fly fishing Archives - Page 44 of 46

October on the MO

Perfect Autumn morning at Wolf Creek Bridge. Photo by Wolf Creek Angler

Fall colors are in full swing on the Missouri River. Photo by Neale Streeks

Fishing has been improving steadily over the past few weeks as we make the full transition to fall. We’ve had summer-like weather for the most part save for one day of snow showers early in the month and while it’s made for some beautiful days on the water we would prefer some cooler, cloudier weather to get the bugs going. Tomorrow could be the day with a chance of rain and snow showers and highs in the low 50’s. Sunny skies return on Monday and Tuesday but with temps dipping into the high 30’s at night hopefully we will see a drop in the water temp which should usher in the big bugs everybody is waiting for.

The fishing has been pretty solid depending on the day throughout the system with the possible exception of the Holter Dam to Wolf Creek Bridge stretch which, after giving it up consistently for many weeks, has gotten relatively quiet. The usual suspects (zebras, sow bugs, pt’s, green machines etc.) will still pick up a few fish on any given day up there but we haven’t seen the consistent action like we were seeing a few weeks ago. The cray fish has also gone quiet after a spectacular run, though I wouldn’t hesitate to try one if nothing else is working.

Below Wolf Creek Bridge it’s a different story with dries, nymphs and streamers all getting it done. The browns are on the prowl and will hammer a streamer right now. Good patterns for us have been Coffey’s Sparkle Minnow in Sculpin, polar leeches in black, copper and olive/copper, olive smolts and the gold/silver Kreelex. Change your bugs, change up your strip and be patient. The Streamer game is not a numbers thing and you may go a long time between chases and may go all day without a hook up but the anticipation and the occasional hog on the chase will keep things interesting, at least for those of us who are into that sort of thing. We are stocked up in the shop with a great selection of streamers that work and we are always happy to share our secrets with you.

Big Autumn Browns colored up and on the chase on the Missouri photo by Wolf Creek Angler LLC

The nymphing game below the bridge has been good with the Little Green Machine leading the charge most days. Other hot bugs have been WD 40’s, Rainbow Warriors, Chezch nymphs, sow bugs, PT’s, Dark Peep Shows and all kinds of baetis stuff including Angel Case Emergers, Bubbleback Emergers, Magic Flies and juju’s. Some days it’s a short rig – other days not so much. Air-Lock Strike Indicators continue to fly off the shelves due to the ease with which you can change depths in no time by simply loosening the nut and sliding the indicator to the desired depth. Long known for our skepticism of gimmicky products – the WCA guide crew has fully embraced this technology and we are proud to endorse Air Lock Strike Indicators as our official indicator of choice on the MO.

Air-Lock Strike Indicators always available at Wolf Creek Angler

Plenty of fish up on any given day as well and many willing to play. We’ve been liking a Parachute Adams or a Purple Haze with an RS2, CDC Caddis emerger, zebra midge or Juju trailer but a #14 Sloan’s Outrigger Caddis coupled with a #22 pseudo isn’t a bad call either. Plenty of options as we await the BWO’s. Stop by the shop for all of these bugs and more along with as much or as little instruction as you would like on the where’s, when’s and hows.

Lodging is busy right now but we’ve got a few vacancies here and there so give us a call. We are the only full service fly shop in Wolf Creek with lodging, guides, shuttles, RO drift boat rentals and a shop filled with everything you need for Missouri River fly fishing success including the greatest selection of bugs ever to be assembled under one roof in Wolf Creek Montana. Stop in and see us and find out for yourself if all the things you’ve heard are true. You’ll be glad you did.

See you in the shop and on the water. ~ Jason O.

