Missouri River Fly Fishing Report - Page 36 of 64 - Headhunters Fly Shop

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Friday Foto Missouri River Net Job

Friday Foto Missouri River Net Job & Weekend Tips!

May 12, 2017

Ben, fishing report, flies, Hardy, high water, May, net

Friday Foto Missouri River Net Job Guide Ben Hardy netting this one up with guests Mary and Kevin straight outta Michigan. Their first trip to the Mo with friends Betsy and Charlie. Both families are in the golf business. They…

New Breed Chicks Rule Peggy and Trish Edition

May 11, 2017

New Breed Chicks

New Breed Chicks, New Breed Chicks Rule, Spring Fishing

New Breed Chicks Rule Peggy and Trish Edition Peg, Trish, Lynnett, and Skip on today’s New Breed Chicks blog. These women are all volunteers with the Casting For Recovery program. They fished with Whitney and Kurt a week and a half ago. During…

Try the Dry Dropper Rig

Try the Dry Dropper Rig

May 10, 2017

Fly Fishing Technique

Dropper, Dry, Rigging Techniques

Try the Dry Dropper Rig Tired of chasing the bobber down the river? Don’t like deep nymhping? Want to break out on the edge? Like the looks a Parachute Adams drifting along peacefully next to the bank? Then a Dry…

Izaak's looking for a few more summer staffers!

Izaak’s looking for a few more summer staffers!

May 9, 2017

Headhunters Life

Izaak’s looking for a few more summer staffers! Chef John said we need a few more summer employees to get us to that perfect level. Want to fish all day and work all night? Sounds good to me. Squeeky was…

Hangman Spey Video – Mike McCune

May 8, 2017

Fly Fishing Technique, Troutspey

Casting, Hangman, mccune, Mike, spey, Trout

Here’s a valuable casting video Mike McCune and I recently shot. Valuable because it is the spey cast I see Mike executing more often than not when we are trout fishing. I have had a number of customers ask me…

New Breed Chicks Rule Barb Edition

New Breed Chicks Rule Barb Edition

May 7, 2017

New Breed Chicks

Barb, New Breed Chicks Rule

New Breed Chicks Rule Barb Edition Barb caught this beauty recently with Headhunters Guide Shane Wilson. Nice work Barb. What a good looking fish. We can’t wait to see her again on the Mo. Although the fish might not like…

Headhunters Weekend Quick Hits

Headhunters Weekend Quick Hits

May 6, 2017

fishing report, Headhunters Weekend Quick Hits

Headhunters Weekend Quick Hits An up to the minute, at least when I wrote this, report and Headhunters Weekend Quick Hits blog from the information leaders in Craig Montana. Water is up. 7310nat time of press. Water temps 47F. Fish…

Sunday Missouri River Lower Canyon Foto

Friday Missouri River Lower Canyon Foto

May 5, 2017

Headhunters Life

Friday Missouri River Lower Canyon Foto My buddy Shaun hooked up Thursday in the lower canyon. Pretty bright out yesterday with air temps getting into the 80’s for the first time this year. Today? Mid-80’s. Cinco-de-Mayo. Have a Tequila for…

May 4th Missouri River Fishing Report

May 4, 2017

BWO, Fly Fishing, March Brown, May, Mother's Day Caddis, report, Spring, Water LEvels, Weather

May 4th Missouri River Fishing Report Water levels falling a bit to 7.3K and wear temperatures rising upwards to 48F. So some movement yesterday in the action. Along with the water fluctuations we now bring you summer air temperatures for…

Troutspey Reels and Running Lines

May 3, 2017

Fly Fishing Gear, Troutspey

coated, lines, mono, reels, Running, spey

There is always a lot of talk about running lines for trout spey rigs around the shop. Some like mono, and some like a coated running line. I think were at about a 50/50 split among our customers and staff.…

