It’s been a summer. Not a particularly warm or stable one, but it’s been a summer, and that means in these northern latitudes that the season is perhaps the most fleeting of the four we receive in a given year. Sure, by writing about it and turning these thoughts into the reality of black and white, I’ve put it out into the universe, and we’re likely to see 85 and sun every day until Halloween just out of spite, which I guess I’d accept.

As unlikely as that is however, a cooler summer does set the stage for some great fall fishing, and where available and allowed by regulation, seasonal constraints, and the depths of the waters in which they’re held, stocked trout become a prime pursuit of mine as the leaves fall and green landscapes shift to the post-frost beige of autumn. During the weekend’s thunderstorms, I found myself at the desk, scraping together the last bits of favorite feathers to craft the flies I know work on my favorite deep-water impoundments that harbor these holdovers which find refuge in those areas over 40 feet during the relative warmth of the past few months. For the kids I took stock of our spinners and spoons and crafted up a few squirrel-tail trebles to dress the baits I’ll assemble in the days leading up to the second season for these stalwart salmonids. Knowing where they’ll be and how to catch them at the openwater season’s end can make for a fast day of fishing in fall, with a ton of fun on the line.

On the rise

In any lake where the water is 40 feet or deeper, and where trout were stocked this spring, expect those catchables that came in at the start of the season to have survived and grown some. This summer, with its generally cooler temperatures around the region likely helped those fish that made it past the first fishing blitz survive. While the angling won’t be as fast as it was in the spring, the quality of each trout caught will make the effort worthwhile this fall, and expect the bite to start up at the beginning of September, barring any sudden warm stretches.

Stocked trout, especially those in lakes and small reservoirs, will rise into shallower waters as things cool off with the lessening of the sun’s light each day and chillier temperatures each night. They’ll patrol shallow edges of lakes, but don’t forget to target the upper strata out over deep water as well as they’ll find food there. With their activity level rising as temperatures in their environment drop, expect them to be feeding frenetically on whatever’s available from a bumper crop of aquatic insects, to small minnows, and even young-of-the-year panfish for those bigger trout. Don’t forget to keep an eye out for late-season insect hatches to trigger a bite as well. Match the hatch but keep those reaction lures and flies at the ready too.

Go bigger

With the feedbag on and a bit more bulk since they were added to their adoptive homes, stocked trout will turn toward bigger offerings than what they might have taken in the spring. Moving up a size on classic castables such as Mepps Aglia and Worden’s Roostertail spinners can get their attention. Upping the length of a small spoon from just two to two-and-a-half inches can help cover more water and give these fish a bit bigger target for them to strike and match their late-season appetite. When waters are clear, consider adding a 24-inch fluorocarbon leader to keep presentations natural with spinning gear spooled with fireline. With a reel filled with monofilament, the leader isn’t necessary.

On the fly rod, streamers shine in fall, though big nymphs will also help match what’s still around on the aquatic insect buffet. Consider woolly buggers in sizes 6-10, Clouser minnows in sizes 4-8, and bigger pheasant-based nymphs in sizes 10-12. Stick with the classic natural colors for buggers: brown, black and olive with a bit of sparkle to catch their eye, and create baitfish imitators in silver-white, blue-white, and olive-white when tying up those Clousers. Pheasant tail nymphs, EZ nymphs, prince nymphs and other go-tos round out a nice fall fly box for stocked trout and remember to utilize a sinking line that helps cover all the upper and intermediate areas of the water column that trout might be relating to during the season.

With summer’s unofficial end coming with the Labor Day holiday in a few days, and the real seasonal shift just a couple of weeks after that, the time for fall fun is just around the corner. Prepare now by picking out the lakes in your area where stocked fish survive the warm months in deeper holes and getting those lures and flies together that work in connecting with big autumn trout and huge cool weather memories made … in our outdoors.