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FREE Drift Boat Rentals for Vets courtesty of Montana Project Healing Waters and Wolf Creek Angler

Wolf Creek Angler is the exclusive host for Montana Project Healing Waters free drift boat rental program.

Wolf Creek Angler is proud to be the exclusive host of the Montana Project Healing Waters drift boat rental program which provides free drift boat rentals on the Missouri River to all vets and active duty military personnel.

The shop hosts and maintains three custom Adipose Flow drift boats available free every day. The boats can be reserved by logging on to montanahealingwaters.org and using the Reserve A Drift Boat link to select dates and boat options. Two of the boats come equipped with removable knee braces, the third has no braces and can be fitted with custom wheelchair platforms if necessary.

The boats are typically hauled by the user (2″ ball required) but can be dropped off and picked up by Wolf Creek Angler for a fee. Vehicle shuttles are also available for purchase if needed.

“When the opportunity arose for Wolf Creek Angler to host all three of the PHW boats it was a total no-brainer” commented Jason Orzechowski, owner of Wolf Creek Angler. “We’d been impressed with the program from the start and had been lobbying PHW to place a boat with us since we opened the doors”.

They got their wish last fall when the board elected to add a third boat to the program and place it at WCA. Earlier this spring the other two PHW boats were relocated from Craig to Wolf Creek Angler, making WCA the exclusive host of the program.

“It was our privilege to finally get a chance to host a boat last fall” explained Orzechowski. “Having all three of the boats here this season has been awesome. We’ve met so many great people and the vast majority of them are so appreciative of the program. We owe these vets and active duty military a huge debt of gratitude and I feel like this is the least we can do to say thank you to those who are willing to serve.”

Montana Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing, Inc., is dedicated to the physical and emotional rehabilitation of active military personnel and veterans through flyfishing, fly tying education, and outings, and education on the conservation, restoration, and improvements to Montana’s fisheries and their habitats.

Please consider donating your time or resources to this exceptional organization to help fund the outstanding work they do for veterans here in Montana.

By Jason Orzechowski|2018-08-17T16:22:18-06:00August 20th, 2018|Categories: Local Buzz, Montana Fly Fishing, Shop Life, Uncategorized|Tags: Adipose, fly fishing, Missouri River, Montana, Montana Project Healing Waters, running line, Wolf Creek, Wolf Creek Angler|0 Comments

One from the kid…A guest blog by John Orzechowski

This one is going to be a little different. This isn’t Jason, and this isn’t Zach. If we haven’t met before, I’m John, and I’m Jason’s son. I’m a senior at Helena High School and my days spent in Helena and on the Missouri River are officially limited. If all goes according to plan, at this time next year I’ll be preparing to move to Missoula to pursue a journalism degree at U of M.

I don’t know why it’s taken over four years for my dad to ask me to contribute to Running Line. Probably because I wasn’t set in my journalism mindset until just the last few months (and also probably because I never offered). When he asked me to write a blog I got excited because writing is a passion of mine and something that I personally think I’m pretty good at. At most this is a reflection of the time I spent here and at least it’s a break for my dad.

When my parents bought this shop in December 2013, I was twelve years old. If you met me then, you might remember me as the kid who ran around the property with sticks or his BB gun and had to be reined in by his dad because it looked weird to have a little kid running around with weapons, however fake they were. For the first couple years, I wasn’t the most helpful person around. I would spend my days climbing the mountain behind the shop, exploring the creek across the street, or just sitting in our camper with my Legos.

This is a coming of age story with one of the most influential settings being a small fly shop in a town of 400 people, fewer than half of which actually live in the town proper.

Of course, my entire life wasn’t spent here. During the school year, I was up here at 7:00 a.m. on Saturdays and during the summer I’d show up for two or three random days out of the week. Wolf Creek by no means became home. But as I grew up Wolf Creek Angler remained a constant in my life.

It is important to note that fishing has never really been my thing. My dad tried from my early years to get me interested, but I never developed a love for it like he or the other people that frequent this shop had. So to me, this was never a passion like it was for dad, Fred, Zach, or the countless regulars who are here at the same time in the same room every summer.