By Jason Orzechowski|2016-10-25T16:16:06-06:00October 11th, 2014|Categories: Fishing Report, Montana Fly Fishing|Tags: Air-Lock Strike Indicators, brown trout, fly fishing, green machine, Holter Dam, Missouri River, RO Drift Boats, running line, Sloan's Outrigger Caddis, streamers, Wolf Creek, Wolf Creek Angler, zebra midges|0 Comments

September fishing…

california island

Over the past week we have experienced a taste of Autumn. Temps dropped, with some days not reaching the 50 degree mark. We got our first snow of the year, and correspondingly our first frost. Some trees and willows are starting to change colors (I’m not ready for that!): bowhunting, and bird hunting are beginning to enter into the nightly conversations more than going back over the days fishing.

What the weather has done for the fishing is good. Those gray days we had last week saw Psuedo’s on the surface by the millions, the apperance of a larger, olivish mayfly that I don’t feel confident calling a baetis, and a fair amount of caddis flitting about.

Some of the rising fish are a pain, eating just subsurface. Your best bet is to throw something at them, but expect for them to ignore it. Again, find the fish that are showing the cotton white of their mouth and fish to them. They will be eager to eat your bug with a good presentation.

Folks have been succesful with caddis patterns on those fish that are up and in rhythm. A purple haze or a parachute adams is also a good choice.

Nymphing has been really good-fish are holding in seams and along rock banks. I’ve been running a shorter rig, and just about anywhere there’s a fast and soft edge I’ve been finding fish eating. There is a wide variety of nymph patterns that are productive right now. Black zebra midges (sometimes red), little green machines, red-headed step child, mat’s autocad, crayfish, the worm, czech nymphs, peep show, olive wd-40’s, etc, etc…

Streamer fishing is an option, not your most productive, but it’ll work if properly commited to.

Caddis eating brown

Things are starting to get really good here, light pressure, and great fishing, call now to reserve your room or your guide! 406-235-4350!–Matt

By Jason Orzechowski|2016-10-25T16:16:06-06:00September 14th, 2014|Categories: Uncategorized|Tags: baetis, brown trout, caddis, dry fly, fly fishing, Missouri River, Montana, Wolf Creek|0 Comments

Our favorite time of year. Cool fall mornings at Holter Dam on the Missouri River photo by Wolf Creek Angler LLC

Autumn is starting to take hold on the Little Prickly Pear – photo Wolf Creek Angler LLC

Fall day at Wolf Creek Bridge photo Wolf Creek Angler

Join us all this weekend as we bid farewell to our first summer with huge savings on everything in the shop where we are clearing space to make room for new fall merchandise arriving daily. Twenty percent off everything storewide. Flies, rods, reels, waders, hydroflasks, Simms logo wear, fly lines, leaders, tippet – everything is on sale!

It’s been a great inaugural summer for Wolf Creek Angler. We’ve met so many great people over the past 5 months in the shop and on the water and out and about at various community and industry events. We’ve learned a lot since April about what works and what doesn’t and we’re making changes as we go. Look for constant growth and constant improvement and a constant committment to customer service from Wolf Creek Angler.

The cool weather and the rain last weekend flipped the switch on the MO and the fishing has been crazy good – downright ridiculous at times. The crayfish craze has been in effect for a couple of weeks now and we’ve done extremely well dead drifting various crayfish patterns in tandem with zebra midges at the dam and a whole host of bugs below the Wolf Creek bridge. Peep Shows, Little Green Machines, Micro Mays, Soft Hackle Sows, Shop Vacs and flashback PT’s have all had some strong showings over the past few days. The fish are where you would expect to find them and also where you might not expect them to be. Hit the water you like and the water you don’t – it’s all good right now.

There are still plenty of tricos around and there have been a few heads up here and there for the DFO’s to target. We’ve also had moderate success on hoppers, especially below Craig. We like to trail with an ant or drop a weight fly to bump the odds.

Fall lodging and guide trips are booking up quickly – especially for October so don’t wait too long. We are a little sad to see summer go but we’re ready for fall in Wolf Creek. Awesome days of fishing the MO followed by dinner and libations at the Oasis and/or the Frenchman followed by a good night’s rest at Wolf Creek Angler – does it get any better?

Rooms, boats, bugs, shuttles and all the terminal tackle you need along with rain gear, wading gear, layering gear and more all at Wolf Creek Angler – minutes from Holter Dam and Wolf Creek Bridge. Nobody is closer!

