Key Montana Fly Fishing Insects: Nemora

Small brown stoneflies (Amphinemura nigritta)

Smaller on the scale of stoneflies, the small brown stonefly is typically found in hook size #14-#16 and comes off a bit earlier than the skwala. It has a slender body and wing, so ensure your fly does as well.

Montana anglers will find these little stoneflies in sparse numbers along Montana rivers in March and April. Although anglers rarely see trout actively feeding on “Nemura,” trout do look for the with regularity throughout their emergence cycle with the dries becoming more relevant on warm days

These small, dark stoneflies can be tough to see for anglers, but trout key in on them with delight. A common Montana fishing guide strategy to find fish that are keying into the adults is to fish a small, black stonefly dry behind a larger skwala dry. Rising trout will take the smaller fly more times than not when those little stonefly adults are around and active.

A small black nymph is effective in the shallows while the adults are best thrown to riffly water. Apply floatant to only the wing so the fly rides lower in the water column enticing trout starting to look up.

Emerging early in the day when spring days are warm and later if the weather is cool and cloudy.

The 3 Best Montana Rivers for Nemura

1. Bitterroot River
2. Blackfoot River
3. Gallatin River

Top 5 Skwala Dry Flies For Fly Fishing in Montana

Stonefly Fly Fishing In Montana Articles