Terrestrial insects are out of the scene as a trout food. The Firehole River offers the best top water fishing in the park, especially during unsettled weather when small BWOs emerge in good numbers. A few small BWOs may do the same on the Madison River, but the big attraction here are run-up browns and ‘bows from Hebgen Lake. That means presenting streamer patterns, whether they be large soft hackles (including those tied with marabou wound soft hackle style) or more traditional feather or deer hair wing versions. The other famed brown trout run (that in Gardner and Snake Rivers yet to peak) is that in the Lewis River system where good numbers of browns are now in the channel between Shoshone and Lewis Lakes, migrating to the river just below Lewis Lake, and moving in the river below the falls. This activity means presenting large streamer patterns through deeper holes, runs, or undercuts is the best way for encounters. It also means not disturbing redds, active or inactive, by any means. They hold the beginnings of our future brown trout population.
