It’s hard for me to believe but we’ve already reached MID JUNE!
Things are in full tilt mode to the point where we’ve lost track of time. If it weren’t for the local dining schedule we’d have no idea what day it is! No dinner at the Oasis? It must be a Tuesday or Wednesday. Dinner at the O but not at Izaaks? Gotta be Monday. Thursday – Sunday blend into one and the next thing you know you’re smack dab in the middle of prime time on the Missouri.
How’s the fishing you ask? Well every day is a little different but the word from the past several has been PMD’s – GAME ON!
Lots of bugs…..lots of fish up…. and most importantly plenty of fish willing to eat a well presented fly.
For perhaps the first time this season it sounds like the dry fly fishing has been exceeding the nymphing in terms of success rates. Nymphing has been good though somewhat inconsistent so if that’s your game don’t despair. Just because it’s slow today doesn’t mean it won’t be on fire tomorrow.
If it’s dry fly fishing you seek then this is your time! Anyone who follows this blog and others pertaining to the Missouri knows that the dry fly fishing on this river is technical. We’ve got plenty of fish. Plenty of ultra-selective, uppity fish who will laugh at your poor presentation all day long. Casting practice is for the back yard not the MO’. Dial it in before you hit the water or you’ll likely come to be very well acquainted with a thing called frustration. DRAG FREE DRIFT….think it, practice it, live it! Often times not an easy task on the tricky MO’. Need some coaching? We’re more than happy to help!
Best bets on the bugs? We’ve done well with Rusty Spinners, Brooks Sprout PMD, Quigley’s Film Critic, Wilcox’s Micro May PMD, Flash Cripples, Nyman’s DOA Cripple, CDC Winged Emergers, buzzballs, Parachute Adams and more.
Flows in the 9000 CFS range have been fine for dry fly action and nymphing alike. Not the best wading conditions but perfect conditions for fishing from the comfortable confines of a drift boat. Flows are back on the rise and will reach near 12000 again tomorrow as a result of the major rain events we experienced around the region this week. Canyon Ferry is filling quickly so it’s time to dump some water. Think Flushing Flows. We like flushing flows.
What should you expect for the second half of June. Expect a drop in and stabilization of flows soon barring any major precipitation events and expect continued amazing PMD action though we may experience a bit of a lull with the big bump in flows today and tomorrow. Back to the wire worm and the sow bugs. We’re having our best action on sow variations paired with a Fishfinder or Wire Worm. I would expect this to hold true through these bigger flows (10,400 as I write).
Should you choose to switch it up and stray from the sow we’ve been doing well with split case and Crack Back PMD’s, Magic Flies (Rusty or PMD), Little Green Machines, Brown or PMD S & M’s, Psycho Mays, Military Mays, Peep Shows, Gold Weight Flies, Purple Lightning Bugs, Rainbow Czechs, Rainbow Warriors, Doc’s PMD, Tung Darts and plain old pheasant tails among many others.
Streamers? Yes. Pick your poison. Sparkle Minnows, Dirty Hippies, Space Invaders, Buggers. Stun Guns, Circus Peanuts AND MORE. Come by the shop and check out what some consider to be “the best selection of streamers on the MO'”.
Lodging is full for the most part but we do have a few vacancies on Saturday due to cancellations.
The shop is open daily at 7 AM for everything you need for your day on the water. Stop by and see us today.
Curious….if/when the flows jump to 12000, how long does it usually take for it to drop back down to wade-able depth/flow…barring NO precipitation? Best guess?