Fact: Fishing is good.
Fiction: It’s no good anywhere in Montana, including the Missouri River in Craig Montana.
Fact: Fishing is good in Montana, and the Missouri River. Well, I cannot speak for the other rivers, but as we focus the majority of our fly fishing here on the Missouri, we are hyper sensitive to the misinformation about this consistent resource.
Fiction: “The water is too warm, right?”
Fact: No, the water temps this morning are below 63F. Cooler days and cooler nights will keep it lower than commonly known. Here-say will kill you brother.
Fiction: Is it too low to fish?
Fact: No, the water levels while quite low this last month have come back an are up 20% in the last week. 3600cfs is a fantastic dry fly flow. Reminiscent of some of the great dry fly years from your memories.
Fiction: It’s too weedy for good fishing. Some may state that some sections on any given day are too weedy. Too weedy for great nymphing, yes. The afternoons are the toughest as the daytime use will pop some weeds loose from the shore and inundate the water column. A normal occurrence here and many Montana rivers. Live and deal with it. Dry fly fish and you will have no issues. See, a simple solution.
Fact: Weeds are present every summer. Some worse than others. This is not a bad weed year, at all. The high water years prove to have more weeds as they grow toward the surface during high water periods, and wehn the water drops, t4he river volume is greater with the increased volume of said weeds. Hey mister, the weeds provide insect habitat…lots of it.
Fiction: The dam is crowded. No, yes, that is fact. It shakes out as the day moves forward. Not terrible. No fist fights or anything like that to report here. It is a circus, definitely.
Fact: If you like cool and techy dry fly fishing, this is your river. There are targets out there. Find them. Certainly enough to get you through the morning. The afternoons? I’d watch I Love Lucy re-runs.
Fiction: Aliens crashed our websites.
Fact: No. It was headed up by a couple of Zombies.
Montana Fishing Report
Missouri River Dry Fly Report
Good to great dry fly fishing in the mornings. Difficult and finicky Missouri River fish will greet you in shadow lines to start. Then a pretty good Trico pop will keep you occupied until the PMD spinner fall. The PMD’s are waning and who knows how much longer they will be around and a factor. Caddis in the mornings and afternoons are certainly the right choice. Terrestrials are a good bet too.
Your choice really for the dry fly. Me, Squeeky, is a presentation guy. So, lots of flies will work. Generally the one you got one is the one he will eat. Make it good and dead. Most of our fish are eating dead flies.
PMD’s, Trico’s, and Caddis are best when dead or dying.. Flies like the Spent Caddis, Henryvilles, Stocking Wings, Bob Kieth’s array of killer caddis patterns @ Headhunters Fly Shop, Harrop’s PMD Crips and spinners, and dead Trico’s too. Crips and spents seems to be the theme nearly all year. Yes in the summer. Dead stuff does not move, so keep the drifts dead like and you will be rewarded with live trout.
Missouri River Nymphing Report
Good to great on ay given day. The upper river is the focus for the nymph gang. The Dam twice is a route that some are engaging in. WC to Craig is another idea. Craig down? Small Zebra’s, Little Green Machine’s, Micro-Mays, WD-40’s Newman’s Own, Arnold’s Sili-Scuds, Purple Weight Flies, Bloom’s Tung Dart’s, Firebeads, RS2’s and worms. Get ’em.
Missouri River Weather
[forecast]Days in the low to mid 70’s and nights into the low and mid 50’s. Great for the health of the river. Will it really turn on with the shift in weather? Maybe. No complaints now,but we wouldn’t complain if it got better either.
We will see a shift in lower water temps with this weather trend in front of us. Bring it.
Shop open early for your river needs @ 5am. See you here late too as we are open late for shuttles, fly rods, demo lines, flies, information, and lodging needs. Call if you would like for up to the minutte river information. We got yer back. 1-877-379-3597