No matter how little I cared for fishing, this shop was a part of my life and part of me tried to make the most of it and the other part of me was forced to make the most of it by my parents. My early days in the American workforce were spent working for $5 an hour, doing random odd jobs any thirteen year old kid could handle. My salary grew with my responsibilities and eventually morphed into my steadiest source of income in my first couple years of senior high (although it’s become a secondary job now, behind a local grocery store) and my spending turned from Legos to clothes and gasoline.

So one might ask, why am I writing for the job that gets the scraps of my schedule? Because this place means more than money. It’s been about spending time with my dad, which becomes increasingly more difficult as I get older. It’s been about forging relationships with the regular guests from across the country who show up year after year.

As I started being more involved in the shop, I noticed the daily meeting of guides and clients at 7:00 or 7:30 in the morning. I was fascinated with the guide culture even though I didn’t like fishing. Every time my dad told me I should be a guide, I thought about those 15 minutes that the guides spent at the shop before I thought about the fishing. He’s stopped telling me I should pursue it because he realizes I’m set in what I want to do. Call me a poser, but that early morning bustle of guides and clients intrigued me enough to want to be up here. But not enough to make me want to fish.

To wrap it up, this place was my first job but it was more than a job for me. It was a social experience that I loved but didn’t belong in. I made some real friends from other states, people that I look forward to seeing every summer. I probably annoyed a lot of the guides I talked to every morning because I couldn’t talk fishing so either didn’t or spewed nonsense. It was a way for me to hang out with my dad. I didn’t treasure it when I saw him every night, but I probably will when I’m living in a different city than him.

I’ll write a few more of these throughout this next year, until I hopefully leave for college.

Until next time,
John Orzechowski

By Jason Orzechowski|2018-08-08T15:56:21-06:00August 8th, 2018|Categories: Shop Life, Uncategorized|Tags: Missouri River, running line, Wolf Creek, Wolf Creek Angler|4 Comments

Caddis Sunset – photo by Wolf Creek Angler

I overheard some folks at dinner the other night proclaiming that the season is back after apparently having had a particularly good dry fly day, and while I’m not sure it ever really started to begin with it does seem as though things are coming into shape….just in time for the late summer lull.

There are bugs (tricos a plenty, lingering PMD’s and caddis in the evening). The water is perfect for wading (right around 5K and holding) and most importantly, there are pods of rising fish.

It’s happening much later than what it usually does but better late than never!

As luck would have it the summer traffic cycle has been normal. Prime Time traffic is over but Prime Dry Fly Fishing has just begun.

The boat ramps are quiet (relatively speaking), there’s an abundance of lodging and guide availability and the river is calling.

As if that weren’t enough, starting tomorrow we’re running our Dog Days of Summer Lodging and Guide Trip special. For the entire month of August when you book a full day guide trip and a night of premium lodging we’ll throw in a second night of lodging for FREE.

Does it get any better?

Keep in mind prime time usually books out a year in advance. Now you’ve got a golden opportunity to fish prime conditions on the Missouri at a huge cost savings with a last minute call.

We can’t make any promises about the fishing. It’s been good these past several days and hopefully will continue to be but there are no guarantees. The conventional wisdom is that tricos will continue through the month of August. PMD’s are all but done but terrestrials are about to become a major player. Caddis activity has been somewhat sporadic but is always a possibility.

Will we see epic dry fly days throughout the month of August? Time will tell. I expect we will see some good days and some not so good days, as always.

Give us a call today to book your Dog Days Special. You’ll have the potential for some awesome Trico fishing and there is no better month to fish hoppers on the Missouri. Some of our biggest browns of the season are always caught on hoppers. I haven’t even mentioned the nymphing since most of the focus seems to be on top right now but should you want to fish the bobber you’ll likely do just fine.

Best bets for nymphing right now include Little Green Machines, Weight Flies (gold or purple), Tung Darts, Psycho Mays, PMD and/or Rusty Magic Fly, Black Zebra Midge, PMD Redemption, Purple Lightning Bug, WD 40’s, Soft Hackle PT jigs, Red Headed Step Child, Dark Peep Show, Doc’s Summer Bug, Nitro Caddis Pupa, Pulsating Caddis Pupa, 2 Bits and various crayfish patterns (Claws R, Snapping Cray, Zirdle etc.)

