Jason Orzechowski, Author at Wolf Creek Angler

Mid Week Missouri River Fishing Report 1/28/15

Wolf Creek Angler guide Luke Koerten with a bright and feisy 5 O'Clock bow. - photo Wolf Creek Angler, LLC

It was another awesome spring-like day in Wolf Creek yesterday so I decided to tag along with WCA guide Luke Koerten, his girlfriend Betsy and their dogs. We floated Holter Dam to Craig with high expectations, excited about some January streamer action after having heard about some great streamer action over the weekend.
We figured we would start out chasing the bobber and get a few fish to hand before settling in to the streamer quest. Good plan but didn’t really pan out as we had anticipated. We ended up spending a lot of time changing bugs trying to find the HOT fly and never really did find anything that was working consistently. We had a tough run from the dam to Wolf Creek Bridge but started to piece a decent day together from there to Craig. The bite seemed a little off, maybe a result of the surge from LIttle Prickly Pear the last couple of days but the water was in great shape and I expect things will normalize over the next day or two.
We did ok with Firebead Soft Hackle Sows, Pink Lightning Bugs, Rainbow Warriors, Wire Worms, Soft Hackle Rays and the almost-famous WCA Casne’s Pinkalicious, which started to turn on at the end of the day.
Everything came from the slow deep winter runs but we rarely picked up more than two fish out of a run. Our lack of success delayed the streamer quest though we did spend an hour or two stripping SLOW and managed to connect a couple of times with the Polar Leech which has been our go-to at WCA since October. Weise’s Swimming Minnow got a few looks and Luke had some custom ties which moved a few fish but as was the case with the nymphing, there didn’t seem to be any one thing in particular they were looking for.
The late afternoon/early evening proved to be the best time slot, which reportedly has been the case for the last couple of days. All in all a decent day, in fact a damn good day by January standards. This weather pattern looks like it is going to hold through the weekend so get out there and enjoy it before winter returns, which it inevitably will. We currently have lodging available for the weekend and expect it will fill so book your room today and while you’re at it why not take advantage of our ridiculously reasonable winter trip rates of $395 for a full day on the MO.
See you in the shop and on the water.

By Jason Orzechowski|2016-10-25T16:16:02-06:00January 28th, 2015|Categories: Fishing Report|Tags: brown trout, Craig MT, Fish, Holter Dam, Missouri River, Missouri River Winter Fishing, nymphs, running line, Streamer Fishing, Wolf Creek, Wolf Creek Angler|Comments Off

First Light

Montana Skies are always amazing but these late January mornings have been especially eye catching – photo by Wolf Creek Angler

Maybe some day I wont be as amazed by these Montana sunrises and sunsets, I hope that day never comes! As the days get longer I am arriving in Wolf Creek just in time to catch the morning light show. 7:40 to around 8:00 am is the magic time right now and again after 5 pm as the second show starts.

It’s another spring-like morning here, a day that is begging to be fished. Full report tomorrow.

See you on the water!

January Painted Sky over the Missouri River -photo by Wolf Creek Angler

By Jason Orzechowski|2016-10-25T16:16:02-06:00January 27th, 2015|Categories: Uncategorized|Tags: Missouri River, Missouri River Winter Fishing, Missouri Sunrise, Montana, running line, Wolf Creek, Wolf Creek Angler|Comments Off

Fishing Update 1/26/15

Little Prickly Pear is churned up and dumping mud into the MO. – photo by Wolf Creek Angler LLC

Mixed reports from yesterday but it sounds like things were a little tougher overall. It was the busiest day of 2015 on the Missouri by far. Lots of boats and scads of wade anglers between the dam and Craig and some traffic below as well. Temps hovered around 60 most of the day making it not only the busiest, but also the warmest day of 2015.

We were busy at Wolf Creek Angler selling bugs, running shuttles and cleaning rooms for Sunday arrivals. It’s feeling like April with all of this activity and it looks like the weather is going to remain nice so we’re expecting another busy week here in Wolf Creek, at least by late January standards.

Little Prickly Pear is running high and dumping a fair amount of mud, adding to the challenge but it just might be perfect conditions for the WORM. A firebead steelie worm trailing a black zebra could be a lethal rig for the next couple of days. It sounds like the fish were taking a break from the pink stuff yesterday but they will likely be back on it soon. Tungsten tailwater sows and firebead soft hackle sows were reportedly getting it done as well. Streamers seem like they might be a good option with the colored up water but some anglers we heard from who hit it hard in the canyon yesterday didn’t do particularly well. Keep your options open, bring it all and see what works.

Stop in on your way to the river for shuttles, bugs, boat rentals, lodging and much much more.

By Jason Orzechowski|2016-10-25T16:16:02-06:00January 26th, 2015|Categories: Uncategorized|Tags: Holter Dam, Missouri River, Missouri River Winter Fishing, running line, Wolf Creek, Wolf Creek Angler, zebra midges|Comments Off

Monday Morning Urge

A little something to go with your coffee this morning.

By Jason Orzechowski|2016-10-25T16:16:02-06:00January 26th, 2015|Categories: Uncategorized|Comments Off

Your Sunday Missouri River Fishing Report

Spring-Like temps in late January have brought the crowds back to the MO.

