Missouri River Archives - Page 53 of 62

Weekend Missouri River Fishing Report

Guest Blog from WCA Guide Luke Koerten.

“What is your favorite time of year to fish the Missouri?” This is a question I often hear while rowing my boat down the river. “April” is what usually comes out of my mouth next without much thought. I have spent a handful of days over the past week floating in the canyon with both friends and clients, and though some days have resulted in more fish in the net, each day has reminded me why I love this time of year on the Missouri River.

Midges are out daily and each new day brings with it a few more mayflies in the air as spring has, well, sprung. Will it snow again? I hope so. We could use the precipitation, and those cold wet days are my favorite as pods of fish feast on the surface with reckless abandon. If you’re more into boat rides on warm sunny days, April has those too. Yesterday was such a day. Despite periods of slow fishing, it’s hard to complain about warm air, no wind, and multiple applications of sunscreen. Catching fish on streamers, nymphs, and dries all in the same day also makes me smile.

As water temps creep towards the mid 40’s we’ve been shortening our nymph rigs to target the fish in the shallower riffles. Heavier flies like a tungsten sow, rainbow czech or rubberlegs 2-4 feet from the bobber with no split shot has been working well with your favorite mayfly or zebra midge off the back. If you’d rather fish the slower deeper runs, add a BB and move the bobber up to 5-6 feet. That’ll work too.

Dry flies are catching fish daily. On bright sunny days look for pods of fish in shady spots. Trees, bridges, high banks and the walls of the canyon are all good shade producers. When the clouds roll in rising fish should be even easier to find. Small singular midge and mayfly dries have been tricking fish. Blind fishing a small purple haze or adams along the bank has worked too. We spotted the elusive skwala adult yesterday on the water, making it easier to fish the bigger bugs with confidence too. Perfect for hanging a mayfly nymph off the back. Green machines, pheasant tails and lightning bugs would all be good choices.

Streamers continue to produce with varying degrees of success. Tie on something you believe in and just keep casting. Olive smolts and kreelex are flies I’ve been tossing around with confidence lately. I have also been speeding up my retrieve rate lately and it seems to be working.

April is a great time to be an angler on the Missouri. Angling pressure is still relatively light most days, and the fish are hungry and waiting to make you smile. Fishing is getting better as we move through the month, but don’t wait too long. You can’t catch fish if you’re not fishing. See you on the river.

By Jason Orzechowski|2016-10-25T16:15:55-06:00April 11th, 2015|Categories: Fishing Report|Tags: brown trout, Missouri River, Montana, running line, Wolf Creek, Wolf Creek Angler|1 Comment

Blue Sky Blues

Made it out yesterday for a Wolf Creek to Craig float with our good friends Dan and Tara and while it was a gorgeous (but breezy) spring day the fishing was less than stellar.
Following recent reports we rigged up with Rainbow Czechs and Little Green Machines and prepared to start crushing fish. After hitting a couple runs with nary a drop of the bobber we decided to stop and pick apart an area which has been consistently yielding fish. One brief hook up and several bug changes later we moved on in search of more productive water.
As we worked through my favorite spots we got a few hook ups but failed to find much happening on subsequent row arounds. Dan finally landed a fish on the Little Green Machine so we returned to the original set up and started to see a few more hook ups and a couple of fish to hand as afternoon approached.
The water was covered with blankets of midges for the better part of the day but rising fish were few and far between. We stopped for lunch and finally did find a productive run with fish willing to play and cooperating with the row around game.
Traffic on the river was very light with just a few other boats in the section. Good bugs for the day were the aforementioned Rainbow Czech and Little Green Machine and we also managed to get a few to go on the dark Peep Show and the Tungsten Tailwater Sow. Miscellaneous Firebeads and Pink Lightning Bugs were not effective.
I chalked the slow fishing up to the bright sunny day and while we would have loved to have had a little more action, spending the day in a drift boat floating down the Missouri River is NEVER a bad way to pass the time regardless of how it’s fishing.
Today looks to be another beautiful bright and sunny blue sky day…why wouldn’t you spend it on the MO? Stop by WCA on your way to the river for everything you need for Missouri River Fly Fishing.

By Jason Orzechowski|2016-10-25T16:15:55-06:00April 9th, 2015|Categories: Fishing Report|Tags: green machine, Missouri River, running line, Wolf Creek, Wolf Creek Angler|1 Comment

Back in Action

Fully Stocked with more arriving daily! photo by Wolf Creek Angler

Back to work today and arrived this morning to find a shop full of goodies that weren’t here a week ago. Lots of new flies, a bunch of Fishpond and Loon tools and accessories, the best selection of fly lines we’ve ever had, eyewear from Smith Optics, more Kast Extreme fishing gear, Simms logo wear, fully stocked Rio and Trouthunter leader/tippet inventory, Hydroflask cofee flasks, watter bottles and growlers in all kinds of cool colors….just to name a few.

The shop has never looked better and we invite you to stop in and see what the buzz is about.

Traffic on the river is still relatively light though that will begin to change from here on out as things heat up out there.
Flows continue to hold around 4000 and water temps are currently hanging in that low 40’s range – perfect for this transition period as we move from targeting slow deep water and the semi-lethargic fish holding there to faster shallows and flats and fish willing to chase and ready to put up a fight.
We’ve got a chance for rain and snow each day this week with highs in the 50’s which could make for some great fishing whether you’re looking for dry fly action or you prefer the sub-surface game. We’ve heard good reports from the last couple of days on both.
Hot bugs for today in no particular order have been Pink Amex, Grey LGM, Parachute Adams, Olive Smolt, BWO Magic Fly, Rainbow Czech, Juju Baetis, Hi-Vis Griffiths Gnat, Brown Polar Leech, Beadless Black Zebra and Tailwater Sowbugs…all available at Wolf Creek Angler.

