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 can push hungry fish tight to the banks, making them prime targets for anglers fishing streamers from a boat. Structure on the bank creates mini, low-flow refuges where fish can sit and wait for their next big meal to cruise by. You’ll also find a lot of fish sitting at the upstream ends of islands or near mid-river drop-offs.
Weather
Rainy and cloudy days are great for streamer fishing. Bill Dougherty and guide Ben Hardy caught this brown trout on a streamer this past Friday amid rain showers. Frequent spring showers and thunderstorms make spring a great time to fish streamers.
Patterns
A wide range of patterns are effective on the Missouri River during the spring. Popular streamers imitate leeches, baitfish, crayfish, and sculpins. Leeches have been very productive this past winter and spring. Some of our favorite leech patterns are the Fruit Roll-Up Leech in purple-haze or olive coloring and wooly buggers like the Thin Mint. Flashy baitfish/sculpin patterns are also perennial favorites. Must-have flashy streamers include the Kreelex, Skiddish Smolt, and Coffey’s Sparkle Minnow. You should also have some olive flies like the Li’l Kim and some white flies like the Stay Hungry Streamer.
Color
There are several streamer colors that work very well. The best color one day might not be the best the next. We suggest starting each day with a pattern that you have confidence in, but be willing to change the color and/or profile of your streamer if it isn’t working. Copper, olive, white, and black are all colors that should be represented in your streamer box.
Spring Streamer Fly Tying Contest
We are giving away the gear pictured below to the angler who submits the best original streamer creation for spring fishing on the Missouri River.
How to Win
If you haven’t already, please “like” our page. To enter the contest, post a picture of your best original streamer in the comments section of the contest post pinned to the top of our page.
The contest will run from today until Friday. On Friday, the Headhunters staff will choose the streamer that they like the most and announce a winner. The winner will be chosen based on originality and how well we think the streamer will work on the Missouri River this spring.
We will mail the winner the gift package pictured above at no charge.
Think Streamers
You should be thinking about fishing some streamers this spring. Headhunters is fully stocked with effective patterns. But, every good streamer angler has his/her own patterns and variations that he/she loves. If you’re a fly tyer who has some sweet streamer patterns that you’re willing to share, please show us what you got and enter the Spring Streamer Fly Tying Contest on our Facebook page!