With current flows on the Missouri holding at just over 11K it’s a different river than what you might be used to this time of year but it’s fishing just fine and there’s no reason you shouldn’t have successful days out there provided you make a few basic adjustments to your game.

Before we get to that however the big question on everyone’s mind is “how high are those flows going to go”? We’ve been getting plenty of calls on a daily basis regarding the current flows and where they might be headed and what that might mean for June/July Missouri River fishing plans.

As is always the case, first off the disclaimer. We here at Wolf Creek Angler are ill equipped to give any sort of qualified professional predictions as to what the flows on the Missouri will or will not be over these next several weeks. We know what we’re seeing out there now, we know what the SNOTEL looks like and we know what the “experts” are forecasting….beyond that we are not hydrologists, climatologists or meteorologists so our guess is as good as yours.

This morning we received a notice from the Bureau of Reclamation calling for a DECREASE in flows on the Missouri. The notice included the following;

COMMENTS:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Operational plans indicate releases need to be reduced in order to gradually fill Canyon Ferry Reservoir to the top of the joint use pool.  Flows on the Missouri River below Holter Dam will be near 10,000 cfs.  In response, the following operation changes are required at Canyon Ferry Dam and Powerplant.   

CANYON FERRY RELEASES AND OPERATIONS: Times are Mountain Daylight Savings Time 

At 1600 hour on Wednesday, May 24, 2017:    Maintain releases through the river outlet gates at 0 cfs.  Decrease releases through the spillway gates to 4,750 cfs.    Maintain turbine release at ≈ 5,100 cfs (≈52.0 MW-Hrs/hr using 98. cfs/mw). Maintain releases for Helena Valley Project at 700 cfs (350 cfs pumped to Helena Valley and 350 cfs discharged to the Missouri River). Decrease release to the Missouri River to 10,200 cfs.  Decrease total release from Canyon Ferry to 10,550 cfs

At 1600 hour on Thursday, May 25, 2017:  Maintain releases through the river outlet gates at 0 cfs.  Decrease releases through the spillway gates to 4,250 cfs.    Maintain turbine release at ≈ 5,100 cfs (≈52.0 MW-Hrs/hr using 98. cfs/mw). Maintain releases for Helena Valley Project at 700 cfs (350 cfs pumped to Helena Valley and 350 cfs discharged to the Missouri River). Decrease release to the Missouri River to 9,700 cfs.  Decrease total release from Canyon Ferry to 10,050 cfs

Meanwhile, flows on the Dearborn are on the rise again (currently 1,020 cfs) while Little Prickly Pear continues to drop. The SNOTEL is still looking blue (and sometimes more blue by the day as spring storms continue to deliver snow to the high country).

So what’s it all mean? Those in the know are well aware of the snowpack and they have decided to reduce the outflow from Canyon Ferry in order to fill the reservoir. This tells me that the current contributing conditions are such that those calling the shots feel Missouri flows maintained in the 10K range below Holter Dam for time being will allow for sufficient fill rates. Above average precipitation over these next few weeks could definitely change this but if things remain average or below where precipitation is concerned we expect flows will be maintained at this level for the time being and will gradually be reduced as runoff peaks sometime in early to mid June.

We are getting calls about June and July conditions and what we are telling people as that our best guess is that we will see flows stabilize somewhere in the 6K range for the season once the peak flows have been reached. When exactly this will take place we don’t know but my gut is telling me we mid June…..I could be way off, it wouldn’t be the first time.

So how does all of this affect you and your Missouri River summer fly fishing plans? It all depends on how you fish. If you are a wade-only angler you may be challenged by the conditions this spring. If you fish from a boat you will likely LOVE the flows if they hold in the 10K range.

Last week the river was as muddy as I’ve ever seen it following Wednesday  night’s rain storm which pushed Little Prickly Pear into the 700 cfs range and the Dearborn to over 1500 CFS providing plenty of muddy inflow to the MO’. Muddy water has it’s own set of challenges but we still caught plenty of fish.

When you are fishing high or muddy water it’s important to keep in mind that the fundamentals remain the same. You need to find the fish and determine what it is they are eating. This is the case for any and all water conditions. Don’t overthink the challenges.

Generally speaking the fish move with the increased flows in order to maintain the type of water in which they like to reside. Changes in rigging are sometimes necessary to address the new location of the fish but if you have been having success with a certain rig (depth/weight/bugs) then leave it exactly as is and find the water for which you built it. We had pretty good success doing this with bumps of a couple hundred or even up to 1000 CFS but now that we’re double the volume we were a short time ago it has changed things a little more drastically.

The bugs have been the same but most are finding those fish in the deeper, slower water. These aren’t necessarily the slow, deep spots you are used to however because everything is bigger/deeper etc so you have to prospect a bit to find the fishy water.

Sow bugs and worms have been the recipe for success with Tailwater Sows leading the charge. The run on these has been nothing short of staggering over the last two weeks. We received a restock order last week and had to place another order yesterday. It looks like the bins should be full again by Thursday at the latest.

Some have been getting them to go on Little Green Machines, S & M’s, Peep Shows and other mayfly and/or caddis pupae patterns but I haven’t had any real reason to abandon the worm/sow combo aside from a few times a Tungsten Rainbow Czech beat out the worm on point.

The dam has been extremely busy this week as you might expect and reports have been good. Wolf Creek to Craig has been hit or miss but there are definitely hot spots in there which are worth your time. We’ve heard a mixed bag of reports from the canyon and not much from down low but overall it’s been decent to good depending on the day.

Streamer fishing has been solid during low light with black and olive both producing well. Stow the streamer stick during high sun and stick to nymphing.

Dry fly fishing opportunities have been few and far between. Plenty of bugs…sporadic rising.

The bottom line? Don’t be intimidated by the flows. This is more water than we’ve seen in quite a few years but it’s definitely fishable and may be your only option for the time being if you want to fly fish in Montana.

Don’t fall into the Dam Trap.  There are fish EVERYWHERE!

A great way to get a handle on fishing higher flows is to spend a day on the water with one of our expert guides. There’s no doubt you can figure it out on your own but what you learn in a day with a guide might take you years to learn on your own.

We’ve got plenty of lodging and plenty of guides available through the end of the month and the shop is FULLY STOCKED with all kinds of big water bugs and anything else you need for fly fishing the Missouri and beyond. We are your Missouri River Fly Fishing Destination!