New Breed Chicks Rule Beverly Edition

New Breed Chicks Rule Beverly Edition

May 2, 2017

New Breed Chicks

BEv, New Breed Chicks Rule

New Breed Chicks Rule Beverly Edition One of my favorite gals today on Headhunters Fly Shop New Breed Chicks Rule Beverly Edition. I lived with Bev and Brian for a couple winters in the early 2000’s before John and I…

Attitude and Effort

May 1, 2017

Headhunters Life

Brooks, fathers, Joe, sons

Spent a great couple of days with Joe and his 9 year old son Brooks. Brooks had tried a little Tenkara fishing near Mammoth, CA and a bit if smaller stream fishing in Utah, but this was his first trip…

Missouri River Brown Trout Mug Shot

Missouri River Brown Trout Mug Shot

April 30, 2017

Headhunters Life

Missouri River Brown Trout Mug Shot Sunday here in central Montana. Cooler and windy. Maybe some snow tomorrow morning too. BWO’s going good. Midges good as well. But Jeff Parker told me that “Midges don’t matter.” On the surface he…

Spring Streamer Fly Tying Contest Photos

April 29, 2017

Fly Fishing Gear, Fly Tying, Photography

fly tying, Spring Fishing, Streamers

Spring Streamer Fly Tying Contest Headhunters hosted a streamer fly tying contest on our Facebook page this past week. The objective was to submit a home-brewed streamer pattern that would work well on the Mo this spring. Tyers sent in a…

Friday Foto Rainbow Trout Image

Friday Foto Rainbow Trout Image

April 28, 2017

Headhunters Life

Friday Foto Rainbow Trout Image, Keep 'em wet, Rainbow, Release, Trout

Friday Foto Rainbow Trout Image TGIF. It’s on. Good to great BWO hatches with midge on the water all day long. A good weekend ahead. Water levels stable for the time being. Nymphing all over the river including some of…

Ninch’s Fish Finder Worm

April 27, 2017

Fly Fishing Gear, Fly Fishing Technique, Fly Tying

fly fishing technique, fly tying, Nymphs, Spring Fishing, worm

Ninch’s Fish Finder Worm needs to be in your box. Fish like worms. Rising water flushes worms from the banks and bottom of the river into the current. Last week the flows increased from around 5,000 cfs to the current…

Tail

April 26, 2017

Tail Good fishing out there right now. The fishing report yesterday reflects the daily action and it held up yesterday. But not as many rising trout on the upper river because of poorly timed wind and sun. Today? Thunderstorms maybe…

Late April Fishing Report from Headhunters

Late April Fishing Report from Headhunters

April 25, 2017

April, bobber, BWO, fishing report, Midge, nymph, Streamer

Late April Fishing Report from Headhunters The water levels are holding just below 7K. Water temps are in the 45F range. Both real good. May see some movement in the water column this week and will let you folks know…

Spring Streamers / Streamer Fly Tying Contest

April 24, 2017

Fly Fishing Technique, Fly Tying

Spring Streamer Fishing Spring is a great time to fish streamers on the Missouri River. At the time of this writing, the river is flowing at 6,880 cfs and temps are around 45 degrees F. These higher flows and increased temps…

New Breed Chicks Rule Peg Edition

New Breed Chicks Rule Peg Edition

April 23, 2017

New Breed Chicks

Bitterrooters, New Breed Chicks Rule

New Breed Chicks Rule Peg Edition Peg over the divide with row boy Jay this last week and they got into a few. “Not a ton”, said Jay, but enough to keep the fires burning. Tough sledding this past fortnight…

Saturday Missouri River Fishing Update

Saturday Missouri River Fishing Update

April 22, 2017

April, fishing report, Spring Special

Saturday Missouri River Fishing Update Flows stable at 7020 cfs. Higher water means learning for not only the trout but anglers too. Some have state that the fishing is not too good. Not consistent is the word from us here…

