Fly Fishing Technique Archives - Page 3 of 4

spey, Swing Season, troutspey

The 2017-18 Spey season has begun on the Missouri River, and it’s time to layout the gear we use while swinging the Mo’. Last season we began a transition from 6 and 7 weight spey outfits down to true ultralight…

How to Clean a Fly Line Part 1

October 10, 2017

Fly Line Health, RIO, video

How to Clean a Fly Line Part 1 I love clean fly lines. Who doesn’t? Today on the Headhunters Blog we have a vid from RIO about how to get it clean. Want ultimate performance from your fly line? Clean…

Chartreuse Little Green Machine

October 3, 2017

Baetis, blue winged olive, Fall Fly Fishing, fly tying, Little Green Machine, nymph

Blue Winged Olives With snow the last couple days, river temps are continuing to drop. This morning the water temp was 54.5 degrees. As this trend continues, we will continue to see lots of pseudos. Before too long we will…

2 Spots Open for Headhunters Fly Shop Advanced Fly Fishing School

September 17, 2017

2 spots open for the first session of the Headhunters Advanced Fly Fishing School October 5-8. Call today for add’l info! Headhunters Fly Shop Advanced Fly Fishing School Want to get better at fishing the Missouri River? Want to improve…

3 Hot Missouri River Rigs for the Weekend

September 8, 2017

Autumn, dry fly, Dry-Dropper, Fall, Hot Rigs, Nymphing, Technique

3 Hot Missouri River Rigs for the Weekend We have not turned the corner but the daily river reports from anglers up and down are becoming more consistent as we move beyond the first week of September. We love September…

Six Essential Flies For The Missouri River

September 1, 2017

Fly Fishing Technique, Fly Tying, Headhunters Life

essential flies, flies, fly sale, fly tying, missouri river

A couple days ago, I was digging through one of my fly tying drawers and I found an old shuttle sheet. The shuttle sheet was dated December 29, 2015. On the back of it were scribbled several lists of six…

Trout Flies By Gary Lafontaine

August 15, 2017

books, Buzzball, flies, fly tying, Gary LaFontaine

I have always loved the writing of Gary Lafontaine. The first post I ever wrote for this blog was about his theory of color attraction. I have read a lot of books about fly fishing and fly tying, but Trout…

Spents and Spinners

July 13, 2017

Bugs, Fly Fishing Technique

Spents and Spinners Dead shit. That is what we throw. July is full of dead bugs. And live ones too. The dead ones are easier to eat. Honest. Fish them with confidence. As you can see I am becoming sun…

Sunday Mid-Summer Missouri River Tips

July 9, 2017

Dry Flies, July, tips

Sunday Mid-Summer Missouri River Tips A few quick tips from your friends at Headhunters Fly Shop in downtown Craig Montana this sunny and seasonal Sunday Mid-Summer morning. The fishing is great. Get out early and enjoy the day before the…

Crawfish Flies For the Missouri River

June 12, 2017

Crawfish, Crayfish, flies, Nymphing, Spring Fishing

At some point every spring, trout in the Missouri River start eating a lot of crawfish. It is difficult to know exactly when this will happen, but below are some facts that should aid in your angling success. The Spring Spawn…

High Water Vid from a few years back

May 31, 2017

Fly Fishing Technique, Fly Fishing Video

high water, high water nymphing, June, Mark, May, nymphing techniques, Sara

High Water Vid from a few years back A quick video from 6 years back, our last high water era, with instructional overtones. While this video is a few years old, it still applies to us today. Meaning today! Fish…

Juvie Jigger Streamer Strikes!

May 27, 2017

flies, fly tying, missouri river, Spring Fishing, Streamers

Juvie Jigger Streamer At the end of April, Headhunters hosted a Spring Streamer Fly Tying Contest on our Facebook page. We received a ton of awesome entries. Choosing a winner was tough. Each shop staffer and several guides selected their…

Try the Dry Dropper Rig

May 10, 2017

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…

Hangman Spey Video – Mike McCune

May 8, 2017

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…

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…

Spring Streamers / Streamer Fly Tying Contest

April 24, 2017

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…

Stalcup’s Cluster Midge

April 20, 2017

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…

Rowing 101

April 13, 2017

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…

Why Get Guided?

April 8, 2017

$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…

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…

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…

Casting Range

March 20, 2017

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…

Casting Lessons

March 7, 2017

casting. lessons

Over the years, we have provided casting lessons to all kinds of people in all kinds of scenarios. But they have always been by request, including our popular spey casting clinics over the winter months. Recently we have seen an…

Headhunters Fly Shop Advanced Fly Fishing School

March 1, 2017

dry fly, Headhunters Fly Shop Advanced Fly Fishing School, Missouri River Technique, Nymphing, School, Streamer, Technique

Headhunters Fly Shop Advanced Fly Fishing School Want to get better at fishing the Missouri River? Want to improve your dry fly cast? Presentation? Fish finding skills? Well we do too! And this fall we once again offer Headhunters Fly…

Freddy Fly Step By Step

February 16, 2017

flies, fly fishing technique, fly tying

Freddy Fly Step By Step Before the Chubby Chernobyl, John Foust’s Freddy Fly (or Fat Freddy) was a staple pattern throughout the West. Foust invented the fly for the waters around Missoula, but it has caught fish all over the world.…

Fishing Report – Get Out There!

