4 Keys to Catching Autumn Trout from Streams

Autumn offers many benefits from an angler’s perspective. Crowds lessen as many sportsmen turn to hunting, and other seasonal anglers store their rods until next year. Meanwhile, the weather lends itself to delightful days out, and the season’s colors add beauty to many waterways. Most importantly, many kinds of fish feed actively through fall.

Trout are among the fish types that provide excellent angling opportunities this time of year. As cool-water species, they thrive and feed actively as the creek and river temperatures begin falling. If you want to enjoy the best trout fishing autumn has to offer, it’s important to adjust your approach for the season.

Four keys to improving your fall trout fishing success are to remember the significance of terrestrial insects, remain mobile in your stream fishing approach, prioritize stealth as you fish, and consider the best times for trout fishing outings.

Fly fishermen know that autumn is prime time for drifting hopper patterns for trout. Lure fishermen too frequently overlook this notion, and the truth is that they have at their disposal outstanding tools for capitalizing on the “hopper bite.” The Rebel Crickhopper and Bighopper offer the profile and natural appearance of a high-quality hopper fly pattern, are easier to cast accurately than flies, and can be worked to effectively mimic the behavior of a displaced grasshopper or cricket.

Quite a few anglers use Crickhoppers on the surface for bluegills and bass, but the same strategy gets overlooked for fall fishing in trout streams. Notably, a Rebel Bumble Bug can be used in the same way as a Crickhopper to suggest a bee, cicada or beetle that splashed down errantly.

The basic approach is simple. Target areas near banks, especially grassy banks and places with wood cover or brush along the edges. Cast upstream of the zone and let the bait drift initially. Use quick twitches of the rod to make the Crickhopper or Bumble Bug dance on top and mix in pauses. If the fish don’t hit on top, reel slowly to make it dive and wobble.

To further enhance appeal, tie a 1 1/2- or 2-foot dropper to the rear hook of your lure and drift an inchworm or sinking ant fly pattern or a Bobby Garland Itty Bit Mayfly on a 1/64-ounce Itty Bits Jighead beneath your Crickhopper or Bumble Bug. If your lure darts under like a bobber, set the hook swiftly! For hopper/dropper fishing, I like to remove the front treble to minimize line twists.

Both because of common stream conditions and reduced angling use, fisheries agencies tend to reduce stocking efforts late in the summer and through fall. In put-and-take waters, that means many of the most obvious pools with the quickest access get largely fished out.

In addition, the lower water levels and higher water temps that prevail in early autumn, cause fish to move to riffles, runs below rapids, areas of pocket water, and other zones with good aeration. Such spots can be close to access points, but many are not, and the fish tend to be more widespread in lot of little spots that offer pockets of suitable habitat, as opposed to being piled up in big pools.

Because the water is often lower and clearer than normal this time of year, the fish also spook more easily, and once they get a sense that something is wrong, they shut down feeding. During spring, with higher flows common, you often can set up near a good run and try different approaches to get fish to bite or even catch fish on a lure till they get used to it and then switch to another and catch more. That seldom works during fall. Once they become aware of you and shut down, you’re better off moving along.

Traveling light and being willing to stay mobile, therefore, can provide major benefit this time of year. Fortunately, except in tailwaters and some spring-fed streams that remain cold all the time, most trout streams lend themselves to wet wading through the first half of autumn. Simply shedding the waders makes it substantially easier to cover water.

Consider what you really need while you’re still at home, and only pack what you can comfortably tote in a vest or small backpack or attach easily. Items like a landing net or wading staff typically can be leashed to a loop on a vest or pack for hands-free toting.

As noted previously, autumn commonly delivers some of the lowest, clearest water of the year in some regions. What that means from a practical standpoint is that even fish that are feeding opportunistically might be extra cautious, and once they become aware of your presence, you’re chances to catch them diminish substantially.

An outfitter in my area often advises to “be the heron” when fishing mountain streams for trout, and that advice is extra important with common autumn conditions. While we’re not talking about a full-camo belly crawl (usually!), conscientiously minimizing your visibility and the sound you make legitimately can have a substantial impact on trout fishing success this time of year.

The degree of stealth required depends on the size and character of a stream and the clarity of the water. Key considerations include remaining near stream edges and even out of the water, when possible, working from downstream of fish so they are mostly facing away, and minimizing abrupt movements and splashes. For some streams, dressing in drab colors, keeping a low-profile and using natural feature like boulders, high banks and streamside trees to break your profile can make a difference.

In short, you want the trout to see your lure before they get any awareness of you. And going back to the previous tip, if you can see trout simply moving out of the way of your lure, just move along. You might be able to circle back and try those fish later, but once they know you’re around, you’re better off looking for new trout to target.

Make no mistake. My first advice is always to fish when opportunities allows. That said, the fish do tend to bite better at certain times, so if you have flexibility, target those best times. Interestingly, with autumn being a season of substantial change, the most productive times shift with the progression of the season.

Early autumn is an extension of late summer in terms of stream conditions. The best fishing in a normal day occurs during the first few hours after daybreak. Slightly cooler nights that occur at this time create the most comofortable conditions of the day for the fish, and they hunt confidently under low-light conditions until the sun gets high in the sky. Dark skies and drizzly weather can extend the bite significantly.

The other time that can be very good during early autumn, again extending a summer occurrence, is just after an afternoon storm that adds a quick dose of current and color to the water, washes terrestrial critters from the bank and generally activates the stream.

As autumn progresses and water temperatures moderate to temperatures trout favor, the best bite balances between early morning and late afternoon hours, and reasonable fishing can occur throughout the day. Mid-autumn is prime time for all-day fishing.

By the end of fall, when winter-like conditions commonly prevail, the script flips entirely, and the day's best fishing typically occurs from late in the afternoon until dark when the sun has been warming the water throughout the day. There still might be an early morning flurry, but from mid-morning through mid-afternoon, fishing can be slow.