Zeke enjoying the Dog Days of Summer

We’re enjoying a lull in the action as summer starts to slip away.

The season has flown by us as they tend to do….seemingly going by more quickly with each year that passes.

Pre-season jitters, Prime Time Chaos, the boat rental blur, green hills, BWO’s, PMD’s, long summer light….all in the rearview now.

The cool, dark mornings, fading greens and sagging choke cherry tree branches heavy laden with ripening fruit all have us thinking fall but there’s still plenty of summer ahead of us.

Trico fishing has been the best it’s been in years and while the hopper bite has been less than stellar it’s still good enough. Last light caddis have provided somewhat consistent evening action and nymphing, while made challenging by the increasing weed mass, has been racking up the numbers more often than not.

Fishing has definitely been better in the mornings and slowing in the afternoon so early starts (not too early) are still recommended.

We’ve been starting most of our trips right around 7 AM which has been working out just fine.

Some days you can count the boats on the water on one hand, other days it’s busier but all in all it’s been a quiet week on the MO.

Less traffic equals fewer shuttles which means we’ve been wrapping up shuttling fairly early in the day most days. There have been a fair number of folks rolling in later whom we’ve had to send away. We apologize for the inconvenience and ask that you get here by noon to get into our shuttle queue on any given day. We expect things to pick up at some point which should extend our shuttle hours though the next challenge is that we’ll soon be losing a significant portion of our shuttle crew with school starting.

I have no doubts we’ll figure it out as we’ve got a busy fall season ahead. And just a reminder, we are the home of the cheapest DAM shuttles on the MO so if you’re doing the top section of the river and you’re getting a shuttle from any other shop, you’re paying more than you need to.

We’ve got an abundance of lodging vacancies all month long as well as some guide availability and plenty of boat rental availability should you decide to work the MO into your late summer schedule.

The river is quiet but the fish have no idea it’s time to chill and relax and enjoy what’s left of our Montana summer. They’re still eating and we’re still looking to feed them. Come see what August has to offer.

The shop is open at 7 AM daily for all of you Missouri River fly fishing needs.

Shuttles, bugs, ice, SAGE R8’s, Korkers wading shoes and sandals, sun protection, fishing licenses, lines from SA, Rio and Airflo for any and all situations and all kinds of summer sportswear/sunwear from Simms and Ouray on sale as we close out the summer season and make room for fall gear arriving soon. 

We are your Missouri River late summer fly fishing destination!