The clouds retreat over the Missouri River at Holter Dam.

Spring-like weather arrived in Wolf Creek this week and with it some much needed time on the water and some damn good fishing.

I made my weekly run to the post office in Wolf Creek on Tuesday and threw the rod in the rig just in case. Driving out of Helena I ran into wintry weather all the way to Wolf Creek but about the time I got there the snow stopped and the clouds began to move out. intrigued by the moody skies hanging over the mountains I decided to take a drive to the dam to see if I could get some good pictures. When I got to the dam the clouds were in full retreat, the sun was shining and the 40 degree temps felt like 70’s after more than a week of sub-zero temps and wind chills.

I snapped a few pictures and geared up and talked myself into two hours max as there is no shortage of Wolf Creek Angler business to attend to. That being said, fishing is the business of Wolf Creek Angler and this is why I came here in the first place so office work be damned (at least for a couple of hours). I took a stroll into a frog water winter haunt and hooked whitey on the second cast…not what I had hoped for but better than  many other things I could be doing. I spent the next little while searching for the sweet spot and once I found it it was lights out. Half a dozen fish in 30 minutes – I’ll take that ANY day. Firebeads and pink and no reason to try anything else on this particular outing. Crazy midge activity but very few fish keyed into them at this point. I saw one or two rises but would personally rather rope them in on nymphs all day than play that game.

Midges aplenty on the Missouri River

What a great way to spend a couple of hours on a warm February day. I pretty much had the water to myself save for a boat full of comrades from downstream out enjoying the thaw and I did run into Wolf Creek Angler guide and shop veteran Matt Hargrave who was out doing R & D with some sexy new bugs he has created.

I followed that up with a visit to Hauser on Wednesday which resulted in various minor contusions and my typical fishing luck on that water which is not very good. FYI – though the thaw is certainly underway much of the ground is still frozen solid and very slippery. Not a good combination on a steep slope when one is hiking in wading boots. Ouch!

Spring Like conditions on the Missouri River at Hauser Dam

Back to work today. Lots of product ordered and starting to come in as we prepare for our April 1st opening. We will have all kinds of Wolf Creek Angler logo wear available when we open the doors as well as a HUGE selection of flies and plenty of surprises to keep you coming back.

Expect a fair amount of traffic on the water this weekend as the weather looks like it’s going to be awesome with temps in the mid to high 40’s and plenty of sunshine before things cool down again the middle part of next week.