Weekend Fishing Report 7.28.22

A nice late July here on the banks of the Missouri River near Craig Montana. Thanks Tim Plaska for the cool Craig Bridge Trico image!

Water temps 65F. Dropped a bit this week. Will likely continue to drop as the month moves towards August. A cooler month than July. July is the hottest. August? Second in line.

Water Flows 4320cfs. Historically, average. Quite good for the time, and the fish like it.

Weeds? Pretty bad in the lower reaches, canyon. Nymphers not heading that direction. Too weedy. Up top? YEs weeds too. Afternoon nymphing is difficult with the weed volume. Start p top for the cleanest water. More weeds growing daily. Looks like it will be a weedy one, 2022.

Dry fly, the techy kind, best above the Mid Canon junction. Blind dry good below.

Trico’s? Strong. Spinner falls daily. Getting smarter. The trout, on the Trico. Smarter. Good drifts early in the game. That is key. The 77th drift is not your good, one, man. 

Caddis? Yup. Great in the evenings. Good during the day. Tent Wings Unite.

PMD’s? Spinner falls in the pm, have been really quite good. I think they hatch at night, when we are not watching. But they sun during the daytime. A theory? Yes. A good one? Well, I think so. Trusty Rusty. The longtime locals fly, of the Mo.

Ants? Flying, black.

Hoppers? Dirty Yellow, Dusty Chartreuse, and Muted Peach. Flavors of 2022. Mid river faster flows.

Nymphers? Caddis Pupa, and a PMD Nymph. 4′-5′ with split. The Girdle is coming out of its shell. Come in for a great selection of the infamous Zzzzirdle.

August could be good?

Enjoy your weekend in the west.