Baldwin Bait and Tackle Archives

Late May Missouri River Fishing Report

Steve with one of several streamer eating bows.

The summer season unofficially began yesterday with Memorial Day and coincidentally we saw flows on the river decrease daily over the weekend making it look and feel a little more like the river we’ve become accustomed to in late spring with flows in the 8700 cfs range, clearing water and the fish returning to the faster water in which you’d normally expect to find them.

The weather is feeling like summer as well with plenty of sunshine, highs in the low 80’s and scattered thunderstorms popping up here and there daily. We’ll close out May with temps near 90 tomorrow before things return to more seasonably normal conditions towards the end of the week.

The official word on flows has things holding in the 8500 cfs range for the time being. We’re anxiously awaiting the updated operations report and flow forecast for June from the Bureau of Reclamation and we will share that with you as soon as we get it. There’s still a fair amount of talk about big water due to the well above average snow pack in the high country but as you can see the current SNOTEL map is indicating a somewhat gradual but steady reduction of snowpack in our region which is now in that 90 – 109 % of average range indicated by the color green.

11,000 cfs was fun, like a whole new river with fish fleeing to the slow depths and consistently eating sow bugs and the like presented at or near the bottom. These substantial drops in flows over the past few days have made things interesting and a little challenging depending on the day,but from what it sounds like from most of yesterday’s reports things may be settling. It’s transition time so while you shouldn’t necessarily abandon the worm/sow rigs it’s definitely time to start adding mayfly nymphs into the equation. Little Green Machines, Peep Shows and various PMD and Caddis nymphs (PMD Magic Fly, Split Case PMD, S& M PMD, Doc’s PMD, Tungsten UV Czech Caddis, Gold or Purple Weight Fly, Tung Dart,etc) You’re options are limitless right now!

Fish the slow depths for sure but start paying attention to the medium fast, swirly water as well. They are there and they are in feeding mode. No need to shorten up, you’re 9-10′ overall rig with which you’ve been plying the depths these last two weeks should work just fine.

The dry fly game is not really being played yet. The fish aren’t playing so we’re not playing but it shouldn’t be long, especially if the flows continue to hold or drop.

Not much talk out there about streamers as of late but don’t let that fool you. If you like the streamer game then play the streamer game. If you put your time in chances are you won’t be disappointed.

I had the pleasure of doing a full-on streamer float with Steve Fraley, a good friend from Michigan this past Saturday. Steve is Co-owner of Baldwin Bait and Tackle on the Pere Marquette River in Baldwin MI and it just so happens he played a major role in my becoming a streamer fishing addict by convincing me to do a destination streamer trip to Argentina way back in the day. I never looked back!

Steve made a surprise visit to Wolf Creek on Friday while en route to Seattle and on to Alaska where he guides during the summer months. We decided to do a short float on Saturday morning starting with nymphing and maybe switching over to streamers later in the day. The nymphing lasted for about an hour before we decided to go full-on streamers and we had several hours of solid action before things went quiet in the afternoon. I had downplayed streamer fishing on the MO’, especially with the bright sunny conditions but as is often the case, the fish were not deterred by the conditions. Just the opposite in fact. Maybe not LIGHTS OUT but a bunch of fish moved, a fair amount hooked and a few to the boat….a pretty good streamer day on any river and all in just a couple of hours of fishing.

The bottom line for late May/early June fishing on the MO’ is that things are good. If dry fly fishing is what you are seeking it’s not yet your time but conditions couldn’t be better for nymphing and streamer fishing. The crowds from two weeks ago have thinned a bit but the major influx is coming!

We hope to see you very soon at Wolf Creek Angler. We are your Missouri River fly fishing destination with EVERYTHING you need for your fly fishing odyssey. Affordable lodging, the best guides on the river and The up and coming Full Service Missouri River Fly Shop. Book your stay with us today or swing by on your way to the MO’ and see what the buzz is about. Open at 7 am daily for all of your Missouri River fly fishing needs.

Small World on the MO

The one vehicle that was at the Craig takeout the other day had a Thule on top with a bunch of stickers on it so I did what I usually do in that situation which is to put a WCA sticker on the windshield of the vehicle. Kentucky plates, Orvis Endorsed Guide Stickers, brand new Black Dog Deluxe trailer…must’ve picked up a new Adipose in Helena and doing the maiden voyage on the MO.
Yesterday morning that vehicle pulled up in front of the shop which I thought was cool. Imagine my surprise when Frank Willetts emerged from the vehicle. Who is Frank Willetts you ask? Frank is a co-owner of the Pere Marquette River Lodge in Baldwin Michigan. http://www.pmlodge.com/

The PM Lodge was a significant part of my journey into the sport of fly fishing which has ultimately led me to Montana and to the birth of Wolf Creek Angler.

While I was still on the outside looking in, still bringing the spinning gear along in case the fly fishing didn’t work out (which was pretty much every time), I was given a full day PM guide trip for my birthday through the Pere Marquette Lodge. We ended up doing a late August late afternoon/night float from M-37 to Gleason’s Landing. We spent a lot of time working on casting and presentation and while the fishing was not good that day I did hook into a beast in the darkness which I never saw but I was instantly hooked on night fishing on the Pere Marquette.

Following that first trip with the lodge I would stop there occasionally to get my fly shop fix. I met Frank the winter following that first guide trip. He and his partners had just purchased the shop. Frank’s enthusiasm was contagious and I soon became a regular at the PM Lodge. The second trip I booked through the shop Frank paired us with Brad Turner who would turn out to be the one who would teach me much of what I know about fly fishing and who encouraged me all along to chase this dream. Brad and I are great friends to this day and we fish together whenever we can, sometimes in Montana, sometimes in Michigan.

The two fly shops in Baldwin MI (PM Lodge and Baldwin Bait and Tackle http://www.fishbaldwin.com/index.cfm ) were my shops when I lived in MI and while I drifted from one to the other over the years I consider them both great shops in a great fly fishing community and I visit them every time I’m back there, you should too.

I hadn’t seen Frank since 2012 when I left Michigan so to see him in my parking lot and visit with him in my fly shop was definitely a full circle moment for me.

It just goes to show you, you never know who you’ll run into on the Missouri River.