Fishing Report Archives - Page 34 of 41

Full Swing

The season is definitely in full swing here in Wolf Creek. Guide trips out daily, all lodging units open and most occupied (at least for the weekend), and a shop filled with all kinds of cool new stuff including over a thousand dozen new bugs and a bunch of new logo gear. We’ve had some crazy busy mornings and enough traffic throughout the days that it’s obvious the word is out.

With affordable lodging, a great guide staff and a first rate fly shop located just minutes from Holter Dam and Wolf Creek Bridge, Wolf Creek Angler is your base camp for Missouri River Fly Fishing. Start your day at WCA. Shuttles, RO drift boat rentals, a great fly selection, all the tools and accessories you need, clothing and gear for all weather conditions and what some have called the best cup of coffee in Wolf Creek.

Lots of boats below Craig today with the top section reportedly back to her moody ways as of yesterday. Slow was the collective description from the dam to Craig but it could very well be a completely different story on this dreary wet day which, by the way, we are very happy to see. The powers that be continue to scale back the flow predictions for the season which has led to quite an increase in flow related call volume. I’m sticking with what I’ve said all along related to flow predictions which is that I’m not going to make any. We will leave it to the “experts” to make those predictions and leave it to mother nature to make the final call. That being said we’re happy to see spring days like this and if I wasn’t in the shop all day I’d be more than happy to fish on a day like this. Streamers anyone?

Partly cloudy skies and a high of 58 on tap for tomorrow. Sunny and warm for the first part of next week with highs possibly reaching the mid 70’s by Wednesday before we see another chance for rain late next week. Whatever the weather, the fishing should be fine.

By Jason Orzechowski|2016-10-25T16:15:54-06:00April 18th, 2015|Categories: Fishing Report, Uncategorized|Tags: Fishpond, Hydroflask, Missouri River, running line, simms, Umpqua, Wolf Creek, Wolf Creek Angler|0 Comments

Weekend Outlook 4/17/15

Doubled Up time on the MO.

Beach weather expected today with sunny skies and a high of 71. Winds south at 5-10 mph. A perfect day for a float and while the sun might not make for ideal fishing conditions it’s tough to complain about a 70+ degree sunny day in mid-April.

Saturday will be a little more spring-like with steady light rain in the morning and showers continuing into the afternoon with highs in the low to mid 50’s. Intervals of clouds and sun on Sunday with highs near 60. Sounds to us like three perfect days to spend on the Missouri.

Traffic remains pretty light out there despite the fact that fishing has been consistently good all week. Dam to Craig had been fickle last week but seems to be improving. We had several trips through there the last couple of days and they did very well with the fish preferrring the smorgasbord approach to any one pattern in particular. Nothing new to report on specific patterns – sounds like a little bit of everything is working. Sowbugs, Rainbow Czechs, SJW’s, Military Mays, S & M’s, LGM’s, BWO Magic Flies, Hot Belly PT’s and on and on. Stop by the shop and we’ll get you set up with any and all of the above and more.

There were a bunch of BWO’s around yesterday along with the piles of midges we’ve been seeing daily but not much in the way of fish up, at least during the early to mid afternoon save for a few small pods where you would expect to find them.

We devoted a good couple of hours to throwing streamers yesterday and didn’t have a lot of action which wasn’t a big surprise in the bright sun but we did manage to move a few good fish regardless. We tried a bunch of different bugs and only got them to move on one of them. We threw polar leeches, smolts, sparkle minnows, circus peanuts, kreelex, rattlesnakes, buggers and more in a bunch of different colors – stop by the shop and we’ll let you know which one worked. We’ve got plenty of all of them and tomorrow just might be the day to throw them.

Discounted lodging and $300 spring special guide trips available through the end of the month. Book yours today.

By Jason Orzechowski|2016-10-25T16:15:54-06:00April 17th, 2015|Categories: Fishing Report|Tags: $300 Missouri River Guide Trips, Circus Peanut, Kreelex, Missouri River, running line, sparkle minnow, Streamer Fishing, Wolf Creek, Wolf Creek Angler|0 Comments

Mid Week Missouri River Fishing Report 4/15/15

Cooler, cloudier weather yesterday and today has ushered in some solid nymphing action and some prime conditions for streamer fishing.

