Gail with a Missouri River beauty – a reward for a day of dedication and hard work. We’re pretty sure she’s going to stick with this fly fishing thing. Great job Gail!
It’s been a hot couple of days here in Wolf Creek with little to no wind, lots of sun, very few clouds and temps in the 90’s. Perfect conditions for summer dry-fly fishing on the Missouri River. PMD’s are being spotted daily, more frequently below Craig. The same is true for caddis which, while abundant, are still more concentrated in the waters below Craig. We had some great days in the Pelican to Cascade stretch last week but that being said, the bugs are everywhere and it’s just a matter of time before it’s full on dry-fly madness river-wide.
Heavy recreational and angling traffic over the weekend gave way to empty parking lots at the dam and Wolf Creek Bridge on Monday morning and while there was a little more pressure down low I think it’s safe to say that we can treat these last quiet days as the calm before the storm. We are just days away from the start of peak traffic on the Missouri. Savor the silence, enjoy the open water, breathe deeply and get ready for the Big Show – come August you can breathe again.
We’ve been keeping an eye on the river flows and fielding a fair amount of calls about water levels. The talk has now turned from low flow concerns to high water concerns as Canyon Ferry Reservoir is now just shy of 98 percent full and the water has to go somewhere. We’ve not received the updated projections from those in the know just yet regarding what we’ll see for the remainder of the month and through the remainder of the season but we are happy with the flows right now (6000 ish) and the one thing we do know is that we will have water all season long, how little or how much remains to be seen.
Some of our wade angling guests have been expressing concern and disappointment with the “high water” and while I suppose there is a chance that we’ll see a brief period of big water we are not seeing anything remotely resembling big water at 6K. We would love to see 5,000 all summer long. Fingers crossed.
The nymphing game has changed a bit with the bump in flows. The Wolf Creek to Craig stretch has been on the slow side though if you spend some time working the areas you know hold fish, changing depths and bugs and weight and fishing lanes you should be able to get it figured out. We’ve found longer rigs with a bb and a #12 Rainbow Czech or Weight Fly trailed with some sort of sow bug (#18 tailwater sow for me) to be the most effective in the water above Craig but I’ve heard plenty of reports of people also getting it done with shallow rigs and no weight fishing shallow fast water with mayfly nymphs. There is no magic rig. You just have to make changes (one piece at a time) until you find what’s working.
Those interested in fishing dries should continue to concentrate their efforts below Craig though you can usually find some fish up if you know where to look no matter where you are at. I’ve got the dry-fly rod rigged up and at the ready every time I’m out and I would encourage you to do the same. A #14 Sloan’s Outrigger Caddis trailed with a Grey/Tan CDC Caddis Emerger is a great place to start. We’ve got bins full of new Caddis and PMD patterns so come in check out the new bugs.
Our Long -Time DFO Regulars are starting to arrive in droves beginning this weekend. The next six weeks are our busiest of the year for guide trips and lodging, both of which will be hard to come by as many of these dates have been booked since last year. That being said, if you are thinking you want to come out soon and see what this Missouri River thing is all about give us a call and we’ll see what we can make happen for you.
Stop by and pick our brains about water levels, PMD’s, Caddis, why the nymphing is so slow, why the nymphing is so good, how long it takes to float from the dam to Craig, why there are no bugs, why there are so many bugs, why the two-party system doesn’t work and on and on. We may not have all the answers you are looking for but we’re happy to give our .02 on just about any subject.
Shop open daily at 7 AM for all of your Missouri River fly fishing needs. Shuttles, bugs, boats, fishing licenses, leaders, tippet, fly lines, tools and accessories, bunches of Buffs, sunglasses, sunscreen, Sun hats and new hot weather logo gear from Simms along with more summer fishing wear from Kast Gear arriving soon.
We are proud to be your go-to Outfitter owned and operated full service Missouri River Fly shop. See you at Wolf Creek Angler!
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