May 30th Headhunters Fly Fishing Report Missouri River Montana

May 30th Headhunters Fly Fishing Report Missouri River Montana

All is well in downtown Craig Montana. Nothing to complain about here other than the slower than average dry fly bite. The nymphing is good and the streamer fishing…well nobody is talking about it so it must be either great, or crap.

Water levels are currently at 8740cfs and falling. We should see it fall more this month as the inflows are steadily declining as well. But with the warm weather on tap and the water gods giving su plenty of afternoon thunderstorms we could see it stay at this level until later in June.

Remember that the DNRC wants to fill Canyon Ferry Lake by the 4th week of June so they are monitoring it closely. Inflows into the lake at Toston are 10500cfs. Lake level is 88%. So 9% to go. After they achieve full pool they will run the water right on through. Run of the river. So we have that to look forward to. Water management is a tricky deal for sure.

All we know is that this is good water and we love it. Not so much for the dry fly fanatics this time of year. Nimpers Unite!

Flies for the near future include…any PMD, caddis, midge, or small stonefly nymph. But don’t rule out the worm, scuds, and sow bugs. All in the mix. There is a portion of the year that all of the nymphs in your fly box will work. And this is it. So no need to buy anything at the fly shop. Just use what you have.

But, if you have to contribute to Adair’s college fund you could stop in and ask the fishy staff at Headhunters to set you up with some of the flies listed above. You should not go out on the water without a healthy selection of worms, sows, scuds, PMD nymphs, and caddis pupa’s. Sows seem to be the hot ticket with some still swearing by the fire bead brand.  Smaller narrow bodied mayflies are always the hot ticket and we can get you on board here in Craig.

Deep nymphing rules the day with split to bobber length being 6′-7′. Inside out and get ’em to the bottom. Feel like you need a few pointers in your own boat on how to master the sometimes difficult to understand nymphing styles of the Missouri River? Ask inside the sweet and cozy confines of the shop and they will draw you a diagram of our preferred methods. Or hire a HH guide and live it for a day or two. Then apply all that new fantastic knowledge on the water in your own boat or in one of our rental boats. Wade fishing at these levels can prove to be difficult as access in this deeper water is somewhat limited.

Call the Deep Nymphing Hotline @ 406-235-3447 for help today!

Shop hours 7am-9pm daily. Open first and open last. Free perk’d coffee on the porch every morning with Craig’s only fly shop WiFi and cell service.

Headhunters is your entertainment, information, education, and customer service expert on Montana’s Missouri River.