PMD’s are what’s on the menu. Stop by Wolf Creek Angler for the widest selection of Missouri River flies ever assembled under one roof in Wolf Creek Montana.

PMD’s, Caddis, Big Browns, Big Bows, hot sunny days, short cool nights, large pods of hungry fish, rooms full of fishy friends old and new from anywhere and everywhere…..it’s full-on summer fishing season here on the Missouri….this is what we came here for.

It’s the time of year for long hours in the shop followed by amazing evening fishing river-wide and hopefully the occasional jaunt over the hill to escape the much loved craziness, if just for an hour or two while exploring endless secret wilderness waters.

The dry-fly fishing has been very good all week with plenty of opportunities presenting themselves if you put in your time. PMD’s river-wide and caddis continuing to be the game below Craig. Best PMD patterns have been Flash Cripples, Helen Kellers, Eric’s Rusty Spinners, CDC PMD Emergers, Buzz Balls and of course Parachute Adams. Big movers in the Caddis department have been the Outrigger Caddis, X- Caddis, Poly Spent Caddis, Cinnamon Caddis, Cornfed Caddis and perhaps our best selling bug overall – the CDC Grey/Tan Caddis Emerger.

Nymphing has been solid as well with tailwater sows and PMD nymphs ruling the day in the top section. The same stuff is working well from Craig on down but if you’re nymphing those middle and lower stretches be sure to add some sort of caddis pupa into the mix. We’ve probably sold more split case PMD’s than any other nymph this week – both the beadless and the tungsten versions. Other big movers from the nymph bin this week have been Light Peep Shows, PMD Wondernymphs, Mat’s Autocad, Superflash PMD, PMD Magic Flies, Tung Darts, Purple Weight Flies, PMD PSycho Mays and Gold Lightning Bugs.

The weekend forecast is for partly sunny skies and highs near 80 before we begin to cook late next week when temps will soar into the mid to high 90’s.

We’re open at 6:30 am daily for all of your Missouri River fly fishing needs. Piles of Missouri River flies, shuttles, Ro Drift Boats(including the brand new Tailwater Skiff), sun protetection, wading gear, St Croix High Stick Drifter and Bank Robber Demo Rods, awesome summer logo gear from Simms, guide wear from Kast Extreme Fishing Gear, all the tools and accessories you need and much ,much more.

Dave back at it on the MO. Great way to start your season!

Can you deliver the perfect reach cast? If not you may have a day or two to get away with some less-than-perfect presentations as the fish gorge with reckless abandon on this month’s featured entree but get it dialed in because it’s only going to get more difficult as the fish quickly recall that those bugs that are skating and/or dragging tend to sting a bit and don’t taste all that good.

Summer-like weather all week with plenty of sunshine, a few clouds and temps hovering around 80.

It’s Prime Time on the Missouri.

Stop by the shop on your way to the river for shuttles and piles of PMD’s. We’ve got the bugs and everything else you need for your day on the water and we’re just a few minutes from Holter Dam and Wolf Creek Bridge. Nobody is closer!

Now open at 6:30 AM daily. See you bright and early in the shop and on the water.

River Series handmade wood fly boxes from A.L. Swanson Craftsman Studio in Helena Montana. Available now at Wolf Creek Angler.

We’ve recently started selling handmade River Series wood fly boxes from A.L. Swanson. They are beautiful boxes made in Helena Montana and constructed from sustainably harvested lumber, inlaid with exotic woods, metals and shell. They feature inlaid shell and earth magnet closures, brass hinges….the whole nine yards.

The River Series features three different size boxes from three classic Montana rivers, each box with it’s own unique characteristics just like their namesakes, the Missouri, the Madison and the Smith Rivers.

Starting at $129 these boxes aren’t cheap but they are a perfect Montana keepsake for the fly anglers in your life and we think they make a perfect Father’s Day gift which could very well be passed on for generations to come…they’re THAT nice.

Swanson, the maker of the boxes, expects them to be used rather than set on display somewhere collecting dust. They are as functional as they are beautiful and while it would certainly be a drag to lose one of these boxes the normal scratches and dings you can’t avoid with wood will only add to the character of the box as it ages.

I’m not sure I would use this box on the water if I had one, I tend to lose things, but I would definitely put it on display and it would definitely hold a prominent place amongst my prized possessions. A box like this can take on a significance you could never predict or expect.

I was given a beautiful hand made wood fly box by a friend many years ago. I never considered actually using it for the purpose for which it was intended, I knew exactly what it would be used for. It would become the permanant home for a black and white Rooster Tail spinner.

I was still just dabbling in fly fishing at the time and had not yet committed. My dad asked me if I would like to fish with him one June evening which I did. I don’t remember if we caught anything but I closed the night out with the Rooster Tail. A few weeks later he was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Seven months later he was gone. It was the last time we fished together and while it may seem sacrilege to store a Rooster Tail in a handmade fly box, this was the purpose for which this particular wood fly box was destined.

Stop by the shop and check out these beautiful boxes. We’re positive your dad, grandfather, husband or anyone you know who loves Montana and loves fly fishing would LOVE to have one. Better yet, why not treat yourself to one. After all, you deserver nice things too!

Amy with a healthy Missouri River Rainbow.

A big bump in flows Thursday night put us up over the 6K mark and made for a somewhat challenging day on the water yesterday, at least in the Wolf Creek to Craig stretch. We heard some good reports from the dam and the caddis action down low continues to draw the majority of guide traffic.

Nymphing from Wolf Creek to Craig was good on Thursday with the best bugs being tailwater sows and Rainbow Czechs though we did manage to get a few on the mayfly stuff as well. Firebeads have been back in play with rainbow weight flies, soft hackle rays, and soft hackle sows all getting a fair amount of attention. Streamers were a bust on Thursday – even with some cloud cover.

Friday  was a different game from the start and while we managed to piece together a decent day there was a fair amount of uninterrupted bobber staring time. Hot bead weight flies, Rainbow Czechs, tailwater sows, LGM’s, PMD Magic Flies, Pearl Lightning Bugs and Dark Peep Shows all had their moments.

We spoke briefly yesterday afternoon with the FWP guy who is doing all the creel surveys and he indicated that most of the reports he had gotten throughout the day were on the slow side – hopefully things pick up today.
Sunny hot days in the forecast for the week to come with temps in the 90’s on Monday. Now it’s really starting to feel like summertime out there! We’ve got random vacancies this week and then things go crazy as we hit our summertime stride. A full house almost nightly, multiple trips out every day and lots of folks coming in to see what the buzz is about – season two is keeping us extremely busy.

Stop in for shuttles, bugs, RO Drift Boat rentals, new sun hats just in from Outdoor Research, Chromapop sunglasses from Smith, guide wear from Kast Gear, bunches of spring and summer logo gear from Simms and all kinds of packs and accessories from Fishpond, Umpqua and more. Come check out our ever-expanding fly inventory – including a bunch of PMD stuff that just arrived yesterday. We’re confident you won’t be disappointed with what you find at WCA.