Weekend Missouri River Fishing Report 7.22.22
Theo with this nice brown on a PMD recently
Welcome to the weekend. So good for som may out there in Headhunters Land. Specifically if you like dry fly fishing to rising trout, or blind fishing an ant or hopper, or nimpin’ ’em into the net, you are gonna like what you see.
Weekends bring all kinds of river floaters out during the summer period. Busy in the afternoons with the high and bright sunshine attracting runners and drinkers. Fun floaters galore! If you like to dry fly fish, go early. If you like to nymph, go early. If you like to hopper fish…go anytime.
Flows 4260cfs. Water temps 66F. Weed levels on a scale of 1-10 are at a 2. Raising that number as the hot air temps bring up the water temps and increase accordingly, bring up the weeds, and so forth.
We have fallen off the July Cliff and angler days are waning through the next 6 weeks. Gets rolling again September 5th. A historical uptick in local and visiting anglers as the nymphing bite heats up again, a nd the weeds, well, they are sort-of waning at that point. It only takes a month to send them down river. Sometimes, longer.
Trico’s are the primary gig for the dry fly angler right now. Hoepfully through the next month. Sometimes the hatch is 6 weeks, other years 8 weeks, and some years some decent morning spinner falls through the middle of September. This year? Ahh, we don’t know.
Trico patterns that we love include the Double Winged Spinner, Quill’s Cluster, Buzzballs, Adams, CDC Cluster Midge, Harrops Hanging Midge, Griffith’s Gnat, Hi Vis Quill para Spinner, Guide WInna-Spinna Trico, Harrops Hi-VIz Trico, CDC Para Spinner Trico, Quigley’s Hackle Stacker Trico…
Great dead drifts catch trout that are eating dead insects. DEAD FLIES DON’T SWIM.
Draggers need not apply.
PMD Spinner falls int he afternoon can keep you in the games as the Trico Spinners head downstream and sink. Trust Rusty will do the trick.
Caddis are good. Skittering and dead and emerging are all good options. Evenings have been strong for 90 minutes. Not the last hour, the second to last hour. The wind can about as well making for a special period not e h water, daily/nightly.
Patterns the caddis lovers, love, include Translucent Emerger, Translucent Pupa, Harrop’ Missing Lines, Body Double, Harrop’s Palmered Caddis, Harrops HF Caddis, TFP Hi Vis Spent, Corn Fed Caddis is killer, Double Duck, Tape Wing, Bloom’s Caddis. Hi-Viz tape Wing, Flambe Caddis, CDC Caddis Emerger.
The nymphers like Purple Weight Fly, Split Case PMD, BH Bubble Back PMD, Frenchie is in stock here at HH of Craig, Tungsten Jig Frenchie, Tungsten Jig SF PMD, Zebra, Tung Jig Fire Perdigon, Tung Jig Nightmare Perdigon, Tung Jig PMD, Tung Split Case Jig PMD, Trigger Nymph, Tungsten Redemption PMD, S & M PMD, Sows of course…
Headhunters Fly Shop open daily 6am for shuttles, guide trips, lodging, the Best Flies Under the Big Sky, friendly fly shop staff, maps, coffee, and ice, of course.