It sounds like Holter to Craig was the section yesterday with fish congregating in most of the go-to spots. From what we’ve heard the fish are not consistently eating anything in particular so you may have to switch it up often to get them to go. Rainbow Czechs, S & M’s, Hot Bead worms, Military Mays, Green Machines, Sow Bugs, PT’s, Zebras…they are all getting eaten so don’t be afraid to change bugs often.

Streamer action continues to be hit or miss but it’s definitely worth the effort in our humble opinion. Dry fly fishing has been good with a fair amount of BWO’s around and plenty of midges. We saw a lot of fish up in the canyon section on Monday and landed a few on the Parachute Adams/midge rig and even got a couple to go on the bigger bugs.

Sunny skies return tomorrow and Friday with highs back in the mid to high 60’s. Why not use that tax refund and book yourself a $300 Spring Special Guide Trip on the Missouri, you only have 15 days left before regular season rates return on both guide trips and lodging.

Stop by Wolf Creek Angler on your way to the river for everything you need for your day on the Missouri. The hardest working guides on the river, lodging, shuttles, RO drift boat rentals, all-conditions gear from KAST Extreme Fishing Gear, hand warmers, gloves and hats from Outdoor Research and of course the recently expanded largest selection of Missouri River flies ever assembled under one roof in Wolf Creek Montana.
See you in the shop and on the water.

By Jason Orzechowski|2016-10-25T16:15:55-06:00April 15th, 2015|Categories: Fishing Report|Tags: $300 Missouri River Guide Trips, dry fly fishing, Kast Gear, Missouri River, Missouri River Spring Special Guide Rates, Outdoor Research, RO Drift Boats, running line, Wolf Creek, Wolf Creek Angler|0 Comments

Canyon Report 4/14/2015

Guest Report from WCA Guide Jim Murray

Fellow WCA Guide, Matt Hargrave and I decided to get out on a last minute recon trip this past weekend to see if we could find a few fish in the Canyon. While the wind made the fishing and rowing challenging at times, we definitely put our fair share of fish in the net. The water levels have dropped, while the water temps have risen, and the fish seem to be doing exactly what you would expect in these situations. Moving out of the slow, deep runs, and into shallower, faster runs. We caught a number of fish right on the hard banks in fairly fast water. Shelf lines and current seams, as always, were productive as well.
At times the river was blanketed with both midges and baetis, but not many fish were looking up. That said, for those anglers wishing to target heads, there are pods of fishing working in the right areas, willing to eat a properly presented midge cluster or BWO parachute. The dry fly bite is definitely happening on the Missouri right now, and only figures to get better and better as April turns to May.
Hot nymphs for the day included a Rainbow Czech and a small Hogan S&M. That’s it. We never had the need to try other patterns. We set our rig in the morning and fished it all day, as fish happily ate both flies.
Although we didn’t throw any streamers, we have been hearing mixed reports on those that do. The streamer junkies love to the throw the meat and are having some success, but it seems to be hit or miss. A lot of changing flies, patterns, colors, etc., hoping to find the magic combo that will get the fish into an aggressive mood.
All in all a great day on the water with a great buddy, topped off with a couple of Blackfoot River IPA’s at the end of the day at Izaak’s in Craig. The season is upon us. We’re ready!
One other note: We had the chance to fish the Strike Foundry Stealth Indicator on Sunday, and really liked it. It worked as advertised, and proved very sensitive to help detect subtle strikes. We used the “In Line” rigging method and found that it performed flawlessly. For all you nymph junkies out there (count me in), you might want to give this indicator a try. I know I’ll have a few in my boat this year. Check them out at WCA!

By Jason Orzechowski|2016-10-25T16:15:55-06:00April 14th, 2015|Categories: Fishing Report|Tags: Hogan's S & M, Missouri River, nymphs, running line, Streamer Fishing, Strike Foundry, Wolf Creek, Wolf Creek Angler|0 Comments

The Week Ahead

A day of firsts for Tara. First trout EVER including a couple of nice bows and this brown.

It looks like today will be the nicest day of the week with mostly sunny skies and a high near 70. The breeziness continues with South wind 8-15, gusting to 22.

A good chance of rain tomorrow and maybe even some snow on Wednesday with more seasonable temps hanging in the high 40’s and low 50’s, back into the 60’s by Thursday and Friday.

