Best Flies for Catching Fish During Winter in Montana

I’m sorry to inform you that this list is going to be rather short, as the fish naturally have limited real flies to choose from this time of year. This means, we don’t have very many tied flies that will work in the winter. My husband is an avid fly fisherman, even in the winter months. So, I picked his brain to see what flies are sure to have the fish biting on these long, cold winter days on Montana’s rivers.

Midge pattern
These are the only surface flies that fish have to eat this time of year, so they are pretty popular with the fish.
San Juan worm
This is what my husband calls “the old standby” because it represents a blood worm. Blood worms are found in Montana’s rivers and streams year-round.
Small egg pattern
Orange eggs are the best this time of year because the white fish are finishing their spawning season. The orange egg pattern looks like white fish eggs, and trout love to eat these little morsels.

Filed Under: Fish, fly fish, fly fishing, Montana, winter

Categories: Missoula News