Axel with one of the prettiest Missouri River rainbows I’ve seen

Brad Turner aka The PM Angler from Baldwin Michigan got a good taste of what the Missouri River has to offer

Father and Son Dan and Paul had a great day on the Missouri River with Wolf Creek Angler guide Jim Murray

By Jason Orzechowski|2016-10-25T16:16:06-06:00August 30th, 2014|Categories: Fishing Report, Montana Fly Fishing, Uncategorized|Tags: fly fishing, green machine, Holter Dam, Missouri River, nymphs, rainbow trout, running line, tricos, Wolf Creek, Wolf Creek Angler, zebra midges|0 Comments

The famed Blackfoot River

Being that things are a little slow around the Missouri right now, Fred and Matt and I have all taken the opportunity to get out of the canyon and visit some different waters. We love the Missouri but it’s always nice to get out and see other parts of this beautiful and amazing state we call home. I was able to spend a couple of days this week fishing west of the divide with my son and spent the day Thursday in Yellowstone checking Slough Creek off of the bucket list.

Last summer I convinced my son to go wandering with me so we threw the tent and the sleeping bags and the rods in the car and ventured west. We ended up camping at River Junction on the Blackfoot and had a great time despite the fishing being a little slow. I worked on my teaching skills and he worked on his casting skills and we were able to tolerate one another for the most part. I had hoped it was the start of fishing together with some regularity but once school started a week or two later things got busy. Once we bought the shop things got even busier so here we are a year later, summer is waning and we haven’t fished much so we decided we would at least continue the tradition of a day of wandering and fishing and a night of camping. We again found ourselves drawn to the Blackfoot, this time camping at Russell Gates. As we watched the rafts taking out that night and launching the next morning we talked of an overnight on the river next summer. We shall see! My son is not crazy about fishing, in fact I think it would be fair to say that he tolerates fishing. We don’t have a lot in common right now. He is a 13-year-old kid with 13-year-old kid interests and we don’t spend a lot of time together so to have the opportunity to hang out together meant a lot to me and hopefully to him as well. We fished some great small waters, caught some cutthroats, worked on casting/mending/line control and were lulled to sleep by the soothing sounds of the river flowing outside of our tent. We fished a bit the second day but spent most of our time exploring the back roads in and around the Bob Marshall Wilderness.

Worked in the shop Wednesday morning and then made my way south to Gardiner to meet up with some friends from back home. On Thursday we headed into Yellowstone to fish the legendary Slough Creek.

The Legendary Slough Creek. Everything you’ve heard is true!

Brad Turner www.pmanglercom and his wife Lasha hail from Baldwin Michigan where Brad guides on my home water, the Pere Marquette River. Brad taught me much of what I know about fly fishing years ago and has been a huge influence on me over the years. Time spent on the water with Brad over the years certainly contributed to the decision to pursue this dream here in Wolf Creek MT and it’s always a pleasure to fish with the Turners.

Today marks two years since my wife, our son, our dog and I walked out the door of our home in Ludington MI for the last time and headed west to pursue our dream. It was shortly after we arrived in Helena that the Turners came out to Yellowstone on vacation and I met them there with intentions of fishing Slough Creek. Being new at that time to living in a state where we share the land with critters like grizzly bears I was a little apprehensive about venturing into the wilds of Yellowstone. As luck would have it we had no grizzly encounters but did have an encounter with a bison who decided to charge us to keep things interesting. We did not venture beyond the road accessible parts of the creek and the fishing was challenging to say the leas. I left Yellowstone having failed to catch a fish.

The Turners didn’t make it out last year but we’ve been planning our return to Slough for over a year now. We did the research and discovered that the only way to fish Slough is to hike into the meadows. As we began our trek yesterday morning I commented that there was no way I would have made this hike the first year because of the aforementioned critter anxiety so I feel like I’ve come a long way. Over six miles each way, we did a BIG hike through some very Beary looking country. The plan was to hike until we found water we would have to ourselves. There were several anglers at the first meadow so we hiked on to the second where we found a great stretch of water where we had a couple of hours of outstanding cutthroat fishing. With a several hour hike ahead of us we cut the fishing short and headed out. It was a day I won’t soon forget.

