Just Add Vice Sale
We’re here to help keep you occupied and thinking ‘bout Trout. Maybe you’re living under a “stay at home” order, or maybe it’s self imposed. Or maybe it’s just that you broke your last Thin Mint (above) off on a…
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Cabins & Shuttles & Rental Boats… No Go.
Unfortunately, we have decided to close down our lodging at the Craig Trout Camp here at Headhunters. This closure will run from now until April 1, at which point we will re-assess. We made this decision after discussing it over…
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Flies… To Go!
And of today, the front door at Headhunters will be locked and we are asking customers to use the “takeaway” window on the Side of the building, AKA the “beer drinking porch”. Trying our best to help everyone keep their…
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Weekend Recap
Whoa, what a weekend. Saturday saw the masses descend on Craig and the Missouri River. While there were plenty of fisherman, there was plenty more folks just getting out of the house and enjoying some flawless March weather. Sunny with…
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Silly Sunday Scenery
Silly Sunday Scenery Craig MT. Snow AM. Sun PM. No wind all day long. Happy Sunday from downtown Craig MT.
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Saturday March 21st
Saturday March 21st Spring in Craig Montana. And in your neighborhood too. The earliest spring equinox in 124 years. It snuck right past me! Maybe you too? Sunny Saturday March 21st. 3rd day of Spring. 50F and yes, sunny. Anglers…
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Fishing & Weekend Operations
Headhunters is still open, and we’re getting a number of calls asking if we will be open this weekend. Answer: Yes, we will and are. We’re really here as a service provider at this point. Shuttles, lodging, guide trips and…
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Throwback Thursday Mayflies on the Water
Throwback Thursday Mayflies on the Water Plugging along here in downtown Craig Montana handling the international health issues the best we can. We are fielding phone calls and questions about the future daily. Call us if you have any concerns.…
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Craiglandia Phone Troubles. Standard.
We became aware today that some customers have had trouble getting through to us on the phone the last couple of days. Phone troubles are standard in Craig. Tin cans and string are more reliable. At any rate, we have…
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Zirdle Bug Olive St Pat’s Day!
Zirdle Bug Olive St Pat’s Day! A green fly for today. Tie them up if you nymph the big fly like the Zirdle Bug. Buy them up if you just want to watch re-runs or are glued to the TV.…
Read More 5 Steps to Summer Success
5 Steps to Summer Success In this self-isolation period of our lives we need to do something, anything, to keep ourselves busy. Spending time with your fly rod could be just the answer. We know you always have the best…
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COVID-19/Coronavirus Operations Update
Edited May 20, 2020, High Noon 14 Day Quarantine Ends June 1st Out of state visitors and anglers can begin to travel to Montana without a mandatory 14 Day Quarantine Monday June 1st. No longer do you have to lock…
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Closed This Weekend… Saturday for Sure, Sunday Probably
A nasty Winter Storm is forecasted to descend on Craiglandia this weekend, so we are just going to close The shop down Saturday and Sunday. No point in asking our staff to work in what looks to be un-fishable conditions.…
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Thursday Throwback Ants
Thursday Throwback Ants High water this coming year? We don’t think so. This image of creepy ants is from 2010. A high water year for sure. Does not look like we will see this kind of run-off this year. Unless…
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E-Newsletter to Return!
A few years ago I quit sending out our E-Newsletter via email. Many of our customers liked it, and I received your emails requesting that we continue it. But I personally get tired of constant email communication in my inbox,…
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Two-hander Report
Darn good swing fishing for early March on the Missouri, and more than a few spey anglers out searching. At least when the weather is nice. The water is still chilly, and you’ll find fish in the deep slow tanks…
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New Breed Chicks Rule Jesse Edition!
New Breed Chicks Rule Here’s soon to be pre-med student Jesse Dewitt whacking fatties on the Mo over the weekend. Jesse is a fly fishing beast!! Thanks Andy for sending this pic along. It made our day for sure. Fishing…
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New Fly of the Week Rusty Trombone
New Fly of the Week: Rusty Trombone 7wt bringing in new flies for the season at Headhunters Fly Shop. We have always been know as the go to shop for flies in the canyon and many know us as carrying…
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Friday Foto It’s March!
