It just keeps coming!

A steady snow falling this Thursday afternoon, APRIL 20th. Lows in the mid 20’s expected tonight with more snow on the way tonight and tomorrow. One more night of unseasonably cold lows Friday night and then maybe, just maybe we’ll be done with this.

No complaints about the snow – it’s all good but generally once we’re this far into April we’re ready for those temps that might freeze plumbing to have ceased. I’ve been waiting to turn the last of the water on having learned my lesson in years past when we’ve ended up with frozen plumbing in mid-April but we’re getting down to the wire and we’re going to need that water soon.

The dice will undoubtedly be rolled this weekend. Overnight lows look to be climbing and I think perhaps we’re on the precipice of leaving winter behind.

In addition to challenging my sanity, the unseasonably cold weather has also had somewhat of a chilling effect on business. With the exception of a couple of nice days that brought folks out of the woodwork (notably last Saturday) things have been relatively quiet for late April on the MO. Cold weather has kept the waters state-wide in good shape and delayed the runoff that generally precipitates the annual spring migration of guides and outfitters to the MO from around the region.

This has made for some relatively quiet days on the water which no one is complaining about. No one with the exception of the fly shop owners who are sitting on piles of new inventory watching the spring season pass by! But that’s neither here nor there.

Weather and stories of woe aside – fishing has been outstanding. Just what you would expect in mid to late April on the Missouri. Nymphing has been outstanding, last light dry fly fishing on midges has been consistently good depending on the day and streamer fishing is in PRIME TIME so if that’s your game these next few weeks are when you’ll want to be here.

Best bets for nymphs….Pill Poppers, Peterson’s Sow, Tailwater Sow, UV Yum Yum, Pink Ray with lucent pink bead, Caviar Scud, Rainbow Czech, Radiation Baetis (Pink), Pink Lighting Bug, Rainbow Warrior, black Zebra midge, soft hackle sow, Cotton Candy, Split Case BWO, BWO Magic Fly, Little Green Machine, Olive Psycho May. Sow bugs and anything with pink or orange beads have been the go tos but you should definitely be mixing some baeits and midge nymphs just to show them something they maybe haven’t seen quite so much.

The fish are on the move. You might find a few hanging in that slow winter water yet but you’ll definitely want to target the medium fast, medium depth water which is where they seem to be congregating at the moment. 

Most of the nymphing traffic has been in the Holter Dam to Craig stretch but there’s no reason not to spread it out as the river is fishing well in all sections. 

Dry Flies – Black Midge, Griffiths Gnat, Parachute Midge, Bucky’s Midge Cluster, Midge Sprout, Parachute Adams and maybe give that Skwala a try.

Streamers – all over the board but best sellers have been Skiddish Smolt, Sparkle Minnow, Thin Mints, Kreelex, Silk Kitty, Swim Coach, Mini Dungeon, Baby Gonga, MK Ultralite. Best Colors – Natural, white and olive.

Swing or strip. Bomb the banks, work the troughs, dredge the depths. The fish are where you find them which could be anywhere right now. Try a varied strip with plenty of pauses. Hit the shallows and give it a second to settle before you strip.

There’s no time like spring time on the MO.

We’re open daily from 7:30 AM – 4 PM. Stop in for everything you need for your day on the water including the CHEAPEST DAM SHUTTLES ON THE MO.