Beautiful views of the valley on the hike out

So what’s happening on the Missouri? Steady as she goes. Tricos in the morning, nymphing coming back into shape and hoppers getting it done. More details to come as I shift gears and get back on the MO in the next couple of days.

Stop by the shop and see what’s new. We’ve got everything you need for the Missouri and beyond. Bugs, shuttles, terminal tackle, rods, reels, rooms, guides and all kinds of Wolf Creek Angler logo gear to suit any taste. Friendly service and honest reports and advice always.

See you in the shop and on the water.

~ Jason O.

By Jason Orzechowski|2016-10-25T16:16:07-06:00August 15th, 2014|Categories: Fishing Report, Montana Fly Fishing, Uncategorized|Tags: Blackfoot, fly fishing, Gardiner MT, Missouri River, Montana, Pere Marquette River, running line, Slough Creek, tricos, Wolf Creek, Wolf Creek Angler, Yellowstone National Park|0 Comments

Father and daughter Sam and Samantha had a great day on the Missouri. The right hat will always bring success on the Missouri!

Things have gotten a little quiet on and around the Missouri this week. Angling traffic is way down and we’ve certainly had busier days around the shop but the big news is that trico fishing continues to consistently produce in a BIG way, the hopper bite is starting to come on and will only improve from here on out and best of all, you can have vast stretches of water to yourself right now as the Peak Seasoners have in large part disappeared.

With few exceptions the dry fly action has been like clockwork. According to WCA lead guide Neale Streeks the trico fishing is the best it’s been in a decade and while the caddis game hasn’t really materialized we are having some of the best dry fly fishing of the season. Plenty of bugs and plenty of willing fish up have made for some spectacular mornings and while things tend to slow in the middle of the day there have been enough fish willing to eat a hopper to make a terrestrial afternoon a real option. There are even some of us making a day of the hopper game. A trailing ant or a nymph will keep things interesting. We’ve been having a lot of luck the last few times out with a #16 purple or gold weight fly below a purple or pink More or Less.

Hopper-Eater

Fred with an outstanding Missouri River Dry-Fly eating brown.

Nymphing in general has been a little slow as the weeds take hold and the fish continue to do their part to keep you guessing. Even the dam has had some tougher days as of late but again, the good news is you can ditch the bobber for a hopper and cut your weed cleaning time in half. If you decide to stick to chasing bobbers weight flies, flashback pt’s, black zebras, micro mays and peep shows have all been producing depending on the day.

Trico wise we’ve been doing very well with a #18 double wing trico and also with a #18 or #20 indicator spinner. Keep an assortment of caddis and pmd’s on hand as well as sometimes they aren’t overly interested in the tricos. We’ve got everything you need for dry fly success so stop by and let us get you dialed in.

Despite the solid fishing things are a little quiet around the lodge. It’s a good time to take a break and catch our breath after a crazy July but even so, we are more interested in taking care of customers than catching our breath so we are offering special rates of $99 on our cabins just for the month of August. It’s a great time to be here. Come fish the mornings and join the rec floaters with a leisurely float down the Missouri on the sunny and hot Montana afternoons.

Stop by the shop and see us for up to date fishing reports, shuttles, the best selection of bugs in Wolf Creek and all kinds of Wolf Creek Angler swag you can’t live without. We are fully stocked up on hats and shirts including a couple of great new t’s from Strip n’ Flywear and we’ve got Simms summer logo gear to move to make room for fall gear arriving soon.

The Competition…

735 746 758 747

See you in the shop and on the water….

~ Jason O.

