All is well here on the MO as we settle into summer and watch the BLUR commence.

Early mornings and late nights are the order of the day as guide trips have been starting extra early in an effort to beat that afternoon heat. Round two starts as afternoon shifts to evening and the night shift hits the water in search of caddis and rising fish, both of which are being found with some regularity by those who know where to look.

Evening and early morning parking spots have been at a premium these last couple of weeks at WCA with a full house most nights and piles of drift boats and rafts filling the lot. It’s the kind of thing that irritates me for a second or two when I pull up to the shop in the morning and there’s no place for me to park but then it strikes me that my little shop is packed to the gills with guides and guests and this is a thing that exceeds anything I ever envisioned when we opened our doors seven years ago. It’s truly awesome!

The “Hot” bugs of the year have been identified and I’ve heard it said that we’re the only shop in the area that has a few of these which is now a moot point as our bins have now been emptied but it was fun while it lasted. More on the way, no promises when we’ll have them.

So what are the hot bugs? Stop by the shop for all the latest Intel. Generally speaking it’s a PMD and Caddis game both on top and underneath. Your dry fly arsenal should include plenty of PMD spinners and cripples and various caddis varieties including Cornfed and CDC emergers. We also like Outrigger Caddis, Blooms Parachute Caddis, Iceberg Caddis and MO River CDC Caddis. PMD go do dries include Sprouts, Hi-Vis Spinners (PMD and Rusty), CDC Spinners, Flash Cripples, CDC PMD Emergers, Snowshoe Emergers and the like.

The subsurface game has been led by Weight Flies (Purple or Gold), Tung Darts, Caddis Pupa, Frenchies, Split Case PMD’s, Magic Fly (PMD or Rusty), PMD Redemption, S & M’s, Nitro Caddis, Peep Shows, Tailwater Sows and PT’s.

Early starts, afternoon siestas and late nights on the water define summer on the MO and it’s all happening right now.

The water is disturbingly low but we’re making the best of it. Low water changes the game. In some respects it shrinks the fishable real estate but this is offset by an increase in walk wade spots.

Embrace the change and adapt…you really have no choice but to do so.

We’re doing all we can to keep a shop full of product and I feel like we’re doing a pretty good job doing so all things considered but we are running up against supply chain issues just like everyone else. There are a lot of things that are hard to come by these days, among them certain flies, waders, leaders, tippet and such but most disappointingly we have yet to see any of our logo wear. We ended up cancelling an order or two due to the fact that they remain weeks out but we’re looking for alternative sources and will hopefully have something available soon. In the meantime, we apologize for the inconvenience. Nothing bums me out more than not having a wide selection of options for all of you who are looking to rep our brand. We’re doing our best and will hopefully have something available soon. Thank you for your patience.

Official Summer Shop Hours are 7:00 AM – 6:00 PM daily.