Friday Foto It’s March 71F today on the river. Calm for the morning session, windy for the afternoon. Tonight possible snow flurries. Again on Saturday nite too. Montana. Spring. Normal. SNAFU. The fishing is picking up. Along with the springlike…
Read More Montana Fishing Film Festival in Helena Friday March 6th
Montana Fishing Film Festival Montana Fishing Film Festival in Helena Friday March 6th at the Grandstreet Theater. Put together by Matt Devlin of Missoula Montana. These are film by Montanans for Montanans. Unique in that sense. Really cool. We had…
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Late Winter Fishing Report by Richard
Late Winter Fishing Report by Richard The weather has been unseasonably warm, which typically means the wind is turned up to 11. Controlling a drift boat in gusty conditions can be difficult to say the least, but the rewards can…
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Monday Morning March Fishing Report
Monday Morning March Fishing Report Hello March. Hello Missouri River anglers. Hello Spring? The groundhog did predict spring. Not six more weeks of winter. Last year at this time we were in a deep freeze. Real deep. Snow and ice…
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Back of the House 2010
Back of the House 2010 Looking at the back of the shop about ten years ago. That Parrothead sign is important to me. I’m gonna refinish it soon. Maybe this next week. Saturday on the Mo. Kinda warm, windy, not…
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News Flash. Not all anglers want to be dry fly anglers!
I’ve been rolling around a personal progression of fly fishing for a couple years and as of late it has been haunting me daily. I believe that we, as an industry, are educating our anglers in an improper way. We…
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Bozeman Thursday @ 630 Rialto 50/50 On the Water Film Tour
50/50 On the Water Film Tour For those in Bozeman check out the 50/50 On the Water Tour at the Rialto Thursday February 27th 630 pm sponsored by the Fishing Outfitter Association of Montana.
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Winter Day Dreaming
Winter Day Dreaming Another installment of Dick Magill. Angler. Thanks for the great summer story today Richard. I too am looking forward to the summer season. Not that I don’t like spring, and I don’t really like winter…summer keeps my…
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The Police Live at Beat Club 1978
The Police Live at Beat Club 1978 Showed off the Chameleons this past week. But they do not compare to the talent in this late punk band. The Police. The Police had a hand in shaping the music of the…
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Friday Foto Hardy Country
Friday Foto Hardy Country Windy. Warmer. Still winter like here in the canyon and beyond. The weekend even warmer. And probably windy. February is nearly over. Hooray. My least favorite part of the year. By a wide margin. March is…
Read More #TBT Headhunters Fly Shop OG Dry Fly Video
#TBT Headhunters Fly Shop OG Dry Fly Video This is our original promo video from 2009. HH opened the doors April 4th 2008. Scumliner’s first video for HH of Craig. Of course he then went on to shoot some killer…
Read More Casting Video Straight Rod Tip Path
Casting Video Straight Rod Tip Path The rod tip path has to be straight. Convex round rod tip path does not work if you want to improve or move forward in any way in your fly fishing career. Dropping the…
Read More Post-Punk Rock Weekend Hit
Post-Punk Rock Weekend Hit Don’t Fall. The Chameleons 1983. Punk Rock Weekend Hit. Take the hit. Enjoy.
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Mid February Fly Fishing Report Montana’s Missouri River
Mid February Fly Fishing Report Montana’s Missouri River Fished yesterday with HH Guide Shane Wilson and friend Adam Craig to Stickney. Had a great time. Fished a couple hours. Not hard. Social yes, fishing yes, lots of fishing energy, no.…
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#TBT from Headhunters of Craig
#TBT from Headhunters of Craig The shop when we signed the lease in November 2007. It has changed a bit since then. More changes ahead? Of course. We do not believe in static behaviors. That is for the rest. Staying…
Read More 2020 Fly Fishing Film Tour Stoke Trailer
2020 Fly Fishing Film Tour Stoke Trailer Tonight in Helena Montana Grandstreet Theater 7pm. A whole lotta fishing tonight, in the capitol.
Read More Sunday Surf Flick 1965 Duke Kahanamoku Invitational
Sunday Surf Flick 1965 Duke Kahanamoku Invitational Snow on the ground here in Craig. Blowing pretty hard around the river. Some may stay home and watch this cool Hawaiian Surf Flick. Others may tune into the XFL!
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Guiding 4 the Future
Guiding 4 the Future A great cause. Shane Wilson and I attended this past year. Shane was the outstanding student of the course, scoring a perfect score on the final exam. And winning a sweet Sage Ignitor courtesy of Sage…
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TBT Squeeky’s 1st Fly Shop Gig
TBT Squeeky’s 1st Fly Shop Gig This was my first fly shop gig. My first fly fishing mentor Pat Ward opened this little shop, even a bit smaller than HH, in Gold Creek on the Naches River. The Naches is…
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Where Do Your Flies Live?
Another installment from Richard today on this very blog. The wildly popular Dick Magill. Angler series speaks of fly boxes, winter, and the tying bench today. Enjoy. Happy Hump Day. Book your spring trip. Discounts galore! Where Do Your Flies…
Read More How a Practice Rod is Helping Me Catch More Fish!