February 12, 2017

Fishing Report, Fly Fishing Technique, Headhunters Life, Nature

fishing report, fly fishing technique, Missouri River Montana Fishing Report, Weather, winter

This Past Week It’s hard to believe that the Super Bowl was only one week ago. A lot has changed on the river in the past week. We received significant snow fall during the middle of last week that added to the…

Trout Spey Rigs: Braden

January 6, 2017

braden, gear, MOW Tips, OPST, Rigging Techniques, RIO, SAGE, SIMMS, spey

Trout Spey Rigs: Braden Today on the Headhunters Fly Shop Blog we have Braden’s Trout Spey Rig. We thought it would be helpful if we outlined what we use here on the Missouri River during the Swing Season. Braden, and…

Sub Zero Saturday

December 17, 2016

double, spey

Not much to report on this sub-zero Saturday. Too cold for pretty much any and everything. So, lets learn through observation. Here’s a short clip I shot at the request of a customer a couple of weeks ago. Aerial shots…

Next Troutspey Clinic – Jan. 28 & 29

December 8, 2016

clinic, spey, troutspey

Our next Troutspey Clinics will be held Jan. 28th and 29th. You can expect the emphasis to be on trout and Skagit techniques with lightweight rods. Over the years our clinics have slowly morphed from a Scandi influenced general casting…

Early Swing Season Tips

October 4, 2016

The two-handed crowd is beginning to show up for the fall streamer experience. Last year I stated it was a bit early. I still think that, with the opportunity to present dry flies to 20-inchers on a daily basis, but…

2016-17 Spey Clinics

September 30, 2016

clinics, spey, troutspey

MONTANA TROUTSPEY The Swing Season is upon us, and we are starting to line up our free Spey Clinics for the 2016-17 season. Folks are asking about it and many have already swung a fish or three this season. Our…

Fishpond Drifty Boat Caddie

August 29, 2016

Boat BAg, drifty boat caddie, fishpond, gear

I’ve been using the Fishpond Drifty Boat Caddie this summer and I’ve been loving it. Here are the main reasons why this product has become essential for my fishing: Storage I love flies. The Fishpond Drifty Boat Caddie holds all…

Missouri River Ant Fest! Are you an Ant Addict?

August 15, 2016

Bugs, Fly Fishing Technique

Ants, Fly Pattern, Missouri River Ant Fest, Terrestrial

Missouri River Ant Fest I got an order for ants about 25 years ago. I was tying commercially and this feller wanted a couple hundred ants. What kind of ants I asked? He said quite simply…”Oh tie me up a…

Freshwater Drum – Did You Know?

August 9, 2016

drum, freshwater, Justin

Our good friend and Adipose Boatworks GM Justin Waayenberg recently posted a picture on Social Media showing off a Montana Freshwater Drum he caught somewhere in Eastern Montana, and I asked him to put together a few words and images for us.…

A few Secrets for July Missouri River Fly Fishing

July 14, 2016

Caddis, July, Techniques, tips, Trico's PMD's

A few Secrets for July Missouri River Fly Fishing Anglers come into the store and ask a ton of questions. We love to answer all that we can. And we do! We’ll let you in on a few of the…

Missouri River Bugs – July

July 11, 2016

Bugs, Fly Fishing Technique, Photography

fly fishing technique, fly tying, Nymphs, photography

Missouri River bugs The following are some pictures of Missouri River bugs that were collected just downstream of the Mid Cañon boat ramp on July 7th. It has been a month since our last bug post, so some of the bugs…

Missouri River Dry Fly Myths

June 26, 2016

Fishing Report, Fly Fishing Technique

Missouri River Dry Fly Myths

Missouri River Dry Fly Myths A few Missouri River Dry Fly Myths for your pleasure today on the Headhunters Fly Shop Blog. The Mo is fishing well with the trout getting smarter daily. The Buzzball works every drift. No, untrue.…

Brown Drakes

June 24, 2016

Brown, Drake

I have been chasing Brown Drake emergences for almost 30 years. For years on Silver Creek, a bit on the Henry’s Fork, and since I saw one on the Missouri, which was 15 years ago. They’ve been seen lately. I don’t…

How to (not) catch Missouri River dry fly fish

June 13, 2016

DFO, dry fly, June, Summer, Techniques, tips, What not to do

How to (not) catch Missouri River dry fly fish A few of the ways that we as Missouri River dry fly anglers keep ourselves out of fish are listed and explained in this short and factual Monday morning fly fishing…

Missouri River Bugs – June

June 7, 2016

Birds Bugs and Wildlife, Bugs, Fly Fishing Technique, Nature, Photography, Uncategorized

Bugs, flies, fly fishing technique, June, Nymphs, phtography

Missouri River Bugs The following are some pictures of bugs from the Missouri River that were collected in June a couple miles upstream of Craig. These images will hopefully aid in your fly design and/or fly selection while you are fishing this…