The action remained solid over the weekend with plenty of fish showing interest in nymphs and dries alike. We haven’t heard too much on the streamer front but a couple of cloudy days this week with water temps in the low 40’s could make for some pretty good action. We’ve got a bunch of new streamers in the bins, come by and check them out.

Rainbow Czechs, Military Mays, Pink Amex, Red 2 Bit Hookers, S & M’s and Tailwater Sows have all been effective nymphing patterns but the Little Green Machine has once again become the go-to fly on the river. We’ve got bins full of all of them. Short leashing the faster shallow water has been very effective the past few days but there are still fish in the slow deep stuff as well. It’s the Missouri – the fish are EVERYWHERE!

There have been a few BWO’s around and fish are being caught on emergers and cripples as well as the midge stuff. Keep throwing the clusters (Griffiths gnats/buzzballs etc). We haven’t been getting too crazy with trying BWO patterns yet but we’ve got a bunch of them and it certainly wouldn’t be a bad call. If you want to keep it simple a Hi Vis Parachute Adams trailed with a Griffiths Gnat is a great option. Come on in for all the flies you need including some “top secret” bugs which have been on fire.

We’ve got all of our lodging open now and while things are starting to fill up we’ve got plenty of rooms available this week and into the weekend. $99 gets you a cabin or bungalow with full kitchen through the end of April. Motel rooms also available at $60/single and $69/double. Don’t forget $300 Spring Special Missouri River full day guide trips through the end of the month. We’ve got a lot of trips out this week, would love to have more. Give us a call and book yours today. Guides are standing by at the ready.

Dan with a MO River cookie cutter

By Jason Orzechowski|2016-10-25T16:15:55-06:00April 13th, 2015|Categories: Fishing Report|Tags: $300 Missouri River Guide Trips, brown trout, green machine, Missouri River, Missouri River Spring Special Guide Rates, running line, Wolf Creek, Wolf Creek Angler|0 Comments

Weekend Missouri River Fishing Report

Guest Blog from WCA Guide Luke Koerten.

“What is your favorite time of year to fish the Missouri?” This is a question I often hear while rowing my boat down the river. “April” is what usually comes out of my mouth next without much thought. I have spent a handful of days over the past week floating in the canyon with both friends and clients, and though some days have resulted in more fish in the net, each day has reminded me why I love this time of year on the Missouri River.

Midges are out daily and each new day brings with it a few more mayflies in the air as spring has, well, sprung. Will it snow again? I hope so. We could use the precipitation, and those cold wet days are my favorite as pods of fish feast on the surface with reckless abandon. If you’re more into boat rides on warm sunny days, April has those too. Yesterday was such a day. Despite periods of slow fishing, it’s hard to complain about warm air, no wind, and multiple applications of sunscreen. Catching fish on streamers, nymphs, and dries all in the same day also makes me smile.

As water temps creep towards the mid 40’s we’ve been shortening our nymph rigs to target the fish in the shallower riffles. Heavier flies like a tungsten sow, rainbow czech or rubberlegs 2-4 feet from the bobber with no split shot has been working well with your favorite mayfly or zebra midge off the back. If you’d rather fish the slower deeper runs, add a BB and move the bobber up to 5-6 feet. That’ll work too.

Dry flies are catching fish daily. On bright sunny days look for pods of fish in shady spots. Trees, bridges, high banks and the walls of the canyon are all good shade producers. When the clouds roll in rising fish should be even easier to find. Small singular midge and mayfly dries have been tricking fish. Blind fishing a small purple haze or adams along the bank has worked too. We spotted the elusive skwala adult yesterday on the water, making it easier to fish the bigger bugs with confidence too. Perfect for hanging a mayfly nymph off the back. Green machines, pheasant tails and lightning bugs would all be good choices.

Streamers continue to produce with varying degrees of success. Tie on something you believe in and just keep casting. Olive smolts and kreelex are flies I’ve been tossing around with confidence lately. I have also been speeding up my retrieve rate lately and it seems to be working.

April is a great time to be an angler on the Missouri. Angling pressure is still relatively light most days, and the fish are hungry and waiting to make you smile. Fishing is getting better as we move through the month, but don’t wait too long. You can’t catch fish if you’re not fishing. See you on the river.