By Jason Orzechowski|2016-10-25T16:16:07-06:00August 6th, 2014|Categories: Fishing Report|Tags: brown trout, dry fly fishing, fly fishing, indicator, Missouri River, nymphs, running line, tricos, Wolf Creek Angler|2 Comments

Late July Fishing Report…

bernie143

Well here we are in late July. It’s been a while posting, neither myself, Jason, or Fred have had a day off since the solstice. Fishing has been good with trico’s primarily being the hatch of choice, although we’ve seen an occasional head scratching flush of pmd’s come out of no where and lead us to reach for flies we thought were done for the year. Caddis have been skinny. I think that is due to the low water year last year. The caddis didn’t have a great opportunity to create more caddis last year and we are seeing the effects of that this year.

Flows are currently at 4,420 and holding. We’ve gotten litte pulses here and there, but nothing dramatic. I expect the river to stay at this level for the remainder of the season.

We have had a cooler than average summer which has made it so the weeds have stayed mostly down. Some sections of the river are weedier than others, but overall not bad. The days I’ve seen it get real weedy is when they release more water at the dam or we get a good gully washer that flushes junk of the banks. If the weeds get you down just pick up and move somewhere where they aren’t a problem. Fish those skinny inside corners that have current.

Haven’t seen much in the way of hoppers, but some people have been fishing them and getting an eat here and there. Nymphing is good in the mornings and later in the afternoon. It seems the trout are taking a midday siesta sometimes. But overall, the guests at the lodge and the clients in the boat have been having fun, which is what fishing is all about. I think the trico’s will hold strong into August, and who knows what else is going to pop up…you have to be here to find out.

Flies

Dries
Tricos…
Double Wing Trico in 16-20
Buzzball in 18
Hi Vis Trico Dun in 18-20
CDC Trico dun in 18-20
Trico Sparkle Dun in 18-20
Hi Vis Parachute Adams in 20
Griffiths Gnat in 14-20
Royal Trude in 12 (Have faith)

PMD’s
Rusty Spinner in 16-18
Hi Vis PMD Spinner in 16-18
Parachute PMD in 16-18

Nymphs

I was on a 5 boat trip Friday and then a 3 boat trip yesterday and between all those boats there were probably 12 to 20 different nymphs being dead drifted (most of the time). Everyone had success, although not on every single bug, but a lot of different stuff works.

Micro mays, zebra midges, gold and purple weight flys, rainbow czechs, pt’s, hare’s ears, little green machines, peep shows, wire worms, rainbow warriors, purple or gold lightning bugs, and probably at least a dozen other patterns work, at the right time, and right place, and right depth.

Interested in something different? The freestone streams are in great shape right now. I hiked into a blackfoot tributary last week with a friend and had a great day. We didn’t see another soul and had 13-14″ westslope cutts crashing an Amy’s Ant all day. Great days to be had for sure. Wolf Creek is within a short drive to some truly wild and unique small stream fishing. Have fun out there—Matt

By Jason Orzechowski|2016-10-25T16:16:07-06:00July 27th, 2014|Categories: Uncategorized|Tags: brown trout, dry fly fishing, fly fishing, Missouri River, rainbow trout, Wolf Creek Angler|0 Comments

Little Black and White Bugs…

fredbow

The latest news is trico’s and the water dropping. As of right now the flows are 5510 and dropping. I think the word is it’s going down to 4,500 or so. It’s just a number and at this point really doesn’t affect much. It could keep the water cooler for the hottest month of the year, which is a good thing.

On to trico’s. I had to drop a boat off at the Dearborn ramp this morning. When I passed the Spite FAS I could see funnels of trico’s over the willows for maybe half a mile. Not a complete wall, but enough that it would probably take a lifetime to count them all if you had too. Trico’s are an early game. Probably wouldn’t hurt to be on the water at daybreak. Pick your favorite trico pattern and have at it.

Evening reports have been good. Caddis and spinners are on the menu.

Nymphing has remained solid, with bug choices still leaning to caddis pupae patterns, little green machines, weight fly, peep show, etc, etc.

Streamers…still an option.

What’s on the horizon? Trico’s for quite a while, hoppers in a couple of weeks.