Best Dries- Indicator Spinner Trico, Hi Vis Trico Spinner, RS2 Trico, Drowned Trico, Barr’s Trico Emerger, Trinas Hi Vis Sprout Black, Bloom’s Parachute Caddis, Outrigger Caddis, CDC Caddis Emerger, X Caddis, Front End Loader and your grass hopper or ant of choice. We like More or Less, Moorish and White Cloud hoppers just to name a few.

It’s also time to take advantage of the best deals of the season on Simms sportswear during our Annual Summer Sale. 25% – 30% off men’s and women’s sportswear from Simms, Ouray and more.

This could be the best August we’ve seen in years. Will you be here for it?

By Jason Orzechowski|2018-08-01T21:19:57-06:00July 31st, 2018|Categories: Fishing Report, Uncategorized|Tags: brown trout, caddis, dry fly fishing, fly fishing, green machine, Missouri River, running line, simms, Wolf Creek, Wolf Creek Angler|0 Comments

Dog Days on the Way

As we look towards wrapping up this last week of PRIME TIME on the Missouri it’s time to plug our annual Dog Days of Summer Guide Trip and Lodging Special happening all throughout the month of August.

Beginning August 1st, one week from tomorrow, book a full day guide trip and a night of lodging and your second night of lodging is on us.

It’s no secret that August is traditionally a very slow time on the Missouri as far as angling traffic is concerned. The Prime bug events have come and gone and people are starting to look towards autumn outings despite the fact that tricos tend to last through most of the month and August is prime time for hopper/terrestrial fishing.

This being the case it has made sense for us to offer an extra incentive during the late summer to try to draw in more business. What’s different this year though is that since everything got off to a later start with the high water we’re still holding out hope that the best dry fly fishing of 2018 is yet to come.

It’s the perfect culmination of thinning crowds and ever improving fishing conditions. Throw in free lodging and you’d be absolutely crazy not to make a late summer trip to one of the best dry fly rivers in the nation.

We’re still doing early starts to beat the heat so why not arrive the night before your trip and relax. Get a great night’s sleep and save yourself the morning drive. Your guide awaits…just a few steps from your door.

Spend a gorgeous summer day on the water with your guide and then return for another night of relaxation at Wolf Creek Angler. The sun and the heat (and all that fighting fish) will take it out of you and you probably won’t feel like doing much of anything after your trip. You definitely won’t feel like driving home so kick back on the deck and relax after a great meal at Shotgun Annies, The Oasis, Izaaks or The Trout Shop Cafe. Share your stories from the day over a cocktail or two with the other guests or venture out on your own for an evening of hunting heads.

It’s an awesome time of year to avoid the crowds of primetime and there’s no reason you couldn’t stumble into a spectacular fishing day. You just never know.

Prepare for the challenges of the season, embrace those challenges and you’ll have a great day

By Jason Orzechowski|2018-07-24T21:01:59-06:00July 24th, 2018|Categories: Montana Fly Fishing, Shop Life, Uncategorized|Tags: Dog Days of Summer Special, dry fly fishing, fly fishing, Missouri River, running line, Wolf Creek, Wolf Creek Angler|0 Comments

photo by Sam Casne

Here we are, well past the mid point of July. Summer is almost a third of the way behind us but in some respects it feels like we’re still waiting for the season to get rolling.

The early morning/late night rental boat marathon is behind us. Our Delaware River contingent has all but disappeared and now we’re reaching the point in the season where typically the Dog Days would soon be upon us. Will that be the case this year? Only time will tell.

This strange season continues to perplex. We had been anticipating some phenomenal dry fly action once the water dropped. The water has dropped. The dry fly fishing has been shy of phenomenal. There are bugs (Trico Madness, evening Caddis and some PMD’s still hanging around), there are fish rising to well presented offerings but overall I would say the dry fly fishing has been on the mediocre side.