By Jason Orzechowski|2016-10-25T16:15:55-06:00April 11th, 2015|Categories: Fishing Report|Tags: brown trout, Missouri River, Montana, running line, Wolf Creek, Wolf Creek Angler|1 Comment

Blue Sky Blues

Made it out yesterday for a Wolf Creek to Craig float with our good friends Dan and Tara and while it was a gorgeous (but breezy) spring day the fishing was less than stellar.
Following recent reports we rigged up with Rainbow Czechs and Little Green Machines and prepared to start crushing fish. After hitting a couple runs with nary a drop of the bobber we decided to stop and pick apart an area which has been consistently yielding fish. One brief hook up and several bug changes later we moved on in search of more productive water.
As we worked through my favorite spots we got a few hook ups but failed to find much happening on subsequent row arounds. Dan finally landed a fish on the Little Green Machine so we returned to the original set up and started to see a few more hook ups and a couple of fish to hand as afternoon approached.
The water was covered with blankets of midges for the better part of the day but rising fish were few and far between. We stopped for lunch and finally did find a productive run with fish willing to play and cooperating with the row around game.
Traffic on the river was very light with just a few other boats in the section. Good bugs for the day were the aforementioned Rainbow Czech and Little Green Machine and we also managed to get a few to go on the dark Peep Show and the Tungsten Tailwater Sow. Miscellaneous Firebeads and Pink Lightning Bugs were not effective.
I chalked the slow fishing up to the bright sunny day and while we would have loved to have had a little more action, spending the day in a drift boat floating down the Missouri River is NEVER a bad way to pass the time regardless of how it’s fishing.
Today looks to be another beautiful bright and sunny blue sky day…why wouldn’t you spend it on the MO? Stop by WCA on your way to the river for everything you need for Missouri River Fly Fishing.

By Jason Orzechowski|2016-10-25T16:15:55-06:00April 9th, 2015|Categories: Fishing Report|Tags: green machine, Missouri River, running line, Wolf Creek, Wolf Creek Angler|1 Comment

Mid Week Missouri River Fishing Report

Spring is beginning to show itself on the MO. Photo by Wolf Creek Angler

Spring is in bloom on the Missouri! It’s one of my favorite times of year when the drab winter landscape begins to take on the green hues of summer and as the warm spring sun starts to coax the buds into bloom it also warms the water bringing forth spring bug hatches and ushering in the dry fly fishing for which the Missouri is world-famous.
We’ve heard enough reports of BWO’s over the past week that is seems we are in for an early season and following the absence of bugs last fall hopes are high that it will be a good one. It really is an amazing time to fish the Missouri. I can’t think of a better way to spend a spring day than nymphing or throwing streamers while seeking heads. It’s all effective this time of year and when you do find those pods of rising fish you won’t have a better opportunity this season to fool them as they have yet to be educated by the masses. Dry fly fishing on the Missouri can be extremely technical and should always be treated accordingly but that being said, if there is ever a time a less-than-perfect presentation is not an absolute necessity….this is it.

It’s going to be on the sunny side today which isn’t the ideal but it looks like a chance of rain and snow showers each day for the rest of the week which would be perfect. Book your $300 spring special guide trips and discounted lodging today and take advantage of the spring solitude.

By Jason Orzechowski|2016-10-25T16:15:55-06:00April 8th, 2015|Categories: Fishing Report|0 Comments

Weekend Update 4/4/15

WCA guide Matt Hargrave is ready to put you on some Missouri River bows. Photo by Luke Koerten

Got a chance to get out and fish with fellow WCA guide Luke Koerton on Thursday. It was spur of the moment, having received a text from Luke early that morning. My schedule was open for the day, which isn’t too unusual, as my hours of employment are few and far between during the shoulder season. And of course, I rarely pass up the chance to go fish. The weather looked fairly decent, mid 50’s, small chance of precip, and little to no wind. Typical weather for early Spring.

One thing I truly appreciate about being on the WCA guide team is that we are all buddies. When we fish together we are constantly comparing notes. We all have our different fishing and guiding styles, and we learn from each other whenever we fish together. Maybe there’s a little bucket that Jim, or Nick, or Luke knows about that I don’t. The same is true for them. Or maybe there’s a stretch of river where I’m not very successful on, and they are, and then we show each other how to find and catch fish in that particular spot. And then there’s the places where everyone agrees to avoid, which is reassuring to know that it’s not just you that doesn’t catch fish there. It’s a team effort for all of us, we don’t hold back information, we encourage the success of our fellow guides, all in preparation for the day that you step into our boat.

