So much to look forward to here October fishing Montana’s Missouri River
Pretty stoked for the upcoming month of October here fishing Montana’s Missouri River. Once my favorite month, and still may be. I’ll tell you if it has become my fav again in November!
Light(er) Traffic. So far a relatively light schedule in October. Of course that can change daily. A quite strong September may bleed into October here fishing the Mo. Our booking team has been lighting up the calendar with more and more lodging and guide trips as I write this update.
But as I write a light schedule. If you like solace look towards late October and November all the way up to the Turkey Holiday. Swingers just love this period as the weeds re dissipating and the bite is seeming to amplify as the months, October and November, progress.
Events we love here in Craig About October
Swing Season
Two Handers get revved up for the fall months. Arguably their favorite time to be on the Mo. As the water cools the bite heats up. After the insects leave, late in October, and thru the Thanksgiving holiday the fish turn their attention to the larger soft hackle or any one of the many leech patterns our trout love!
Get out your Trout Spey rods check the line, clean the guides, assess your swing gear needs and start to get prepared for action! Follow the Headhunters Blog this coming month for lots more about Swing Season!
A reminder, Headhunters has all you need in the Trout Spey gear category. Rods, lines, reels, tips, leaders, flies, and accessories. Your One Stop Swing Shop!
PS: Much more swing gear to come this fall, we will keep you up to date here on this blog.
Steamer Fishing Montana’s Missouri River
Streamer Chuckers come out of the wood work. Sometimes. Some years. You’ll see a few to quite A few fishing guides from other parts of the state and country come out for a long fall stay camping in Craig, eating at Izaak’s, finishing for a night cap at Joe’s. Fishing guides love to fish. And to the Mo they journey in the fall.
A streamer rod in the boat is a good call in Q3 and finishing in Q4.
Short Leash Nymphing
If you like to catch a bunch of fish on the Mo, employ this rig daily. Specifically in the afternoons. For the BWO bite. Look it up, ask a guide, book a guide, or come by the shop for the rigging instructions. Or we will post about it soon, maybe later this week. OK, I’ll get on it.
No weight, a tunghead beaded fly, and a non weighted fly. Or two small baetis nymphs. Or a small brass bead, and a unweighted fly behind it.
And short. Like less than 3 feet.
The Bite!
Getting better daily. Been an average September with lots of happy anglers. Has it been on fire? No, not really, good enough. Catch rates are good if you can shake those damn weeds. Will the weed s leave? Oh, at some point. But it is getting better. Not that it was all that bad. But October is good and late September is good, and we are looking forward to more! Water temps dip, anglers decrease, the colors become more vibrant, and we enjoy each day fully.
Soon the darkness will be upon us as we row off the river.
Blue Winged Olives
Coming soon. Look for water temps in the 50’s before we get too excited. The baby B-WO’s are here and good afternoon hatches have become a part of our day.
Weeds
Weeds will be gone. Not yet. But a good release is happening and the surface volume has been reduced as of the past couple hard freezes. Swingers are not terribly bothered by it at this point, and our nymph game has not suffered in the past couple weeks because of them. Some days of course worse than others. They are historically gone in November. Sometimes.
Not really an issue for the dry fly fellers. I believe that the weeds will have left our blog conversations in a couple weeks or sooner.
October and November on the Mo. No place I’d rather be. Hope to see you folks on the water as well. Call the Fall Fishing Hotline at 406-235-3447 for any up to date info and booking questions.
Hooray! Fall is here fishing Montana’s Missouri River.
