August and September are some of our favorite months to fish at Falcon’s Ledge. The combination of hopper fishing and morning and evening hatches makes the dry fly fishing this time of year some of the best.
In the mornings during the months of August and September pale morning duns and midge hatches are common. These hatches will typically produce a good number of rising fish in the mornings. PMD hatches are fantastic and a sparkle dun or yellow klinkhammer are both great patterns for catching fish during morning PMD hatches. Midge hatches are also common in August and September and an emerging midge dropped off a hopper or ant pattern will often produce fish.
The afternoons in August and September are amazing for fishing large dry flies especially in the higher elevations. The streams in Utah above Falcon’s Ledge in the national forest are amazing to fish this time of year with hopper and ant patterns. The national forest streams are full of hungry rainbow, cutthroat, and brook trout that eat lots of hoppers and ants in the late summer and fall. We love to fish big dry flies this time of year on the streams and rivers above the lodge this time of year. The PMX is one of our favorite patterns to fish in August and September that comes in several colors and can imitate most grasshoppers. Ant and beetle patterns are also very effective this time of year. Foam ants such as the sailor ant and tootsie roll are two of our favorite ant patterns. Foam beetles are also great for catching lots of fish this time of year.
Caddis and midges hatch most evenings on the rivers around Falcon’s Ledge in August and September. A PMX with a midge emerger dropped off is a great technique to use in the late summer evenings. When caddis are hatching in the evening the klinkhammer pattern and elk hair caddis are both great flies for catching fish in August.
We hope to see you this August or September for some great Utah hopper fishing!
