Missouri River Montana FAQ

Lots of questions from the fly fishing public about our fine river here in central Montana.

A few are genuine, a few are not as genuine and a few are funny!

A few of them appear below.

• How long is the stretch you fish? About 35 miles from Holter Dam to the community of Cascade.
• What kind of fish do you all got in that there river? Trouts mostly. Some Rocky Mountain Whitefish, a few suckers and a few Walleyes too.
• At what age do the deer turn into elk? Depends on the species I guess.
• Where is your bathroom? At the boat ramp.
• How much does that row boat cost? 4K to 14K.
• How much does a fishing tour cost? $495. What?! To go fishing for trouts?
• Do you ever get tired of eating trout?
• Where should I eat? Oh, Izaak’s of course. Or head up to the Wolf Creek and dine at The Frenchman and Me.
• Which way does the river flow? North. No way. That is impossible.
• Are you in Missouri? No we are in Montana.
• Where are the headwaters of the Missouri River? Hellroaring Creek
• While drifting and completing the day at the boat ramp sometimes somebody will ask…Did we float in a big circle?
• Do you have any magic flies? Yes. Oh yeah lots of them.
• What are the wet months? May and June.
• Do you have the Treeeco fly here? Yep. Generally gets rolling about July 5th. This year maybe earlier.
• What are the major hatches here on the Missouri? BWO’s, Midge, PMD’s, a few kinds of caddis, March Browns, Brown Drakes, some Gray Drakes, Yellow Sally’s, grasshoppers, Callibaetis, ants, and a few other minor players throughout the year.
• Do you fish the Missouri River in the winter months? Oh yeah. All 12 months. Full services all year long at Headhunters including lodging too.
• You folks have a bar in town? Yep. Joe’s open daily at 8am and late til 2am.
• What makes the Missouri River? The Jefferson, the Madison, and the Gallatin. The Ruby, the Beaverhead and the Big Hole are all  roots of the Mighty Mo.
• Are you gonna have low water this year? Are you concerned? Yes and no. It will be lower than normal. But nothing unusual either. We had the same water levels in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007 most recently. And what became of that? Higher water years in 2008-2011 and the highest population of trout we have ever seen here on the Missouri River. While we would like to have water levels closer to 5K for the summer, we cannot change it by just wishing.

Some of the most common questions we get asked around the shop. How about a question from you folks? Let us know if we can help or answer any questions that you may have!