Spring presents a grind, a minor league grind by comparison to what’s to come but a good warm up nonetheless and a chance to Settle In To Spring.

There have been a handful of genuinely busy days but as per usual, spring traffic is moderate, it just feels really busy sometimes after a winter of achieving customer counts in the single digits more days than not.

Fishing has been solid though the default conditions of sunshine and cloudless skies with varying degrees of breeziness can sometimes make for challenging days, especially for those in dry fly mode.

Not to say it isn’t happening. It is. You just need to be in the right place at the right time and the right time is typically the later part of the day when the sun is low and mid-day breezes have dissipated. Evening midge fishing has been consistently good for a couple of months now and should provide ample entertainment for those who despise the bobber but if you’re looking for BWO’s it’s far from clockwork.

In other words, take advantage of the overcast, not so nice days. Those are the BWO days. Sometimes it happens. Sometimes it doesn’t. We’ve seen a couple of good bug days with some good pods and some very respectable fish willing to eat a well-presented fly. As you’ve no doubt heard, it ain’t like it used to be but it is like it is and you can still catch a behemoth on a dry fly on any given day during spring fishing on the Missouri.

March Browns are not something you’ll typically find in abundance but they’re around and the fish LOVE them. We recommend you keep a few in reach for quick rigging should the opportunity present itself. Mother’s Day this Sunday…the Mother’s Day Caddis have been alerted and have begun to show themselves. 

So back to the default weather conditions…nymphing has, and will almost always be, the go to method for those looking to bend the rod with relative frequency. Sunny days still aren’t the best but if you’re fishing deep it shouldn’t matter much. That being said, we’ve certainly had some tougher days as of late where they just didn’t seem to be eating but other days have been what you’ve come to expect on the MO, constant action with a good number of fish to hand.

It’s still a Sow Bug game as it seemingly always is, but baetis nymphs have been the better option as of late with Grey Little Green Machines, Olive Psycho Mays, BWO Redemption, BWO Magic Fly, Split Case BWO’s and plain old Pheasant Tails leading the charge.

Streamer fishing has been somewhat sub-par due I think mostly to the aforementioned weather conditions but low light periods have been good so if you’re going to do it maybe look to that extra early start or those same BWO type grey/rainy/snowy days.

Some days it feels like we’ve hit our season stride in the shop and lodging world with boats and rigs packed in the parking lot, all rooms occupied and multitudes awaiting their turn at the register for bugs and shuttles. Other days it feels like winter again with sparse occupancy and maybe just a few folks poking around the shop. Such is springtime on the MO but it only get’s busier from here so we’re thankful for the gradual start.

Our WCA team has been assembled and I honestly think it’s our best one yet. You’ll mostly see Phil and yours truly in the shop but we’ve also welcomed back Shalon who has been here on and off over the years and Bryan who joined us last year and helps part time with the shop and shuttles. We’re also excited to have Shaniah on board helping with the shop and shuttles and Carson will return in June for a second year of doing anything and everything that needs to be done. Rhonda and Gary have returned to round out the shuttle staff and Missy is back for year number 5 as Head of Housekeeping.

We hope you stop in and meet all of our awesome crew members.

We’re open earlier than most at 7 AM daily and will be extending our hours beginning on Monday, May 12th when we’ll be open from 7 AM – 5 PM Daily.

Stop in for The Cheapest Dam Shuttles on the MO (unless you want to pay more elsewhere) and restock your bug boxes while you’re here. We’ve got more bugs than we’ve ever had and that’s saying something as we’ve always been proud co possess the biggest selection of bugs ever assembled under one roof in Wolf Creek Montana.

Fishing licenses, Ice, Trxstle Rod Racks, Sage R8 Classics, Ross Coors reels and SO MUCH MORE.