A quick overview of the things that you must do in June on the MO.
They include not only technique but also timing for your best shot here on the dry fly stream of choice in central Montana.
No run-off here on the Missouri River allows us to fish all the way through the historical brown water months here in Trout Valhalla. That’s right we have a dam or two or three above us here in Craig that regulates the flows and color of the river. So no down time here for us in Craig. Just go, go, go…and fish.
5 Must Do Tips for Missouri River June
- Stay out late. You don’t have to be the first boat or angler on the river in June. You may want to start later and fish til dusk? Not for everybody but it is an option if you like to toss the dry fly at rising trout. Not as many anglers out after 4pm. Can be nice and quiet. And fishy!
- Blind fish the dry fly. You don’t always have to sight fish trout here fishing the Missouri River. You can toss the dry fly out there and fish it hoping for a take. Find the 18″-36″ water and let it ride. Good flies for blind fishing this time of year include any good floating caddis or PMD dun. Some even roll the PMD cripple like DOA or a Quigley pattern. A big giant PMD spinner? That would work. An X-Caddis? How about a Parachute Adams or any fly form the Purple Haze franchise.
- Run the short leash. Tired of fishing the deep water lanes with your nymph? Try it short. With the water getting lower this month you can employ the 2′-3′ rig with a worm and a PMD nymph and get it done. How about a PMD Frenchie type pattern with a caddis pupa or a soft hackle? All good ideas for your short leash day. Eliminate the split!
- Do unto others…Be Polite and give anglers room. The walk/wade gang got there by foot. Give them a wide berth if you are in a boat. Don’t assume that they are not fishing if they are standing on the bank. Go way around and give them some room. And do the same with boat anglers. Give them some room. Big river. Let’s not bump into big river problems.
- Big Brown Trout Love PMD’s. Cripples and spinners are the two stages that big brown trout eat. Find that bank sipper and make the cast. First cast is the best cast. Make practice casts next to the fish before presenting to him. The goal is to catch the trout, not to see how fast you can put him down. There is no rush when casting a fly at rising trout. The feller who catches the fish wins. Not the feller who can do it the quickest. Don’t blow your load before the action begins. I see it all the time. There is no rush. Make a plan and catch the trout. Do not see how fast you can put it down.
June is a fantastic month. June and October are the two I love the most. How about you? Which month(s) do you love? I love to dry fly fish and June is one month when you can catch some bigger trout on a dry fly. The techy sight fishing stuff gets me worked up for sure.
If you need anything trout related here fishing the Mo let us know. We have the best in guides, gear from Sage, RIO, Abel, SIMMS, Hatch, Airflo, SA, Howler Bros, stuffed fly bins, Galvan, Orvis, G. Loomis, Costa, Smith, Fisherman Eyewear, Suncloud, Just Add Vise Tying Kits, Adipose Boat rentals, rental waders by SIMMS, rental fly rods, and much more!
Open daily @ 6am and late til 8pm. Your one stop fly shop in Craig MT.
16 Comments.
PBR please
Word!
Squeaky, just got back from the Mo. Need to find more mediums to get the “do unto others” message out. Four 60 ish gents trolled, rowed, and fished through an established waders run among other “it’s my river and I don’t give a s€%t about you” sins. Unbelievable!
Squeaky
My group has experienced similar problems with others coming within casting distance of us. The worst part was we ran into the same guys at the lodge where we were staying. They complained about their catch. The Mo is such a special place I’m all for sharing. If your not sure about stream etiquette just ask. Bus Light for me.
Bernie and Paul,
Yes unfortunate the actions of others. We have all made mistakes and will probably make a few more…but unintentional and most learn from their previous errors. Actions speak louder than words. And sometimes keeping thy my shut is important too.
Keep teaching and preaching and doing and setting examples is all we can do.
Mark
Maybe it’s time you write an article on river etiquette based on the comments above and what I have seen this season.
Some real bullshit behaviors and attitudes.
Education is something that may take a few blogs to sink in.
Had a few guides with anglers casting over my boat fishing inside out while I took a nap the other day. A glare didn’t seem to affect them. Another vote for an etiquette post. There’s a lot of river to nymph. You can pull around, guys.
Wow
Mark
I think you should print your five dos and post it at the shop! Better yet have copies available at the counter!! I was reminded about some of the dos that I forget from tome to time. Everybody wants to catch lots of fish but you have to follow some basic instructions and techniques to be successful. Expectations developed 30 to 40 yrs ago on the Mo must be re-evaluated. Keep blogging as a majority of your readers really appreciate your river wisdom.
Classic!!! Glad you didn’t mention us Oregon folks with cabins nearby. LOL!
There are three really good rules to live by in life:
1 Treat others as you’d like to be treated
2 Do the right thing
3 Do your absolute best
Imagine the mighty river if this actually could happen. Lots of traffic here on the larger Mich rivers too. Have gone back to busting brush fishing smaller tribs a long way from roads to find less pressured waters. The fish are there…..
Thanks for your insight Terry. Appreciate the historical context. Regulation will come. But it will not turn back the clock man. More babies equal more river users. Rent a boat and then you don’t have to wait at the boat ramp in line, just like the grocery store, TSA line, stop light. Those stop lights stress me out with all those cats around waiting to go, when it turns green. Should a fee be charged if you were born later and did not fish the river in the 80’s? Should a fee be charged if you only dry fly fish? And guides do pay fees for guides using boat ramps…Just sayin’
Mark: You took out two friends yesterday and Tuesday (I’d recommended HH and you in particular). They said you had them dropping the fly right on the fish’s head. You’d written of that previously on this blog but I never understood. How does that work? The fish would have only a second or two to see the fly before it was past. Also, in your videos you seem not to be doing that but rather to be casting above the fish then shaking line out of your rod tip, feeding the fly down to the trout. Thank you from all of us loyal readers for any clarification here.
Yeah you gotta cast at them Tom. As you will know. The reach gives the right amount of lead distance to the trout. So, right on the head meaning a couple feet in front fo the trout. But you gotta go right at them. Not leading them by 20 feet as is common in many anglers. The trout when near the surface see a small window. Not a wide swath. Thanks Tom!
Thanks, Mark. I think someday you need to write a book on all this: “The Head Hunters’ Guide to Fishing the Missouri River.” Then you could just provide links to the various chapters have not have to repeat yourself so often. We blog readers don’t mind the repetition, but I’m sure that a busy businessman as yourself has better (and more profitable) things to do than write about the reach cast dozens of times each year.
p.s. Steve and Brad said you were an awesome guide.