We have been restocked with Trouthunter tippet. 3X-6X in flouro and nylon, including 4.5X and 5.5X if you want to get all techy.

Favorite new product of the summer so far? Rio Perception WF5…just an awesome line, maybe a review later. Another fave is Air-Lok strike indicators. They screw on to your leader instead of pushing a loop through the eye and then over the bobber. Eliminates kinked leaders and is faster to adjust depth. Have to throw in the Wolf Creek Angler branded Simms Solarflex shirt. Very comfortable on a hot day, and still looks good after a couple of nights wearing it to bed, and then again the next day (don’t judge me)—Matt

By Jason Orzechowski|2016-10-25T16:16:07-06:00July 12th, 2014|Categories: Uncategorized|Tags: brown trout, caddis, dry fly fishing, fly fishing, Missouri River, Montana, rainbow trout, RIO, simms, tricos|0 Comments

Missouri River Flows…

Goofy is a good description of what’s been going on around here flow wise. We’ve seen a bump from 4,220 on Friday up to it’s current rate of 6,900 cfs. In a nutshell, the bureau of reclamation was preparing for a wet spring and held back flows. Then when runoff peaked they dumped a bunch of water that brought us to 11,000 something cfs last month. Then when they (the bureau) saw runoff tapering down, they closed the gates and took us down to 4,200 to fill Canyon Ferry. Canyon Ferry was at 75% capacity when they dropped the river down. It looked like it was going to take a while to fill, but then we got a fair amount of rain and some high elevation snow. The Missouri at Toston was around 7,500 cfs and then climbed back up around 10-12,000 cfs with the new precip. Canyon Ferry filled much quicker than expected, and in a move to evacuate extra water they brought the Missouri up to 6,900 cfs.

Whew…while the flows do not affect drift boat fishermen, they do affect the wading folks. While wading is not out of the picture at all, it’s just that you can’t quite get to every spot on the river. There is good news on the horizon though, the graph for Toston looks good.

Good looking trend

And more good news. The weather is heating up, mostly high 80’s all week with chances of thunderstorms. Not much precipitation forecasted for the future. I don’t expect to see flows go much, if at all, any higher than 6,900, and I expect them to start coming down soon as well.

Has it affected fishing? It has, the last couple of days PMD’s have been sparse. Dry fly fishing exists, although not as much as we would like to see. Nymphing has been solid, and streamer fishing is a fun alternative to chasing a bobber. Regardless, it’s fishing and it’s a lot of fun.

There are plenty of opportunites to find these guys around.

Nacho, Brown Trout, and Chad, midday meet and greet.

Let the good times roll—Matt

By Jason Orzechowski|2016-10-25T16:16:07-06:00July 3rd, 2014|Categories: Uncategorized|Tags: brown trout, dry fly fishing, fly fishing, Missouri River, Montana|0 Comments

Courtesy of Dave Brown

Fishing has been good latley. Of course it’s all perspective. The DIY wading folks have been liking it…mostly. They like the water level and the bugs and the fish. They didn’t like the wind that much. They have a different perspective on why they fly fish and they come out here for various different reasons. Some guys like to find that picky fish laying in a tricky current, others are here to get the fish in the faster stuff, etc, etc.

If you like fishing out of the boat and you’re more of an all around type, you’re going to like it a lot. You can nymph down until you see heads, throw streamers at the bank or on shallower flats until you find fish looking up, or just go on a boat ride until you find what you’re looking for.

River traffic has been manageable. The Bozeman and Missoula crowd are starting to stay closer to home with their rivers coming into shape. We haven’t seen the heavy summer traffic yet. The pleasure floaters are pretty sparse right now as well.

Have not seen as many PMD’s as previous days, but I think that had more to do with the wind than anything else. Down in the canyon I’ve been seeing tons of caddis. Fairly large clouds of caddis swirling just above the surface. They are not on the water yet…hopefully soon though. Few little yellow sallies. We may see more this week as the mercury begins to rise. Not that the LYS is a major food source for the Missouri River trout, but it’s cool to see them filling the sky.

