If you’re anything like me, you’re still grinning about those summer smallmouth tug-of-wars. But let’s be honest…you’re starting to miss your old hook-jawed buddies. Good news: the DNR just dropped in a gazillion trout with an IQ lower than the water temp. Add in the leaves catching fire with color and delayed harvest sections reopening, and it feels like the water itself is sending you a hand-written invitation.
Let’s face it. Your football team isn’t making the natty. Wouldn’t you rather have your heart broken by a buck-nasty brown that snaps you off, than by a QB fumbling yet another win?
We’re going to make this fall your best season yet.
1. Skip the Honey Hole
Yes, that one spot has bailed you out more times than you’d admit. But this fall? Leave it be. Go find new water. If you can see it from your car, pass it by. Wander into the places with no boot prints, no bait containers, no sign of man. That’s where adventure lives. Not only will you sharpen your skills, but you’ll also take pressure off your favorite runs. When January rolls around and you’re fishing midges in silence, you’ll thank yourself.
2. Be Smart in the Woods
Trout streams often run right through public hunting land. Tell someone where you’re going, even if it’s a note on your dash. Wear a little blaze orange. Keep your voice down. Respect goes a long way and Lord knows it beats being mistaken for a buck.
3. Headlamps, Charged
Dusk is magic hour. The rises come alive, the world glows gold, and your heart starts beating faster. Don’t ruin it by fumbling in the dark with dead batteries. Pack a charged headlamp. Future-you will send past-you a thank-you card.
4. Get a Wading Staff
Not when you’re old. Now. It’s not about being heroic, it’s about being alive. A cracked skull or a busted wrist is not a good fish story. A staff keeps you upright so you can keep making memories.
5. Check Your Gear
Before the cold fronts hit, crawl into a dark closet with a flashlight and hunt down wader leaks. Mark them with a Sharpie. Seal them up with UV cure. Same with boots, check soles & laces. Marine GOOP is your friend here. A good wading belt isn’t optional. It’s the difference between coming up laughing or not coming up at all. Wear it tightly!
6. Downsize Your Boxes
You don’t need 20 fly boxes on your back. Less fumbling, less overthinking, more fishing. I’m loving magnetic pucks lately. I keep several for midges, nymphs, soft hackles, and dries. They are simple and fast. Just a day’s worth will do it. Remember: presentation beats “perfect bug” nine times out of ten. More signal. Less Noise.
7. Leaders
Tie your own. Save money, grow a skill, perfect your blood knot, and get that weirdly satisfying pride every time a fish comes to hand. Start simple: a couple dry fly leaders, a nymph rig. George Harvey’s old designs still sing. Bonus: another excuse to use your UV torch.
8. Tie Flies—or Start
You’ve got a confidence fly. Don’t fish it first. Tie up something new. Play. Experiment. If you’ve never tied, this fall’s your chance. We’ve got the tools, the instruction, and a whole family of shops ready to help. Creativity at the vise carries straight to the water.
9. Change It Up
Float if you always wade. Wade if you always float. Dry-fly purists? Try tight line nymphing. Streamer junkies? Cast a size 20. Every method you learn makes you better at the others. Don’t get stuck in one lane. Don’t say another method sucks just because you don’t know how to do it. Kill the excuses. Be a sponge. Take a class, fish with someone better than you, and apply what you learn.
10. Don’t Forget the Wonder
Slow down. Hear the water. Make a meal streamside. Fry a trout for lunch if it’s legal. Hike in. Camp. Laugh with friends. Leave the phone and camera behind. Take a deep breath and actually live it. Be in the moment.
Because in the end, fall fishing isn’t about the numbers. It’s about stories. It’s about walking back to your truck under a sky turning purple, smelling like woodsmoke, and thinking, “That was one of the good days.”
Be safe. Be adventurous. Be present. And make this fall one you’ll talk about long after the leaves are gone.