Friday Foto Headhunters Fly Shop

Friday Foto Headhunters Fly Shop

April 21, 2017

Headhunters Life

Friday Foto Headhunters Fly Shop Water levels should be stable this weekend. Currently 7070 at time of writing Thursday night. Don’t think they will be coming up today. But not really sure. No faxogram from the DNRC. Looks like good…

Stalcup’s Cluster Midge

April 20, 2017

Fly Fishing Technique

Dry Flies, dry fly, flies, fly fishing technique, Midge, Midge Cluster, stalcup

Stalcup’s Cluster Midge Needs To Be In Your Box Stalcup’s Cluster Midge is one of my favorite midge patterns. I always have some in my box during the spring and then again in July when the tricos start to hatch. This…

George Harrison Sings Today Headhunters Blog

April 19, 2017

Headhunters Life

George Harrison

George Harrison Sings Today Headhunters Blog Love this tune. A good one to sing at work today. And George looks like any river guide we see these days. Bearded with guitar, dog, Tundra, Adipose, part-time girlfriend wanting to go to…

Missouri River Tax Day Fishing Report

Missouri River Tax Day Fishing Report

April 18, 2017

April, BWO, Hot Nymphs, Midge, Skwala, Streamer, Tax Day, Water Flows

Missouri River Tax Day Fishing Report Mid April and today we bring you the Missouri River Tax Day Fishing Report. The water is rising per the predictions and statements of Stephanie Micek of the DNRC. More rain, snow, precip means…

RIO, Scientific Angler, and TroutHunter Tippet Comparison

April 17, 2017

Fly Fishing Gear

fly fishing gear, Review, RIO, Scientific Anglers, tippet, trouthunter

Tippet Brands Headhunters stocks tippet from RIO, Scientific Anglers, and TroutHunter. All three companies make great tippet. I’ve used all three and they have all performed well. So what kind should you buy? Cost Cost is a primary consideration. It…

Missouri River Midge Mania in April

Missouri River Midge Mania in April

April 15, 2017

Bugs, Headhunters Life

DFO, dry fly, Missouri River Midge Mania in April, Zebra Love

Missouri River Midge Mania in April Fish on top. Fish on the bottom. Fish in the middle. Missouri River Midge Mania in April has begun. BWO’s too. Saturday and the wind monster has arrived. Gusty and windy on the river with…

What I did for Spring Break: Watch my wife and daughter catch fish on Dry Flies

April 14, 2017

Headhunters Life

BWO, Dry Flies, Julie

Everyone at Headhunters fishes. Some more than others, and some not as often as they once did. Our GM Julie falls into the latter category, but still loves the sport. She and I always try to catch one of the first BWO days…

Let the fishing guide, guide...

Rowing 101

April 13, 2017

Fly Fishing Technique

fly fishing technique, Rowing, Rowing Skills

Hire a guide then take out a rental boat. This is the natural progression, as Mark as has described it, for learning the Missouri River. Hiring a guide and asking him/her a bunch of questions allows you to learn the…

Hump Day Brown Trout

Hump Day Brown Trout

April 12, 2017

Headhunters Life

Brown Trout, JP, Maine Boys

Hump Day Brown Trout JP with this nice Brown Trout Sunday in the snow. Fishing a streamer. Directly before the boat ramp. Maybe last cast, or second to last cast before beaching the Adipose. Bam. Brown Trout. Lesson? As in…

Monday April 10th Missouri River Stats

April 10, 2017

April, Bugs, Flows, Stats, Water Temps, Weather

Monday April 10th Missouri River Stats Bugs are coming. Saw a pretty good BWO hatch yesterday on the lwer river. They will show more this week. It is near! Water Flows are in the 5K range. We should see this…

Riverside Eats

April 9, 2017

Headhunters Life

Boat Lunches, Cascade MT, Craig MT, Kelli Wilson, Lunches, Morivereats.com, Riverside Eats, Wade Lunches

Riverside Eats New lunch game in town as Kelli Wilson has got a new business in Cascade rolling this spring. Riverside Eats is your lunch source on the Missouri River near Craig MT. Check out her website MoRiverEats.com for a…

Why Get Guided?