I finally got a chance to do some fishing on my own. Went out with my buddy Dave Brown Saturday. It was windy, but you gotta go if that’s the only chance you’re going to get for a while. Dave is a mad scientist when it comes to fishing. I learn new stuff every time I go out with him. Streamer fishing started off slow. We did the cast to the bank strip-strip-strip back to the boat. Then cast to bank, strip-strip pause back to the boat. Finally Dave says, “I’m going to try something new here on the retrieve”. And of course it works. We fished this unorthodox retrieve all day and caught enough fish and had enough grabs and flashes to make it fun. Dave’s a fun guy to fish with, he’s been guiding and outfitting for twenty something years and he stills giggles and laughs just thinking about how he’s going to catch the next fish.

Fly selection hasn’t changed much from previous post. With the exception that a light Peep Show has been getting it done for me. But, different flies work for different people.

We may see another bump in flows, nothing crazy. Canyon Ferry is full so they may (or may not) evacuate some water for space.

Going to be a good summer here on the Missouri! Be sure to stay tuned!—Matt

By Jason Orzechowski|2016-10-25T16:16:07-06:00June 30th, 2014|Categories: Uncategorized|Tags: brown trout, dry fly fishing, fly fishing, Missouri River, Montana|0 Comments

Dry Fly brown

I’ve been finding myself telling folks calling asking for a river report that “this is my favorite time of the year”. It’s kind of become a cliche, as I have a couple of other “favorite times of the year”, just like the PMD hatch is my “favorite hatch”. It is my favorite, but so is the BWO, caddis, and trico hatch. Clear as mud?

Late June brings PMD’s, it also brings warmer weather and some rainy days. These are the days we long for in the depths of Winter. These are the “shoulda been here yesterday” days. You never know when it’s going to happen, but you really should be here when those big size 14 PMD’s pop and the trout get absolutley dumb on them.

June is a dynamic time to be here. It’s a transitional stage where the river is starting to get into its summer shape. For the most part the river fishes well all month long. Of course early in June the best tactic is nymphing…not for everyone, but lots of fun to be had. Towards mid-June (depending on water levels) you can expect scattered days of excellent dry fly fishing. As we roll into July, the dry fly bite becomes stronger and more reliable. And of course July is July–there’s a reason why lodging and guides are booked a year in advance.

Flies fish are eating…

Dries
#14-16 PMD Dun…take your chance on the dun, I don’t have faith in them but others do.
#16 Helen Keller…great name, great fly. Cripple pattern that produces.
#14-16 Rusty Spinner…classic proven pattern.
#14-16 Flash Cripple…another killer cripple pattern.
#16 Hackle Stacker…Quigley pattern, need I say more?

Side note: Not a lot of caddis around, but they’ll eat caddis patterns. A few yellow sallies around, they’ll eat those too, riffles and slackwater.

Nymphs
#18-20 Little Green Machine (pt or grey)…that bug that keeps on getting them.
Pick your favorite size Worm…STILL!
#14 Tung Dart…Caddis pupae, buggy, riffles and grass flats.
#14-16 Weight Fly (Gold)…another caddis pupae, hmmm some kind of pattern is forming.
#18-20 Red Headed Step Children…trout eat them becasue they like shop guys to tell customers that fish are eating red headed step children.
#16-18 Trina’s bubbleback emerger…trout are moving into faster zones eating pmd nymphs.

Streamers
There’s a barbourous group of anglers roaming the Missouri throwing meat into pods. It’s working. They’re also throwing them at banks and stripping hard back to the boat. My advice for streamer selection…go small, clouser style with dark colors. I’m thinking floating line with 5 feet of 12lb tippet should get it done. Shallow, fast, choppy water.—Matt

By Jason Orzechowski|2016-10-25T16:16:07-06:00June 26th, 2014|Categories: Uncategorized|Tags: brown trout, dry fly fishing, fly fishing, Missouri River, Montana, pmd|1 Comment

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