Winter Recedes and fall returns this week on the Missouri

Following a weekend that felt more like late January than late October it looks like fall returns starting today as temps climb back into the 40’s today and 50’s tomorrow through the weekend. It looks like we could even be bumping up against 60 degrees early next week so hopefully you hadn’t given up on 2020 fall fishing just yet.

Friday’s winter storm dumped over 20 inches at my house in Helena. Wolf Creek didn’t see quite that much snow but slippery roads, single digit temps and dangerous wind chills kept all but the most hard core anglers off the water this weekend.

Every fall there seems to be a day where it’s just abundantly clear that fall fishing is over. And while it’s generally considerably later in the fall than this I have to say that after fishing the front end of that system on Friday, battling sketchy roads driving home as the storm settled in, spending the better part of Saturday morning digging out, spending most of the weekend on the couch watching the snow fly and white knuckling it to Wolf Creek on Sunday to make sure the plumbing hadn’t frozen, I had a difficult time not proclaiming the season over.

Even with the warm up in the forecast I was having a hard time getting past the fact that my vehicles were buried under literally feet of snow and it’s only October!

Warm breezes this morning however have me thinking differently. The snow is disappearing as I write and the forecast looks good. Not fall Baetis good mind you, but if you weren’t quite ready for winter and want a few more of those pleasant autumn days before we descend into winter’s cold then you should like what’s coming. An abundance of sunshine and moderate temps on tap for the next 10 days will likely bring a substantial bump in angler traffic though with hunting in full swing I still wouldn’t expect it to be overwhelmingly busy.

Izaak’s has closed for the season. Shotgun Annie’s will reportedly be open through Thanksgiving and I believe The Oasis is still serving food but this time of year your best bet might just be stocking up on groceries and staying with us. All of our remaining open units with the exception of Cabin #3 are equipped with kitchens and there are gas grills available for your use.

The warm-up has filled our available lodging starting tomorrow through the weekend but it looks like the nice weather will extend into next week. We’re tentatively planning on closing the cabins late next week but we’ll let bookings (or lack thereof) dictate that decision. The Bungalows will be open and available all winter long. 

As you might expect, the warmer weather has brought with it a fair amount of wind so be prepared for that. 15 – 21 mph out of the south today with gusts as high as 29 and a little better tomorrow with sustained south wind at around 11 mph, gusting to 20. Expect similar conditions through the weekend.

Once again, between the sunshine and the wind I wouldn’t expect much on the dry fly front though last light could be good but nymphing and streamer fishing should be good. We’re hearing some solid reports from those swinging as well so keep that in your repertoire.

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