John and daughter Ellie were all smiles for a couple of wet days on the MO'.

John and daughter Ellie were all smiles for a couple of wet days on the MO’.

So far May has not disappointed.

The fishing has been good for most and Mother Nature continues to please with plenty of precipitation and cool temps keeping us optimistic about what we’ll see for water on the MO’ this season.

On the flip side we have heard a few complaints about the weather (and maybe even complained about it ourselves from time to time) with a lot of  folks ready for some warm, dry days on the water. We’re selling plenty of Kast Steelhead Gloves and we’ve yet to put away the Hand Warmers and it’s been a good spring for wader and rain gear sales so we’ll take it but it’s sure nice to see the sun shine every now and again! Don’t get me wrong – we’re thrilled to be getting the precipitation and the fishing in the rain is just fine but a bit of sunshine is good for the soul.

We fished through a rainy weekend and transitioned from rain and cold yesterday morning to a gorgeous afternoon/evening and a couple of  warm sunny days today and tomorrow before rain returns for the weekend. Expect plenty of traffic this weekend, rain or shine, with the 10th Annual Craig Caddis Festival and BBQ Cook Off  happening on Saturday. Come out and enjoy some great food along with awesome silent auction items including fishing trips, original art and gear from your favorite local fly shops. The festivities get underway at 4:00 PM.

Good nymphing out there the past couple of days with the stronger reports coming from the middle and lower stretches. The canyon has been fishing particularly well but there are plenty of fish and plenty of opportunities river-wide. Wire worms and sow bugs have been a good go-to combo but we’re starting to get some solid action on various caddis pupa as well. Weight flies in purple or gold are a great choice for a point fly right now, trailed with your favorite sow bug, mayfly or midge imitation. LGM’s, S & M’s in brown, Yum Yums, Tailwater Sows, Granato’s Snack Nasty Sows, Psycho Mays, Dark Peep Shows, black zebra midges, split case bwo’s, Hot Belly PT’s, Pearl Lightning Bugs and on and on.

Fish the bugs you have confidence in and think depth before you think bug changes. There are certainly some bugs that are consistently working out there but it’s funny how we all get caught up in fishing the “Hot Flies”. We are happy to sell you the HOT FLIES but it’s not uncommon to have people return to the shop after fishing these HOT FLIES having not had any luck with them. Fish what you like. If you thinks it’s going to catch fish you tend to fish it well and often times this is the difference between success and failure.

Dry-fly fishing has been hit and miss at best with BWO’s on the wane and caddis few and far between in the stretches below Craig. It’s been a great BWO spring as far as bugs go but more often than not we’re hearing reports of very few fish up on them. Not to worry though, there is plenty of dry-fly fishing ahead. Keep that dry fly rig at the ready.

Streamers have continued to produce for us to the point where I will say it’s been a pretty damn good couple of weeks. Not exactly HOT but definitely worth committing to  for a day, or at least for a couple of hours. Zach and I share a passion for streamer fishing and it shows in our bug selection. Stop by and see what’s new. We’ve got a bunch of new bugs including some WCA/Chewy Exclusives you won’t find in any other shop. We’re happy to set you up with everything you need for streamer fishing on the MO’ and beyond. We’ve got a wide selection of specialty lines from RIO , SA and Airflo and we’ve got some great streamer sticks from LOOP, Echo and St Croix. We’ve been referred to by some as having the best streamer selection in the canyon. Whether or not this is the case we definitely take great pride in our selection and we hope you make WCA your Missouri River Streamer Fishing Headquarters.

We do have a few vacancies in the motel this week and we’ve always got top notch guides at the ready. Give us a call today and book a Missouri River Fly Fishing getaway you won’t soon forget. We’ve also got Adipose and RO drift boat rentals, shuttle service and a shop full of everything you need for fly fishing the Missouri River and beyond. We are your full service Missouri River Fly Fishing destination.