. Rainbow trout in this section
of the Stillwater River average about 12 inches.
 Beginning
in July and continuing through mid-September, hoppers also
work extremely well for both the rainbow trout and brown trout.
Additionally, any angler who plans on fly fishing this river
later in the summer should bring plenty of caddis fly imitations,
such as the Elk Hair Caddis, as caddis hatches occur on the
Stillwater River below Nye most evenings.
It should be noted
that the Stillwater River is exceptionally rocky. A good pair
of felt wading shoes is highly recommended. The rocks in the
river are slick, loose and very plentiful. Combine this with
the fast current and surprise holes, and you have some recipes
for interesting fishing stories. Additionally, the fast current
of the river can require some accurate casts to hit the holes,
runs, riffles and the pocketwater. While the trout in the
Stillwater River are not finicky eaters compared to most Montana
rivers, sloppy presentation will greatly hinder successful
fishing.
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Next : Floating
Stillwater River
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