The targets seem to be few and far between most days and there are no shortage of dry fly anglers out scouring the river looking for them so it’s been challenging to say the least but if you happen to get there first and you are on your game you will indeed enjoy the Missouri River Dry Fly Experience. More targets would be great, fun for all! In the meantime start early, stay late and don’t overlook the heat of the day.

Will we get our phenomenal dry fly fishing? We’re still hoping so. It could happen any day!

On the flip side nymphing remains the path to numbers. The action on the Zirdle/Sow combo has finally started to slow down but you’d do well to at least give it a go before swapping bugs. Believe it or not there are still a few fish out there who haven’t gotten their fill. Give it a good 30 minutes or so in water you know should be productive and if it isn’t happening swap it out. A good second string has been the purple weight fly trailed with a green machine. Redemptions, S & M’s, 2 Bits and Split Case (all of the PMD variety) have also been effective.

River traffic has dropped off, as is typical for this part of the season, so with what we’ll continue to hope is just a delay in the peak of the dry fly fishing, it could be the perfect opportunity to enjoy solitude and great dry fly fishing on the Missouri. And don’t forget….hopper fishing is coming SOON.

Lodging is pretty well booked up for the rest of the month but there are some holes we’d like to fill. Please call for availability. Once we hit August things drop right off so you’ll have no trouble booking a room. That being said, I think many have started to look towards fall as mid September through November is starting to fill up. Make those fall fishing plans sooner rather than later and give us a call to make sure we can get you rooms and guides for your preferred dates.

Summer rolls on. Get out here and enjoy it while it lasts. Wolf Creek Angler is your one-stop shop for everything Missouri River Fly Fishing and beyond. Affordable lodging, the best guides on the river, Adipose Drift boat rentals, shuttles bugs and so much more.

Remember, we are your exclusive source for Montana Project Healing Waters Adipose drift boat rentals available to all active duty military and vets FREE OF CHARGE each and every day. We are so blessed to have so many brave men and women willing to serve and we feel honored to be able to provide this service for all of you.

By Jason Orzechowski|2018-07-19T18:18:56-06:00July 19th, 2018|Categories: Fishing Report, Uncategorized|Tags: fly fishing, Missouri River, Montana, Wolf Creek, Wolf Creek Angler|0 Comments

Happy Fourth from WCA

That’s right. The fourth of JULY. Can it really be?

According to the calendar we should be well into our prime season on the Missouri but the fact is we’re actually just getting started.

The water has finally started to drop (12,200 cfs at the time of this writing) bringing a collective sigh of relief from the army of wade anglers who’ve been patiently waiting for it to happen.

The BWO’s came and went and PMD’s are waning but you should be able to catch the tail end. There have been some near-epic caddis events (minus rising fish) and Tricos are starting to enter the mix. We’ve been saying it for weeks now while we’ve been waiting for the water to drop but just to reiterate, we should be in for some awesome dry fly fishing in the days and weeks to come and late summer terrestrial fishing could be off the charts.

It’s July and the majority of these fish have not yet been fished to with dry flies.

Nymphing is another story. While the fish haven’t seen many dry flies they’ve seen a Zirdle and Sow bug hatch of legendary proportion…..and they continue to eat them! Most of the Zirdle bins on the MO are now empty but not to fear, they will soon be filled again.

And speaking of empty bins, we expect we’ll have more than a few as today is our third annual Make America Fly fourth of July fly sale. All flies HALF off. Don’t miss this one.

The river is on the quiet side today as far as anglers go which is generally the case on the 4th of July which is traditionally a big rec day on the MO’.

Celebrate Freedom today and celebrate the long-awaited arrival of hot sunny summer days and cold clean fishy water.

Wishing you all a Happy Fourth from all of us at WCA. We are so blessed to live in this great nation and we owe all of you a huge debt of gratitude for making it possible for us to do what we do for a living.

Cheers!

By Jason Orzechowski|2018-07-04T19:17:07-06:00July 4th, 2018|Categories: Uncategorized|0 Comments

Summertime on the MO’

Can it really be that there are just four days remaining in the month of June?

Like it or not, the season is rapidly passing us by and we’re still waiting for the water to come down which sooner or later it will. And while sooner and later are relative terms we’re confident that two weeks from now we’ll be looking at more wade-friendly flows and perhaps the best dry fly fishing of the year.