April 8, 2017

Fly Fishing Technique

$350 Guide Trips, Spring, Spring Fishing, Spring Special

Why Get Guided? We hear this question a lot in the shop. Mark has written about the subject here and here. If you’ve wondered the same question, I’d recommend that you read these links. The following is a short and timely…

Friday Midge Image

April 7, 2017

Headhunters Life

Friday Midge Image Rain and wind for th weekend. If it calms down, at all, you may find more of these today. Not a great midge spring at all. But, it is not over yet. Maybe the BWO’s will save…

Please Leave Redds Alone!

April 6, 2017

Conservation, Fly Fishing Technique, Nature

conservation, fly fishing technique, missouri river, redds, Spawning

Please leave trout redds in the river alone! Rainbow trout are actively spawning in the river now and will continue to do so for the next couple months. The Missouri River is one of the best wild trout fisheries in…

April. Craig Montana.

April 5, 2017

Headhunters Life

April. Craig Montana. All is well in downtown Craig Montana. Fishing? Some good days and some not as good. Catch rates is what I am speaking about. They are all good days…just some days you catch more fish. But thankfully…

Missouri River Bugs – April

April 3, 2017

Birds Bugs and Wildlife, Bugs, Fly Fishing Technique, Fly Tying, Nature

April, Bugs, flies, fly fishing technique, Nymphs

Last week we collected our first sample of bugs from the Missouri River below the Untouchable’s Bridge. The bugs that we collected were about what you would expect for April. Sows and scuds composed the majority of the biomass, but midges and…

Silly Sunday Scenery

April Sunday Morning Scenery

April 2, 2017

Headhunters Life

April Sunday Morning Scenery

April Sunday Morning Scenery We are here. Arrived. Sunday in April. Totally forgot about April Fools yesterday. Bummer. Enjoy the week ahead. Warm. 70F. Opening day of baseball. Today. Everybody has a chance for the series in October. Almost. Love…

New Breed Chicks Rule Chelsey Edition

New Breed Chicks Rule Chelsey Edition

March 31, 2017

New Breed Chicks

Chelsey Edition, New Breed Chicks Rule, Spring Special $350, Westsiders

New Breed Chicks Rule Chelsey Edition Chelsey and Mark were over from Missoula yesterday taking advantage of the $350 Spring Special guide trip pricing. And Chelsey clearly rules! She hooked and landed a ton of fish including a few in…

Hump Day and all is well

Hump Day and all is well

March 29, 2017

fishing report, Hump Day

Hump Day and all is well 4240cfs and a stones throw from 40F water temperature. More precipitation this week with moderate temperatures. A chance of snow showers in the forecast for the coming weekend and beyond. Don’t forget your foul…

On The Brink

March 28, 2017

Headhunters Life

I think the river is about to explode. The water color has changed a bit in the last couple of days, I’m finding fish in some unusually fast and shallow water, and yesterdays streamer bite was like in the olden…

Monday Morning Fishing Report

Monday Morning Fishing Report

March 27, 2017

End of March, fishing report, Spring Guide Trips

Monday Morning Fishing Report Headed into the final week of March. We are looking forward to leaving March. Just like February, just another annoying month as we wait for the real action to start. Not that we don’t like the…

Sunday Fishing Update

March 26, 2017

Sunday Fishing Update

Sunday Fishing Update Looks like a mix of sun snow and rain for the week ahead. Today? Some sun, 52F, and light winds from the SW. Yesterday? Pretty good out there. As far as the nymphing goes. The dry fly?…

Saturday Swing Scenery

March 25, 2017

Headhunters Life, Photography

Saturday Scenery

Out doing a little spey fishing with Missouri River first-timers Greg and Sam yesterday. The swung fly was not incredibly productive, but we did manage to score a few times. Thats Greg landing a nice Brown above. These guys are…

Paper or Plastic?

