Where to Go Spinney Reservoir
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Angler's Covey Bug of the Month
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Photo- Covey Guide Josh Heney
FALL HOURS 9am to 6pm Daily
Report Date: 10/10/2025
ONLY HAND LAUNCHED VESSELS ARE ALLOWED. ALL BOAT RAMPS ARE NOW CLOSED FOR THE SEASON.
Current Conditions:
With the shorter days and cooling temps, we are seeing the conditions pick up a bit on all of our stillwater locations. Spinney has been fishing better than it was in the summer, but still pretty slow overall. The big issue here is that the lake levels are dropping very fast. As of today, Spinney is only 57% full. These lowering levels will affect the fish and where they feed. This also exposes a ton of weed beds and can make navigating the lake in a kayak or float tube very difficult. This also presents an increasing challenge for shore angler. Water temps are also on the warm side and we likely wont see that change all that much until we have some sustained cooler weather. Almost everything is nymphing right now but we are seeing some increased action on streamers. With nymphing, depth is going to be the single most important factor right now. We are seeing good success with flies suspended about 1-2 feet from the bottom. Of course the overall total depth will depend on where you are fishing. Try and find the bottom and then go up from there. There are a fair amount of fish spawning in shallower areas here.
Hatches:
As expected, the hatches are starting to really dwindle. While you might still see some rogue callabaetis or damsels, the bulk of that is now past. We have seen and will continue to see increased midge (chironomid) activity. Scuds and leaches are also good patterns to be throwing right now. This is also a prime time of the year to fish streamers. Remember to switch up your retrieve speeds, sometimes they like it fast, sometimes they like it slow.
Tactics:
Water temps are still warm but are cooling a bit. Focus on the early to mid mornings or late evening. Depth of your flies is the single most important component of your fishing right now. Gap those flies out to find the zone faster. This is a great time to get out in the lake in some type of watercraft. Slow crawling your flies can be a deadly technique as well. Sometimes all the fish need is a little movement!
Tips:
Fall stillwater can be a little slower than summertime. But it can still get really good if you are in the right areas. Covering water will be the most effective tip right now.
Weather:
Short Term- Conditions will be interesting over the next 24 hours or so. We will see a good clip of rain up here through the day today and overnight. There is a lot of moisture in the western part of the state. We should even see a little snow at high elevations from this system. Temps will be cool and in the 50's. Overnight lows will be chilly and in the 30's. Saturday will be mostly dry but very cloudy. We will get a break on Monday before we see another shot at some precipitation. Things look to dry out through the week and temps will be right around average in the 50's.
Long Term- Long term forecasts are still pointing at a sustained dry and warm fall season. But as we head into next weekend (10/18) we will see another disturbance move through the area. We should see some rain/snow on Saturday night. Temps will also cool off pretty significantly next weekend and the highs wont get out of the 40's. Morning lows will be well below freezing so be sure to be prepared for that!
SCHEDULE YOUR FALL GUIDED STILLWATER TRIP NOW! THE FALL IS ONE OF THE FUNNEST (AND LEAST BUSY) TIMES TO FISH STILLWATER!
This is an area we offer guided fly fishing trips. Angler's Covey is home to some of the best and most passionate anglers in the area. Ice off can be one of the most exciting times of the year to fish stillwater. If you would like to try your hand at stillwater fly fishing, give us a call! You wont be disappointed.
- Zebra midge, red and black, sizes 16-18
- Lightspeed leach, olive, sizes 14-16
- Hangin with my Chromie-brown, black, red, size 18
- Red Assassin, copper/brown, size 16
- Mini leach, white, size 16
- Balanced leech, black/green, sizes 12-14
- Parachute Adams, sizes 16-18
- Mini Dungeon, barred yellow, size 6
- Barely Legal, olive/white, size 4
- Mini Boogeyman, black, #06
- Wooly bugger, white, sizes 8-12
NOW BOOKING STILLWATER FLY FISHING TRIPS FOR THE SEASON! BY BOAT, FLOAT TUBE, HOBIE KAYAKS, OR WALK/WADE. WE DO IT ALL!
This is an area we offer guided fly fishing trips. Angler's Covey is home to some of the best and most passionate stillwater experts in the area. If you have never tried Stillwater flyfishing, ice off is one of the best times to do it!
See below for Spinney Mountain Reservoir Map, or CLICK HERE for a downloadable PDF.
Spinney Reservoir is one of the best stillwater fisheries in the entire western US. The regulations are flies and lures only and you can harvest one trout over 20 inches. Fish species include: Rainbow Trout, Cutthroat Trout, Brown Trout, Cuttbow trout, yellow perch, and Northern Pike. There are two boat ramps and several parking areas around the reservoir. It is a $9.00 daily pass fee to get in. Anglers bringing a boat make sure to clean it thoroughly because they are now inspecting for Zebra Mussels.
This is an area we specialize and are permitted to guide in, so give us a shot if you have any question or if you interested in allowing one of our Orvis-Endorsed guides to show you how to conquer Spinney Reservoir.