While a lot of investors looking for ranches for sale might think fall is a good time to look for hunting properties, now might offer some of the best fly fishing of the year.
In October, the rivers and streams of the West, including those found flowing freely across ranch property, come to life. It’s the spawning season for brown trout and brook trout. And the West’s rainbow and cutthroats spend these shorter, cooler days on the prowl. They’re packing away calories for the long winter that’s on the horizon is very real.
So, for anglers and real estate investors looking for ranches for sale, don’t put the fly rod away just yet. It’s a great time of the year for streamer fishing, and hungry trout are ready, willing and able. Here are some great streamer fall streamer patterns you need to have on hand this fall.
Egg-sucking Leech
This is one of the easier flies to tie. If you can tie a traditional Woolly Bugger, you can tie an Egg-sucking Leech. The bright pink or orange head of this super-effective fall streamer is clearly meant to imitate a trout or salmon egg. And with browns and brookies on their spawning redds, this pattern is a good searching pattern for trout eating eggs.
Generally fished on the swing, this is also an excellent pattern to try if you’re sight-casting to fish that are clearly holding below spawning beds hoping to pick off wayward eggs. Swinging this fly below a redd can produce enthusiastic takes from hungry rainbows or cutthroats that are lying in wait for eggs to slip from the gravel and drift downstream.

Woolly Bugger
This may be the most common streamer ever tied. Everyone has ‘Buggers in their fly boxes. And that’s because they work.
The Woolly Bugger can imitate anything from a wayward worm caught in the current to a swimming leech. Tied in lighter colors, it’s a great baitfish pattern, too. It can be tied with a weighted head or non-lead wire, or it can be tied lightly and left to swim just under the surface.
Regardless, this fly is a classic, and, even with the advent of more sophisticated, articulated streamer patterns, it’s still very effective.
The Slumpbuster
This swimmy streamer is tied with squirrel or rabbit strips, and can be tied in all kinds of colors. For trout that swim the rivers and streams of ranches for sale in the West, go with black, brown or olive, and add some flash in the tail.
The flash will help the fly stand out, and the wiggly rabbit or squirrel strips will do their part to entice violent takes from hungry fall trout. Some anglers tie the Slumpbuster without weight, and others either add a brass or tungsten head to the fly. Still others tie it long and snaky, with an articulated break in the middle. These longer versions are great for big-water trout found in rivers like the North Platte or the Rio Grande.
No matter how you tie a Slumpbuster, know that it’s a great searching pattern for hungry fall trout. Fish it on the swing and let that wiggly fur strip do its thing.

The Zonker
Another very popular streamer, the Zonker is a weighted streamer sporting a rabbit or squirrel fur strip secured to the top the hook using thread wraps woven between the hair fibers. This can be a bit of a challenge to tie. Just take your time and try to displace as few of the hair fibers as possible.
The Zonker is a common baitfish imitation. As such, it usually features a weighted head and, sometimes, a non-lead wire body wrapped around the hook. And this all happens before dubbing is tied in. It’s an excellent sculpin imitation and it can be an absolute trout slayer when pulled through deep water.
The Clouser Minnow
A lot of anglers associate the Clouser Minnow with bass and saltwater fly fishing. But, while this pattern is an excellent fly for big bucketmouths, trout love it, too.
Tied in sizes 6 through 8, it’s a great pattern that sinks quickly and moves a lot of water. In the fall, brown trout are aggressive and preparing to spawn. So, they’ll often chase other fish, regardless of size, away from their potential spawning redds. And a Clouser stripped in front of a pre-spawn brown can be a killer.
One note: don’t fish over redds where fish are actively spawning. Let them be as they produce the next generation of trout for all to enjoy.
Final word
Investors and anglers interested in ranches for sale in the West would do well to try some streamer fishing in the fall. In many parts of the West, great streamer fishing lasts into December. So keeping a fly rod handy is a good idea.
And, as you search for your next ranch investment, make sure you’re working with the right broker. Not only will they have ideas for you on ranches for sale, they might also have some really great fishing tips.