Traffic has been on the rise this past week with the Missouri still being one of the few and likely the best option in the state right now. Last week’s heavy precipitation delivered the punch we’d been hoping to avoid. The swollen waters caused widespread flooding and road closures in our region and muddied up the MO below Little Prickly Pear and Dearborn which has made the Dam a VERY BUSY PLACE.

The good news is that things are on the drop and the weather forecast looks favorable to maintain this trend. The bad news is that flows on the MO had to be held steady while the tribs blew up but now that things are on the drop it’s time to dump the excess, hence the bumps in flows on the MO this week.

It’s not all doom and gloom though….here’s the brighter side of things.

Yes, high water consumed the month of June and ruined the plans of many a wade angler but the Missouri is so much better for it and if the past is any indication 2019 could be obscenely good following these flushing flows. Stay tuned

The creeks have been off limits for much of the time they’ve been open this year due to the high flows but things are about to come into shape and we should be in for a great summer of creek fishing. Many a season we’ve already been under Hoot Owl closures by this time on some of our favorite small water haunts so we’re stoked to have things just coming into shape as we approach the first of July.

Fishing on the Missouri has been excellent despite the high water and it’s about to get even better. As you’ve no doubt been reading the nymphing on the Missouri has been nothing short of awesome more often than not this season. Sow bugs have remained the steady diet of our trout for months and while I’m not saying there haven’t been a few tougher days out there, more often than not the fishing has been good. The right water, the correct depth, the right amount of weight and a sow bug or two has been the key day after day, no matter the flows. The baetis have come and gone and the PMD’s are soon to be in the rearview but not to worry. We’ve got at least a couple of weeks left of PMD activity and Tricos are on the horizon. Dry fly fishing has been a challenge to say the least but a few days of dropping flows (which we should see very soon) could totally change the game. If you’re headed our way sometime soon you might just be in for some phenomenal dry fishing.

You’re just in time for HALF PRICE FLIES! As always, the Fourth of July is the day for the annual WCA Make American Fly Again Half Price Fly Sale. It doesn’t get much better than half price flies!

Traffic is spreading out on the MO’. You can plan on seeing plenty of activity at the dam and Wolf Creek from here on out but maybe not quite so crazy as it’s been this past week. The water is rapidly clearing and people have already started to wander into the lower stretches. It makes all the difference in the world to have 30 miles of water to work with rather than eight.

These are just a few of the reasons the future is looking bright on the Missouri. We’ve all been biding our time, waiting patiently for things to start to feel a little more like Prime Time on the Missouri. I suspect it won’t be long…

By Jason Orzechowski|2018-06-27T00:09:46-06:00June 27th, 2018|Categories: Montana Fly Fishing, Shop Life, Uncategorized|Tags: dry fly fishing, fly fishing, Half Price Flies, Holter Dam, Make America Fly Again, Missouri River, running line, Wolf Creek, Wolf Creek Angler|0 Comments

5/22/18 Status Quo on the MO’

With much more of May behind us than ahead of us and just a month to go until the official start of summer things have settled into a biggish water groove here on the Missouri River.

We did hit that 15K CFS mark last Saturday and it looks like we’ll hold there (give or take) for the foreseeable future. We did make the call that day that drift boat rentals will not happen at 15K or more. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused over the weekend or may cause for the weeks ahead. The safety of our customers is our number one concern when it comes to boat rentals and we’d much rather pass on the rentals than have any of our clients get into trouble out there. Not that something drastic happens on the water at 15K that isn’t happening at 14,500K but you have to draw the line somewhere.

That being said we would be more than happy to book you with one of our guides for an awesome day on the water. Our guides are out there every day and know the water better than anyone. They know where it’s safe to drop anchor and where it’s not and more importantly…they know where the fish are and they will do everything they can to put you on them.

Fishing has been good and will continue to be from here on out. It’s never a given but suffice it to say that we’ve had many more good days than bad as of late. Nymphing has been where it’s at though we have done a few streamer trips as well with moderate success most days.