March 24, 2017

Conservation, Fly Fishing Gear

conservation, fly cups, fly fishing gear, fly storage

Paper or Plastic? Soon, you might be hearing this question at your local fly shop as well as the grocery store. AFFTA has announced that they are making recycled paper fly boxes available to fly shops as an alternative to the…

First Madison Rainbow Trout

Get Those Kids Out There!

March 23, 2017

Future Fly Fishers, Headhunters Life

Spring has pretty much sprung around here. We still need the water to warm a little to kick off the BWO, March Brown and Mothers Days Caddis hatches, but it’s not far off. Spring offers some of the easiest fly…

New Scientific Anglers Spey Lite Lines

March 22, 2017

Fly Fishing Gear

Lite, Scientific Anglers, spey

A couple of months ago, Scientific Anglers sent me a few prototypes of some new “Trout Spey” lines they were working on. I’ve been fishing them regularly and have been really impressed. They cast extremely well, and feel right (not…

Casting Range

March 20, 2017

Fly Fishing Gear, Fly Fishing Technique

TRY BEFORE YOU BUY! For many anglers springtime means “gear time”. Lots of things on the to-do list. Cleaning lines, tying flies, cleaning out that mess you call a boat bag, and for many it means some new equipment. In…

Sunday Scenery

March 19, 2017

A packed house yesterday as the weather topped 70° in downtown Craiglandia for the first time this year. Seems early to me, but most folks don’t mind shorts-and-flip-flop weather in mid-March. The parking lots were full and the Headhunters Crew spent…

Weekend Advice

March 18, 2017

There’s going to be some folks out on the water this weekend. With temps near 70’s, and minor flooding shutting down a few streams around the state, we expect to see plenty of folks on the Missouri. We’ve had plenty…

Missouri River Weekend Fishing Report

Missouri River Weekend Fishing Report

March 17, 2017

Big Shoals, BWO, fishing report, Pink, Shuttles, SmithFly, Weekend

Missouri River Weekend Fishing Report Looks like, fishes like, we are heading into that first big spring fishing transition. Many Headhunters out this week with both the staff and guided trips fishing a number of days. Consensus? Change is happening…

Mussel Update

March 15, 2017

conservation, fish wildlife and parks, invasive species, mussel

Proposed Rule Changes Last night, Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks hosted a public hearing on new rules aimed at controlling the spread of invasive mussels. The new regulations include the following: All out of state watercraft would need to be inspected…

Communication Breakdown?

March 14, 2017

Headhunters Life

Abbott and Costello, Comedy Bit, Communication

Communication Breakdown? A rock and roll tune from the first Zeppelin album. Also a problem in the drift boat between the angler and the rower. Not always a smooth path to understanding. Abbott ad Costello have a communication problem above.…

The New Kid in Town. Meet Mr. BWO

The New Kid in Town. Meet Mr. BWO

March 13, 2017

Bugs, Fishing Report

BWO, Foreshadowing, Mayfly Nymphs, Spring, Think

The New Kid in Town. Meet the BWO While we still primarily see life through pink colored fly lenses and will be for at least another month, we began flirting with a different shade of blue this week. The Blue Winged…

‘boo This Classic from Scumliner Media

March 12, 2017

Fly Fishing Video

bamboo, Montana Made, Scumliner Media, Sweetgrass Rods, Twin Bridges MT

‘boo This Classic from Scumliner Media A spring day here in central Montana. Snow on the ground and 20F. Headed toward 40F today. Warmer this week with some scattered snow showers, rain, sun, and most likely some wind. A transition…

Will we have High Water this year?

Will we have High Water this year?

March 11, 2017

high water, Saturday

Will we have High Water this year? Don’t know. But we do know we like the snow. To have high water we have to have a winter like we are having, average really, and rain from April or May onward.…