WCA Guide Nick Kaufman with a dry fly eating Missouri River brown. This is how we spend our days off.

WCA Guide Nick Kaufman with a dry fly eating Missouri River brown. This is how we spend our days off.

The spring crescendo continues on the Missouri as the daylight hours stretch and the bugs intensify and the numbers of fish feasting on the surface increase almost daily.
BWO’s, midges, March Browns and rumours of Caddis in the canyon mean the dry fly fishing is about to go insane and while you wait the nymphing has been keeping rods bend daily river wide.
We don’t have much new to report on the nymphing side of it. Green Machines are THE bug of choice. Shallow rigging has been successful depending on the day and the time of day and the deeper rigs are consistently working on the sunnier days which we’ve had no shortage of lately. Try a purple weight fly, Tungsten Tailwater Sow, Wire Worm, Hot Belly PT or a tan czech for a point fly and follow it with your LGM, S & M, Peep, Military May, Micro May, Magic Fly, Olive WD40. 2 Bit Hooker or various sow bug patterns and search the water columns until you find the fish. A BB split or two helps on the longer rigs, go weightless on the short rigs – the tungsten beads will get you where you need to be.
If you find fish up throw the kitchen sink at them. If you want to keep it simple throw an Adams and a bwo cdc emerger at them and build from there. We’ve got all kinds of cool BWO patterns at the ready. Come check them out and see if you can find something you like, chances are pretty good that if you like your bugs you will fish them with confidence and the fish will like them too.
How about streamers? We’ve been throwing them and getting some fish to move on Sparkle Minnows, Tan Circus Peanuts and brown Polar Leeches. Overcast skies on tap for tomorrow – could be a great streamer day which will give you something to do while you’re out there looking for heads.
Stop by the shop for a shuttle on your way out and stock up on all the dries, nymphs and streamers you will need as well as leaders, tippet, tools, Flyagra, Strike Foundry Lil Nugget Indicators, Buffs, Kast Extreme Fishing Gear and all kinds of cool WCA logo gear.