PMD’s On Deck

June 3, 2016

Hodek, Nymen, PMD, Quigley, Silverman

This weeks warm weather should get the Pale Morning Dun’s cranked up. Our very favorite Missouri River hatch. PMD’s epitomize downstream dry fly presentations on flat water. And the trout love them. That first week or 10 days is always…

Dry Fly Leaders: Please Add Tippet

June 1, 2016

dry fly, leader, tippet

Some high-tech dry fly fishing is just around the corner here on the Missouri River, and a little discussion about leader design and tippet length is in order. The leader can be the most important element to any dry fly rig. For…

Take Your Kids Fly Fishing

May 25, 2016

fishing, kids, School

School has or is winding up for most people in the region, and it’s time to think about getting those kids out on the water. It’s pretty easy to let them lay around the house for a week or 3.…

Sage On the Water Tour in Craig Montana

May 13, 2016

Sage On the Water Tour in Craig Montana Craig Caddis Fest weaken is approaching and we are damn excited. Next Saturday is the event. This year the gang at Sage has decided they better attend this annual event. So, the…

May Missouri River Fishing Forecast

May 9, 2016

Bugs, Fishing Report, Fly Fishing Technique

BWO's, Canyon Ferry, dry fly, fishing report, Forecast, Hatches, Inflows, March Browns, May, Mother's Day Caddis, Nymphing, Outflows, Projection, Streamer

May Missouri River Fishing Forecast Today on the Headhunters Fly Shop Blog you get the May Missouri River Fishing Forecast. What to expect, wish for, and believe for the month ahead. Missouri Rive May Weather and Water Forecast May is…

McCune/Gould Spey Sessions Recap

May 3, 2016

Fly Fishing Technique, Headhunters Life, Troutspey

Gould, mccune, spey

Another long weekend of Spey Casting instruction with Mike McCune and Whitney Gould is in the books. We held 3 classes this year in what turned out to be absolutely perfect weather. No wind. 3 days in a row. In…

McCune/Gould Spey Clinic 4 Spots open Sunday May 1st!

April 25, 2016

April 29, April 30, clinic, May 1st, spey

McCune/Gould Spey Clinic 4 spots available on Sunday May 1st for the McCune/Gould Spey Clinic a week from now. This is a world class spey event held here on the Missouri River for those who want to go to the…

Headhunters Fly Shop Advanced Fly Fishing School

Headhunters Advanced Fly Fishing School

April 19, 2016

Fly Fishing Technique, Future Fly Fishers, Headhunters Life

Cold Dry, Fall 2016, Fly Fishing, Fly Fishing School, HEadhunters, Nymphing, nymphing techniques, On the Water, School, Techniques

Headhunters Advanced Fly Fishing School Introducing the Headhunters Advanced Fly Fishing School on Montana’s famed Missouri River. Yes, in the past few years we here at Headhunters have had many requests to present a school for those who want to…

Stocking Wing Caddis Step By Step

March 16, 2016

Bugs, Fly Fishing Technique

Caddis, fly fishing technique, fly tying, step by step, stocking wing caddis

Stocking Wing Caddis Step By Step During the caddis fly hatch on the Missouri River, it’s a good idea to have several patterns with differing profiles in your box including there Stocking Wing Caddis. It makes sense to have some high floating…

Last Headhunters 2016 Free Spey Clinic

March 7, 2016

clinic, HEadhunters, Montana, spey

In some incredibly balmy weather on Saturday – high 60’s – we held our final free spey clinic off the 2015-16 winter season. The full house enjoyed the usual classroom presentation, light winds, a wide variety of lines and rods,…

In Defense of Switch Lines…. Just Kidding.

February 16, 2016

Fly Fishing Gear, Fly Fishing Technique, Troutspey, Uncategorized

spey, switch. lines

Lately I’ve seen a resurgence in the dreaded “switch” line. Particularly on newer spey rigs purchased regionally. At our last clinic there were no less than 3 new outfits present rigged with switch lines. All were recommended as part of a rod/reel/line…

A Chilly Spey Clinic

January 18, 2016

spey

Our rescheduled January Spey clinic took place in some Chilly conditions on Saturday. As you can see in the image above, plenty of ice in those snake guides. Plenty. Despite the fridgid temperatures, we had a full house and no…

Mike McCune & Whitney Gould Spey Clinic

January 18, 2016

Fly Fishing Technique, Headhunters Life, Troutspey

clinic, Gould, mccune, spey

The dates are set for our 2016 spey sessions with Mike McCune & Whitney Gould. For those looking for some hands-on Spey instruction in a small 3:1 classroom setting, you’ll find no better opportunity. Mike & Whitney are among the worlds best Spey-casters…

Fly Tying Night In America This Wednesday

January 11, 2016

flies, fly tying

This Wednesday (1/13/16) at 6:00 PM Headhunters will be hosting the first Fly Tying Night in America session of the season. Hopefully we’ll be welcoming back some familiar faces from last winter as well as some new tiers. If you’ve…

Spey Clinic Bumped

January 6, 2016