The year of the Tailwater Sow continues and judging by the empty sow bug bins in all of the shops it’s time to find the next HOT bug. Stick with worms (we like firebead steelies and Fish Finders) and don’t get stuck on the one bug mentality. It may seem like #14 Tailwater Sows are the ONLY thing that’s working but there are all kinds of sow bug patterns and despite the fact we are often humbled by these fish they really aren’t THAT smart or that discerning. Show them something similar and they’ll likely eat it. Or show them something completely different and you just might be surprised.

Other good bets from the nymph bins right now include Rainbow Czechs, Tan UV Czechs, Pink Amex, Firebead Rays, Soft Hackle Sows, Purple Lightning Bugs, Pill Poppers, UV Crush, Tung Darts, weight flies, Little Green Machines, Psycho Mays, Bubbleback Emergers, Peep Shows, Split Case BWO’s, Micromays, Zebras and straight up old school Pheasant Tails.

Dry Fly action has been sporadic at best. There are bugs. There are always a few fish rising but they seem to be few and far between. Don’t count on making a day out of it.

Streamer Fishing continues to have its moments but you’ve got to know what you are looking for water wise and you have to have the right line to get down fast. The higher flows haven’t made for the best streamer fishing but as always we encourage you to keep at it. It’s totally worth your while!

Need a new streamer line or a whole streamer set up? We’d love to walk you through your options and get you set up with what works best for you.

Following an extremely busy Caddis Fest Weekend things have quieted down considerably this week. We’ve got plenty of lodging available through the weekend though we’ve been busy with bookings this morning so don’t wait too long.

What better way to spend the UNOFFICIAL start of the summer season than a fly fishing getaway to the Missouri River? The small streams opened last weekend and while I did see a few folks trying their luck on the churning muddy waters of the LPP your best bet for clean, fishable water and lots of hungry trout is without a doubt, the Missouri.

Dawn is coming earlier each day which has led to some earlier starts but there still aren’t many on the water before 8 am. We’re open daily at 7 am, earlier than most, for everything you need for your day on the water. Shuttles, ice, sun protection, rain gear, wading gear and the biggest and best bug selection ever assembled under one roof in Wolf Creek Montana.

By Jason Orzechowski|2018-05-22T21:48:20-06:00May 22nd, 2018|Categories: Uncategorized|0 Comments

Mid May Water Update

These are a couple of videos showing the extensive flooding in Western Montana. As you can imagine, videos and news reports like these have led to a lot of calls from folks who have Missouri River fishing trips booked for sometime this month or next and who, understandably, are wondering what their options are.

Let me start by saying I don’t want to downplay the seriousness of the situation in any way. The flooding is a real thing which has affected thousands of people in Montana….fishing guides and outfitters included. The snowpack is still well above average for this time of year so there’s plenty more to come.
Some rivers are reaching, or have already reached flood stage and many are flowing at levels which haven’t been seen in some cases in over 100 years.

The Missouri is not one of them.

While the Blackfoot, Bitterroot and Clark Fork Rivers are all running dangerously high the Missouri, while bigger than we’ve seen it for some time, continues to offer a safe and high quality Montana fly fishing experience.

Like we saw with the wildfires last summer, national news coverage can be misleading. Just because the state of Montana is on fire (which much of it was) or western Montana is underwater (which some of it is), it doesn’t mean these things are necessarily happening in the places you are headed to and if you’re headed to the Missouri here’s what you can expect…

The birds are singing, the sun is shining, the water is relatively clean and well within its banks and most importantly the trout are eating. Conditions are great for fishing from a drift boat and while there are a few wading anglers around we wouldn’t advise it at this point. It’s spring time in Montana and the fishing is just fine so we hope to see you soon on the Missouri.

Once again, if you have concerns about your trip by all means give us a call and let’s talk about it but please keep in mind that there is a major difference between 13,000 – 15,000 CFS of run off on a freestone…

and the same dam controlled flows in a tailwater like the Missouri. It may not be exactly what you had in mind but not only is there great fishing to be had but these flushing flows are exactly what the river needs and it should pay big dividends when it comes to this season’s aquatic vegetation and next season’s bug life.

