The Blur

Finally it truly feels like prime time.

It’s not the dropping flows (though this has certainly helped matters).
It’s not the evening caddis splattering against the windshield (though this is part of it).

It’s not the emergence of the much anticipated tricos.

It’s not the increase in the number of vehicles parked at the pullouts indicating the return of the wade anglers.

It’s not traffic shift to the dry side of the fly bins.

It’s a little bit of all of this  but the real reason we  know it’s now prime time is that we’ve completely lost track of the days which have begun to run together into “the blur” of prime time.

Early morning launches and late night take outs of the rental fleet are the main contributors to the blur and despite our best efforts to stay on top of things we’re never quite sure exactly what day it is. At this point it really doesn’t make a difference as long as we keep track of who is floating where at what time.

The blur is when we hit our stride and autopilot kicks in. Somehow the boats get launched and picked up, the guide lunches get ordered, the guests check in and the guests check out, the rooms are cleaned, the fly bins are stocked, the lawn and the plants get watered, the grass gets cut, the boats get washed,  the fill in orders get placed….and on and on it goes like a well-oiled machine, at least most of the time.

Unlike some of the other shops who have an army of employees, we run extremely lean at WCA. It’s just Zach and myself full time at the shop with  John picking up the slack and our awesome housekeeping crew doing their best to make us look good behind the scenes. And speaking of working behind the scenes, if it weren’t  for my amazing wife Sheila, the bookkeeping side would be in complete chaos so guides and other seekers of payment, if you see Sheila  thank her for the tremendous job she does in addition to her day job.

Prime Time days often consist of launching boats at dawn well before the shop is open, handling the morning rush, tending to the day to day and ending the day chasing boats at dark. It’s not unusual to work from sunup to sundown during the blur and then the next thing you know it’s August and there’s nothing to do (comparatively speaking).

Yes, it’s good to be back in The Blur.  It’s been a long time coming this season…better late than never.

It’s dry fly time on the MO’.  Flows have dropped to 7220 CFS as of this writing and wading has become a real option though it’s still bigger than what you’re probably used to so use extreme caution.

We’re on the tail end of PMD’s and the front end of Tricos with plenty of Caddis action in the evenings. Terrestrials are technically in play all summer long but ants and hoppers will soon become a staple. You can still chase bobbers if you want to as nymphing is always a great option but you can also ditch the bobber and go with the Dry /Dropper, a summer favorite on the Missouri.

Most (though certainly not all) will retire their streamer sticks for the next few months. Some of us refuse to give up and will always leave that option on the table.

We hope to see you soon at Wolf Creek Angler,  your one-stop-shop for everything Missouri River Fly Fishing.  Lodging, guides, drift boat rentals, shuttles and a shop full of everything you could possibly need for fly fishing the Missouri and beyond. Come check out the best Missouri River Fly Shop you never knew was here.