Late August: Make sure your boots never dry!
For many fly fishermen the end of August is a period marked by slight depression, knowing there is a long fall ahead and a very dark winter (at least for us who lives in Sweden).
What to do next?
Change targeted species! This is a no brainer; you just need to be willing to try and do a bit of reading and perhaps add some flies to your boxes.
Rainbow trout fishing with wasps, bugs and terrestrials excels in the fall, and the buzzer fishing in late fall and even winter can be productive for the ones who don't fear the cold!
Fly fishing for Pike is another option often overlooked, well that might not be true, since it has exploded the last decade but for some anglers Pike on the fly never cross their minds, but it should! They get big, they are found in rivers, ponds, lakes and sometimes in the ocean where the water is brackish. Not sure where to start? No need to buy a brand new 9' #9wt first thing. Take your single hand 9'#7 and a regular trout leader and measure up 5-6' from the but section, cut if off and add a wire leader in 20-30lbs around 1' or 20-30 cm. Take any baitfish pattern for seatrout and tie it around 15 cm, lightly dressed and you are good to go. While this might not be optimal, it's good enough to give pike on the fly a try! If you like it there is plenty of stuff to buy, if not, you just spent an old trout leader and not much more! A 113 cm Pike I caught many years ago ate a yellow zonker fly around 8-10 cm tied on a size #2 Carp hook. There was not many flies or rods on the market for this back then, in the late 90's this was obscurity!
Of course, you should not forget about perch, found in many waters and love to eat a weighted Dog Nobbler or similar fly, any big brown trout or rainbow trout streamer will do, just give it a try.
Steelhead, salmon or saltwater!
No time for pike and perch or sub-zero conditions in the trout pond with buzzers?
Atlantic Salmon fishing known as the "back end fishing" in Scotland will give you some more opportunities as it's usually open longer then let's say the Scandinavian rivers. If you don't catch anything there is always whisky and good stories to tell and listen too!
Steelhead and Pacific Salmon!
September is a prime steelhead month in some locations and continues thru October and November depending on where you decide to go. Another fish that deserves some recognition especially among people from Europe is Coho (Silver salmon). In the search for the tricky steelhead, many anglers seem to get tunnel vision and forget that in the same river they fish and usually around the same time there is Coho, A great fighter who often seem to be eager to take a fly that's swung slow and deep at the tip of their nose. A steelhead "run" (which is roughly what we call a "pool" in Europe when fishing for Atlantic salmon) can in many places hold Coho, especially in the backwater that is created when the river makes a turn. If there is a small creek around, that seems to be even better at times. Then there might be Pinks and Chum salmon too that will take your fly. So, enjoy every cast you do and every pull you feel!
Sometimes it can get a little exciting.
Tropical salt water
In Sweden (at least where we are located) the tropical traveler usually goes post-Christmas to escape the abysmal darkness of the north and re-charge their depleted vitamin-D deposits while wading the flats somewhere far from home. But you don't have to wait for Christmas. Get a flight to Kuala Rompin or Pekan in Malaysia and enjoy Sailfish on the fly from a small boat, not too far away from land! Some tropical destinations are a bit uncertain during late fall due to potential hurricanes/storms etc, but surely google will help you sort that out!
Cold Saltwater (Scandinavia)
I almost forgot about this one, Denmark and Norway offer year around fishing for Sea Trout (there is regulations, so please be informed) and the gutsy angler can go to Lofoten in Norway in the pursuit off Coalfish, Cod, Pollock and Halibut.
Cold Saltwater (USA)
Another fishing trip that should be interesting to any coastal angler, especially the ones fishing for Sea Trout is to get to the other side of the "pond" and dip the fly in the waters of Marthas Vineyard, Monomoy flats or Long Island. Striped Bass, Blue Fish and False Albacore are swimming these waters.
This was a trip I had in mind many years ago that was never realized, I guess I need to go thru my bookshelf and put Ed Mitchells magnificent book "Fly fishing the saltwater shoreline" on the kitchen table and start reading, and planning.
Summary:
Whatever you choose to do this fall, if it is on this list or not does not matter.
Try this to stay active: If your wading boots are completely dry on the inside, that means you probably have not been out there in 5-7 days, so that's a good sign you need get them back on!
Go fish, find new spots, aid your local river, practice your D-loop! Just make sure your boots never dry.
I wish you good luck!
Martin Karlsson