Busy Sunday on the MO. Lot’s of people around today enjoying ridiculously warm weather and, from most of what we’ve heard, ridiculously good fishing.
Most are nymphing and doing extremely well in the slow deep runs. The hot sellers yesterday and today were tailwater sows, Pinkalicious, Tungsten Warriors, firebead soft hackle sows and pink lightning bugs followed closely by firebead steelie worms. It sounds like it’s all working and it sounds like many of the go-to spots are stacked with hungry fish willing to eat just about anything as long as it’s pink!
Wolf Creek to Craig seems to be the section to fish right now though there are a fair amount of folks doing the dam float as well and some even venturing below Craig.
If you’re coming out don’t forget your streamer rod. Heard one report of yesterday being an insanely good streamer day with fish willing to chase and even surface smacking streamers as they landed. Sorry I missed that…we live for that stuff.
Fish streamers, fish nymphs, fish slow deep water, fish fast shallow water…it’s on…or at least it was yesterday.

Above average temps will continue this week. Come on out and fish. We are booked through Monday but will have lodging available again starting Tuesday. Why not take advantage of the nice weather and the winter rates and book yourself a room for $99 and a full day guide trip for $395. Spring-like fishing conditions on the cheap. Call (406)235-4350 and book today.

By Jason Orzechowski|2016-10-25T16:16:02-06:00January 25th, 2015|Categories: Fishing Report|Tags: fly fishing, Missouri River Winter Fishing, Montana, nymphs, running line, Wolf Creek, Wolf Creek Angler|Comments Off

The Season has Begun

Sunshine, blue skies and well above average temps have us thinking spring fishing – photo by Wolf Creek Angler

It’s been an exciting week at Wolf Creek Angler with the launch of our new web site yesterday and nice weather which has brought out the anglers and kept us busy in the shop. Our available lodging has been full all week and people have been in buying flies and gear and shuttles and renting boats and making it feel like the season has begun.
There were plenty of days in the teens and 20’s over the last month or two that I have to be honest, were more than a little lonely in the shop so it’s just nice to see people around again. It must be that even those who aren’t fishing are thinking about fishing because the phones have been busy with people booking their dates for spring and summer and it’s already shaping up to be a great season.
I even got to get out and fish a couple of times myself earlier in the week. It had been too long and it was great to hook into some fish again but being out there and enjoying the sunshine and the river and hanging out with a couple of WCA guides has got me recharged and ready for the season. Bring on spring! We’re enjoying temps near 50 today with abundant sunshine and it looks like its going to be nice all weekend and on into next week so get out here and fish. We will have lodging available again starting Monday but expect it will fill for most of the week so don’t wait too long to book.
As I mentioned we are very excited about the new web site and we hope you will take a minute and check it out. One of the cool things on it is our Instagram feed which you will see at the bottom of all of the pages. We encourage you to tag us in your fish pics #wolfcreekangler which will allow us to see your pics and to share them on our feed.
Spring shipments are starting to trickle in and while we haven’t been able to bring in everything we want to offer you we are definitely headed in the right direction and we’re excited to have some great new products on the way from Nautilus Reels, Outdoor Research, Smith Optics, Strike Foundry and more. Don’t hesitate to let us know what products you would like to see at Wolf Creek Angler.
We hope to see you in the shop this weekend. Plenty of pink stuff, firebeads in assorted flavors and Rainbow Warriors for everyone.

By Jason Orzechowski|2016-10-25T16:16:02-06:00January 23rd, 2015|Categories: Uncategorized|Tags: Missouri River, Nautilus Reels, running line, Strike Foundry, winter, Wolf Creek, Wolf Creek Angler|Comments Off

Missouri River Fishing Report, January 20th – guest blog from Wolf Creek Angler Guide Extraordinaire Jim Murray

Evening falls on a perfect January day on the Missouri – photo by Wolf Creek Angler

Well the moon, the sun, the stars, and our schedules finally aligned and Jason and I were able to get out on the river and do some fishing. We couldn’t have asked for better conditions, as we were greeted with temps in the thirties, a little bit of sun, and very little W. A perfect January day.

A polar leech stripped SLOW is producing – photo by Wolf Creek Angler

With prime conditions, we headed into our day with high expectations, and the river did not disappoint. Nymphing was the name of the game yesterday, although Jason caught this sweet brown slow stripping a Polar Leech streamer. Did I mention a slow retrieve? S-L-O-W. Do it and be rewarded!

Hot flies included: Rainbow Warrior, Rainbow Czech, Pink Lightning Bug, Pink Scud, (notice a trend), Wire Worm, and a black Zebra Midge. We ran deep leash rigs and found them in the slow, deep runs, although we did manage to pull a couple out of some faster “summertime” runs as well.

All in all, the Missouri is fishing great, and figures to only get better as winter turns to Spring. Pick a day with some decent weather and get out here!

WCA is open Wed-Sat during the winter for all your Missouri River needs. Lodging available seven days a week. Stop in for a cup of the best coffee in Wolf Creek and say Hi!