Since we were getting a late start, Luke and I did Wolf Creek to Craig. Nymphing was gonna rule the day, but just in case, dry fly and streamer rods were brought. Luke picked up a fish right away on a PT Little Green Machine. The next two fish also fell to the same bug. The top fly was being ignored, so we changed it to a wire worm. The fish starting eating that. When they turned off on the wire worm, we switched up to a Pink Lightning Bug and that worked for a while too, with a grey Little Green Machine becoming a player as well. Where we could, we would do a row around just to make sure it wasn’t some fluke that we picked up a fish. For the most part, the fish were where we thought they were, and eating bugs we thought they should. They’re starting to spread out a bit, still holding in soft, deep, inside shoulders, but also hanging out in waist deep, walking pace straight aways.

The dry fly bite wasn’t really happening, the wind picked up and we could see snow heading our direction, so we figured it was best to keep moving and focus on nymphing. All in all another successful day on the river. I think between the majority of us here at WCA we’ve already got a seasons worth of fishing under our belts. Ready and raring to go for when the “official” season starts—Matt

By Jason Orzechowski|2016-10-25T16:15:56-06:00April 4th, 2015|Categories: Fishing Report|Tags: fly fishing, green machine, Missouri River, Montana, running line, Wolf Creek, Wolf Creek Angler|0 Comments

Missouri River Friday Fishing Report 4/3/15

Another great visit to Michigan’s Pere Marquette River – photo by Wolf Creek Angler

As we wrap up our spring break here in Michigan and prepare for the long journey back to Wolf Creek I’m hearing nothing but good things about the fishing on the MO. LGM’s, Rainbow Czechs, Wire Worms, Pink LB’s, Black Zebra midges and tungsten Tailwater Sows are reportedly all getting plenty of attention and while I’m experiencing the usual end-of-visit blues, I can’t wait to get back on the Missouri this week and find out for myself what’s happening out there. Most of what I am hearing is that the nymphing is really heating up and I’m confident there will soon be some solid streamer action as well with the water temps climbing into the low 40’s. Mostly cloudy skies with a chance of rain and snow and daytime temps in the 40’s through the middle of next week should translate into some pretty good days out there both on top and underneath.

I closed out my Michigan fishing on Wednesday with another visit to the Pere Marquette, this time a walk-wade outing to the upper flies only. Things were a little slow by most reports but we did manage to do battle with a few and also picked up a good brown feasting on the train of eggs behind the spawning fish. I’d forgotten about the impressive browns you can almost always find hanging behind the redds. A well placed #14 double egg rig is ultra effective on these fish and while they don’t give you quite the fight of the chrome rockets it’s an opportunity to sight fish for big browns with a pretty good chance for success.

It was a great couple of days with great friends back on the PM. I got my steelhead fix for the season and I’m ready to get back to the MO. I spent yesterday visiting the past and continued the tour of new Michigan breweries. Two things I love about Michigan and Montana – the spectacular fishing opportunities and the craft beer culture. Both states are great for these reasons and many others, the main reason in Michigan of course being the amazing friends we will always have here. It’s been a great visit and now the mountains are calling and I must go!

Thanks to WCA guides Jim Murray and Matt Hargrave for helping out with the blog this week. These guys do a great job of writing and an even better job of showing clients a great time on the Missouri. Give us a call and book a $300 Spring Special trip with one of them or any one of our other expert guides today. The spring special and our winter room rates run through the end of this month so don’t miss this opportunity.

I can’t wait to get back to the shop and see all of the new stuff that’s arrived. It’s full on spring fishing season now. New clothing, new gear, new bugs, new accessories etc., shuttles, rental boats, lodging and the same friendly service and commitment to making WCA everything you expect your Missouri River fly shop to be.

See you soon in the shop and on the MO. ~Jason O.

By Jason Orzechowski|2016-10-25T16:15:56-06:00April 3rd, 2015|Categories: Fishing Report, Montana Fly Fishing|Tags: $300 Missouri River Guide Trips, brown trout, Missouri River, Missouri River Spring Special Guide Rates, running line, Wolf Creek, Wolf Creek Angler|0 Comments