How a Practice Rod is Helping Me Catch More Fish! One of my Fly Fishing Goals this year is to Cast Better. And getting out to the lawn, to the river, or the park is not always easy with daily…
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Fly Fishing Film Tour in Helena Tuesday Nite February 11th!
Fly Fishing Film Tour in Helena Tuesday Nite February 11th Helena, MT 2020 Fly Fishing Film Tour Grandstreet Theatre Feb 11, 2020 at 7:00 PM (MST) Helena, Montana The Pat Barnes Missouri River chapter of Trout Unlimited is proud to bring…
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High Winds in Central Montana?
High Winds in Central Montana? Yes. Only when the winter temperatures peak the 50F mark. We are forecast for 60F tomorrow. With increased winds. Winds Winter fishing is here on the Mo and we have seen lots of anglers out…
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Ditching Old Faithful
Ditching Old Faithful From our revealing Dick Magill, Angler Series comes todays blog by crack staffer and writer Richard. Want to speak with Dick Magill? Stop in and see him weekly @ Headhunters of Craig. When you are on the…
Read More It’s just like the First Day of PMD’s
It’s just like the First Day of PMD’s You know, the first good day. That is what Cheap Trick’s “Ain’t that a Shame” Live at Budokan ’78 makes me feel like. You gotta turn this up to 11. Then push…
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Friday Foto Sara & a Pot of Dry Fly Gold
Friday Foto Sara & a Pot of Dry Fly Gold We are still a couple months from daily dry fly activity on the Missouri River here in Craig Montana. But each day we get closer. Water levels for the summer…
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The Dungeon Keeper
Kelly Galloup’s Sex Dungeon is without a doubt one of the most popular large tandem streamer patterns in the West (World?). The articulated movement, swimmy materials, and large deer hare head that pushes water making noise is a great combination.…
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Overlooked Fly Fishing Gear
Overlooked Fly Fishing Gear A post by Dick Magill from Headhunters of Craig. Thanks Dick, appreciate the insight today. Fly fishing has come a long way over the years. The technological advances in the sport have opened many different possibilities…
Read More Classic 1939 Rod Manufacturing Video
Classic 1939 Rod Manufacturing Video Cool vid today not eh HH Blog. Playoff Football on TV. The Australian Open starts too. Weather’s the best it has been in at least a week on the river today. Temps well above freezing!…
Read More How to Choose a Sink Tip Video
How to Choose a Sink Tip Video Saturday. A good day to watch a video about choosing a streamer line. That is step one. Step two is to call your fly shop and get a couple. Our number is 406-235-3447.…
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Frozen Friday Foto
Frozen Friday Foto Slushy in the canyon. Frozen below Pelican Point on the lower. Free up top. And the air temps may crawl out of the cellar.
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Weekend Fishing Forecast
Weekend Fishing Forecast Richard writing the Blog today. Thanks Richard. Glad you survived the arctic temps this week! Here we are in the middle of January. As I’m writing this fishing report, air temps are struggling to get above zero…
Read More Casting Tip Today from Tim Rajeff
Casting Tip Today from Tim Rajeff One of the great casters, instructors, and minds in todays fishing world. He also makes some pretty popular rods by the name of ECHO. Tim today talks about Off-Shoulder casting. Truly an important cast…
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Fly Fishing Resolutions
Fly Fishing Resolutions Great photo above of Guide Eric Mondragon fishing with friend Carl and Golden Trout-Dog (TD) a couple years back. This image is what spawned me to write out my fly fishing resolutions. That image signifies all that…
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Craiglandia. Sunday. January. 2020.
Craiglandia. Sunday. January. 2020. Big day for the Seahawks. Gotta beat the Packers. Gonna be tough inside Lambeau today. Snow on the ground. It’s tough in Craiglandia this morning too. Snow on the ground. Temps plummeting into the too cold…
Read More Sipping Dry Saturday
Sipping Dry Saturday Saturday here on the Mo. Fishable today. A couple cabins rented. Several boats on the water. Coffee drinkers at the shop. Swingers on the water. And summer conversations on the shop phone. Anglers locking in summer guides…
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Friday Foto The Beginning
Friday Foto The Beginning Snowing and freezing here in Craig today. 6 months from the Trico hatch. That is my motivation today. Thinking about the future. And warm weather. And dry fly fishing. And Trico’s. The beginning. Friday Foto. It…
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A first look at our water forecast in 2020
A first look at our water forecast in 2020 John and I recently spoke about the water levels for the first time this winter. While we are not scientists, biologists, water managers, degreed in any way that would make us…
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