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Summer Days on the Missouri
And just like that…. summer is here!
Sunday is the Summer Solstice (and also Father’s Day by the way), marking the longest day of the year.
Next week we begin the long march towards darkness so while you’re feeling those fishy summer vibes know that winter is on the way. Praying for a good one!
We’re expecting a busy weekend on the MO with Father’s Day and a pleasant summer forecast on tap. Highs in the mid 70’s today and near 80 tomorrow with partly sunny skies and moderate SW winds at 10-15 mph.
Cooler temps on Sunday and Monday with highs near 70 and warming mid-week, back into the 80’s. All in all, the weather we’ve had these last few weeks is just what we’ve needed as we look towards the challenges of low flows and summer heat.
Fishing has been good but challenging, as it should be. PMD and Caddis nymphs along with sows and pheasant tails have been getting the job done with fish holding in the faster, medium to shallow depths. Deep rigs are still effective though short leashing the shallow flats or even running a dry/dropper rig has been good and should continue to produce.
Of course this is supposed to be Prime Time for DFO’s on the Missouri, and while there are certainly plenty of fish being caught, the overall sentiment is that the dry fly fishing has been challenging more often than not.
Our PMD’s arrived weeks early and stalled out with colder weather. It’s unclear how the remainder of the PMD window will play out. There are bugs daily but the hatches have lacked consistency. The fish are spooky. The cast is critical! We’re holding out hope for some great PMD days still ahead and caddis fishing should only get better as we move into summer.
Traffic is seemingly at all-time highs with crowds of wade anglers at most of the prime spots and no shortage of boats in any given stretch on any given day. Couple high traffic with low flows and you get spooky fish. Toss in some hot summer weather and the resulting bump in recreational floaters and you’ve got a busy MO ripe for conflict. We urge all river users to play nice and to COEXIST!
We’re in full tilt mode for the next 4 weeks. Rooms are booked solid, rental boats all booked daily, shuttles cranking, guide availability non-existent…. we are indeed making the proverbial hay while the sun is shining knowing that the march to winter darkness is underway.
Open daily at 7 AM or earlier for all of your Missouri River Fly fishing needs.