It’s Caddis Fest weekend so expect plenty of traffic in and around Wolf Creek and Craig and drift boats a plenty on the MO’. Stop in and see us for up to the minute Missouri River intel and the biggest and best bug selection ever assembled under one roof in Wolf Creek Montana.

By Jason Orzechowski|2018-05-15T22:57:09-06:00May 15th, 2018|Categories: Uncategorized|0 Comments

Book your Missouri River trip of a lifetime today.

The busy spring season is now fully upon us and while there have been some challenging days out there you can rest assured that there are plenty fish being caught. We’ve been getting a lot of calls about the river flows and where they might be headed and many are wondering, understandably so, what effect these bigger flows are going to have on the fishing.

Here’s what we know.
At the time of this writing flows below Holter continue to hold at 12,400 cfs which is where they’ve been for the last couple of days. Water temperature continues to climb and is currently just over 46 degrees.

We have received notice that flows will be increased this afternoon and again tomorrow afternoon to control the rate of fill at Canyon Ferry which is currently 70 percent full.

Snow pack for the Missouri mainstem remains at around 125% of average. There is some rain in the forecast for the next couple of days but cooler temps will go a long way in slowing the snow melt.

So what does this all mean for your Missouri River fly fishing plans?

Here are some answers to FAQ’s.

How’s the fishing? Fair to good. The majority of the fishing is happening between Holter Dam and Craig right now. Nymphing is by far your best bet. Some days its ON, some days it’s a little tougher. Some who are fishing on their own have had a tough go of it, some have had exceptional days. As you would expect guided anglers have had more success overall than those fishing on their own but guided or not, the majority of the traffic has been and will continue to be between the dam and Craig. The water between the dam and Little Prickly Pear is of course the cleanest which would explain the traffic jams happening on occasion up there. Don’t be afraid to launch at Wolf Creek though as there is plenty of good water between Wolf Creek and Craig. At these flows you can cover that stretch fairly quickly with plenty of time to go up and do the dam to Wolf Creek for the second half of your day. Don’t tell anyone about this sneaky move! Tailwater sows, Pill Poppers, Wire Worms, Caviar Scuds, Pink Amex, Rainbow Czechs, Grey Little Green Machines…pretty much the same stuff you’ve been running for the past couple of weeks. All available now at Wolf Creek Angler. Some are running short, more are running long with more weight than they want to but it’s all about adjusting to the conditions. Keep this in mind, act on it and you should do just fine.
Is there any wade fishing? Some. Not a lot. Fishing is definitely best done from a drift boat these days but there are a few guys wading out there. Should you decide to wade please use extreme caution and don’t try to wade out too far. Keep in mind while you may think you need to get out further look at what the guys in the boats are doing. More often than not they’re hugging the banks and fishing out to the same water you’d be fishing to from your wade spot. We aren’t expecting ideal wade conditions this spring. Think summer!
Is it worth coming out? Absolutely it is. If you made plans ahead of time to fish in Montana in May then the Missouri is the place to be. The clean water flowing from Holter Dam and the awesome trout population make the MO’ THE place to be no matter the flows.
What will the flows be in June? We don’t know. There are many variables, most of which have to do with the weather. Temps and amount of precipitation are key. The graph below is what the experts expect….we’ll go with that for now.

5. Do you have amazing Missouri River Fly Fishing Guides and clean and affordable lodging available for prime dates? Why yes, yes we do. It just so happens that we’ve had a few prime dates open up with some of the most sought after guides on the river. Give us a call at (406)235-4350 or drop us a line at info@wolfcreekangler.com to see what we can do for you.

It’s going to be a good, long season here in Montana and we’d love for you to be here. We understand and appreciate your concerns about the water and we encourage you to give us a call if you would like to talk about it. The bottom line at this point is that wading is not going to be optimal, at least not for the immediate future but if you don’t mind fishing from a boat we are of the opinion that you’re in for great times on the Missouri this spring. Green hills, blue skies, sunshine and hot fish…does it get any better?

By Jason Orzechowski|2018-05-09T20:59:59-06:00May 9th, 2018|Categories: Uncategorized|1 Comment

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