Pink anything deep and slow – they are where they’re supposed to be – photo by Wolf Creek Angler

By Jason Orzechowski|2016-10-25T16:16:02-06:00January 21st, 2015|Categories: Fishing Report|Tags: brown trout, Missouri River Winter Fishing, nymphs, running line, streamers, winter, Wolf Creek, Wolf Creek Angler, zebra midges|1 Comment

January Thaw

Launches are snowy and icy, use extreme caution.

Daytime temps have been back in the fishable range for the last few days and it looks like this trend is going to hold at least through the first part of next week. There’s been a little traffic around but even so, if you are going to come out and fish you will likely have things pretty much to yourself.
The launches at the dam, Wolf Creek and Craig are not in the best shape so please use caution if you plan to float.
Not much has changed on the bug front. Pink stuff, firebeads, pt’s, rainbow czechs’s etc. fished deep and slow. You can certainly spend some time experimenting to see what’s working best but part of what we like about winter fishing is leaving the rigs alone. The fish are there in that slow deep water and generally aren’t overly selective. The challenge is to put the bugs right in front of them because with water temps holding in the 34 – 36 range, they aren’t going to spend much energy moving for the food train.
Things have been pretty quiet in the canyon as you might expect but a little sunshine and a few ticks up on the thermometer make a world of difference and we expect a few folks will be out and about on the MO this week keeping that dreaded cabin fever at bay. We’ve still got lodging available for the weekend but I expect that will change by tomorrow so don’t wait too long if you want a room in Wolf Creek. The shop is open Wednesday through Saturday from 8 am – 4 pm (or thereabouts) and we’re always open for lodging and guide trips. If you are planning on coming out to fish the MO at Holter Dam or Wolf Creek Bridge remember there is nobody closer. We’ve got everything you need for your day on the water from shuttles to drift boat rentals to cold weather gear to the largest selection of Missouri River flies ever assembled under one roof in Wolf Creek Montana.

By Jason Orzechowski|2016-10-25T16:16:02-06:00January 14th, 2015|Categories: Fishing Report|Tags: Holter Dam, Missouri River, Missouri River Winter Fishing, Montana, running line, winter, Wolf Creek, Wolf Creek Angler|Comments Off

SECRET SEASON – Wolf Creek may be Montana’s best kept winter fishing secret…

We originally posted this in November but here in the midst of January with forecasted temps in the high 30’s later this week and cabin fever creeping in why not head to Wolf Creek and the Missouri River? $395 guide trips, $99 lodging and all the winter bugs and cold weather gear you need at Wolf Creek Angler!

By Jason Orzechowski|2015-01-13T14:59:55-07:00January 13th, 2015|Categories: Uncategorized|Comments Off

Happy New Year from Wolf Creek Angler

Happy 2015 from Wolf Creek Angler

Best wishes for the new year from all of us at Wolf Creek Angler. 2014 was monumental for us, being our first year in business and we believe 2015 is going to be even better!
The numbers are in and we had a fantastic first year which in many ways exceeded our expectations. We will build on the success of our first year and continue to grow our business in ways that will hopefully exceed your expectations and keep us moving in an upward trajectory. Our goal will always be to provide you with a first-rate Missouri River fly fishing experience and we will continuously re-evaluate our business in an effort to evolve and improve and redefine for ourselves what this means. The bottom line? You should expect great things from Wolf Creek Angler in 2015 and beyond. Expect continuous improvement rooted in a committment to customer service.

We will always offer a great lodging value and our intention is to become your Missouri River fly shop and guide service of choice. We are dedicated to expanding our inventory to include the products you want and you expect your fly shop to carry. This is definitely easier said than done as there are a myriad of hoops to jump through in order to stock the products we want to offer our customers but we are definitely working on it and we are confident you will find more of what you want at Wolf Creek Angler every time you visit our shop.
We are also committed to building what we intend will one day be the best guide service on the Missouri. Change has come to Wolf Creek and we are proud to announce a brand new guide team built with the future in mind. We will be introducing you to our guides in the weeks to come. They are not new to the Missouri but they have been hand-picked by us because we feel they best represent what Wolf Creek Angler is and what it will grow to be.

Why not book a trip today and find out for yourself why we picked this guide crew? We have no doubt that they will play a huge roll in continuing to put Wolf Creek back on the map. We are currently offering $395 full day guide trips through the winter and we are also offering winter lodging rates of $99/night. Stay tuned for spring specials starting in March.

Now through February book a guide trip for the 2015 season (May-November) and receive a $25 Wolf Creek Angler gift card good for everything we sell. Be sure to mention this offer when you call us at (406)235-4350 or toll-free at 1-800-800-4350.

Thank you all again for making our first year a great one. Here’s to a fishy 2015!

Thinking about summertime… photo by Wolf Creek Angler

By Jason Orzechowski|2016-10-25T16:16:03-06:00January 3rd, 2015|Categories: Uncategorized|Tags: fly fishing, Missouri River, Missouri River Winter Fishing, running line, Wolf Creek, Wolf Creek Angler|Comments Off

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About Jason Orzechowski