Plenty of lodging available this week and don’t forget to book your $300 Full Day Spring Special Guide Trip through the end of the month. Make Wolf Creek Angler your first stop on the way to the river – we’ve got everything you need for Missouri River fly fishing and we are closer to the Holter Dam and Wolf Creek Bridge access sites than ANYONE.

By Jason Orzechowski|2016-10-25T16:15:55-06:00April 7th, 2015|Categories: Uncategorized|Tags: $300 Missouri River Guide Trips, dry fly fishing, fly fishing, Holter Dam, Missouri River, Missouri River Spring Special Guide Rates, RO Drift Boats, running line, Wolf Creek, Wolf Creek Angler|0 Comments

Home

Happy to be home!

Back in Montana this morning, still six hours from home. I’m anxious to get back to the shop on Tuesday and see what I’ve missed. We’ve received a lot of new product while I was gone last week and all I’ve been hearing from our guides is how great the fishing has been in my absence. Definitely anxious to get back on the oars this week!

I was thinking sometime during the 1600 miles of road time over the last couple of days that our one year anniversary came and went on Wednesday, April 1st without mention. It was one year ago on that day that we opened the doors at Wolf Creek Angler and we couldn’t be happier with our first year in business. From day one we’ve gone about doing our thing, our way with one mission in mind – to do everything we can to serve you, our customers, in any way we can and to earn your business and hopefully your loyalty. The response has been awesome and we’re excited to continue to grow and to improve and to find new ways to become your go-to Missouri River fly shop and guide service.

A huge THANK YOU to each and every one of you who has shopped with us, stayed with us, done guide trips with us, LIKED us on Facebook and on and on. Thanks to all of you also who read our blog and give us feedback on our content – it means so much to me every time I talk to someone on the phone or in person about something they read in the blog and while it’s sometimes a challenge to come up with meaningful content on a daily basis we are committed to being your source for all things Missouri River fly fishing and more. We’re certainly not the only source for information on the river but we like to think that our fresh perspective brings a refreshing voice to the Missouri River lexicon from the point of view of someone who is still amazed by this place every moment of every day and who has yet to be bogged down by the complacency that can creep in over time, a result of routine and familiarity. We invite you to join us as we continue to explore and to learn and to share with you our journey.

Here’s to another great year.

Good fishing ahead this week.

By Jason Orzechowski|2016-10-25T16:15:56-06:00April 6th, 2015|Categories: Uncategorized|Tags: Missouri River, Montana, running line, Wolf Creek, Wolf Creek Angler|1 Comment

Weekend Update 4/4/15

WCA guide Matt Hargrave is ready to put you on some Missouri River bows. Photo by Luke Koerten

Got a chance to get out and fish with fellow WCA guide Luke Koerton on Thursday. It was spur of the moment, having received a text from Luke early that morning. My schedule was open for the day, which isn’t too unusual, as my hours of employment are few and far between during the shoulder season. And of course, I rarely pass up the chance to go fish. The weather looked fairly decent, mid 50’s, small chance of precip, and little to no wind. Typical weather for early Spring.

One thing I truly appreciate about being on the WCA guide team is that we are all buddies. When we fish together we are constantly comparing notes. We all have our different fishing and guiding styles, and we learn from each other whenever we fish together. Maybe there’s a little bucket that Jim, or Nick, or Luke knows about that I don’t. The same is true for them. Or maybe there’s a stretch of river where I’m not very successful on, and they are, and then we show each other how to find and catch fish in that particular spot. And then there’s the places where everyone agrees to avoid, which is reassuring to know that it’s not just you that doesn’t catch fish there. It’s a team effort for all of us, we don’t hold back information, we encourage the success of our fellow guides, all in preparation for the day that you step into our boat.

Since we were getting a late start, Luke and I did Wolf Creek to Craig. Nymphing was gonna rule the day, but just in case, dry fly and streamer rods were brought. Luke picked up a fish right away on a PT Little Green Machine. The next two fish also fell to the same bug. The top fly was being ignored, so we changed it to a wire worm. The fish starting eating that. When they turned off on the wire worm, we switched up to a Pink Lightning Bug and that worked for a while too, with a grey Little Green Machine becoming a player as well. Where we could, we would do a row around just to make sure it wasn’t some fluke that we picked up a fish. For the most part, the fish were where we thought they were, and eating bugs we thought they should. They’re starting to spread out a bit, still holding in soft, deep, inside shoulders, but also hanging out in waist deep, walking pace straight aways.

The dry fly bite wasn’t really happening, the wind picked up and we could see snow heading our direction, so we figured it was best to keep moving and focus on nymphing. All in all another successful day on the river. I think between the majority of us here at WCA we’ve already got a seasons worth of fishing under our belts. Ready and raring to go for when the “official” season starts—Matt

By Jason Orzechowski|2016-10-25T16:15:56-06:00April 4th, 2015|Categories: Fishing Report|Tags: fly fishing, green machine, Missouri River, Montana, running line, Wolf Creek, Wolf Creek Angler|0 Comments

Missouri River Friday Fishing Report 4/3/15

Another great visit to Michigan’s Pere Marquette River – photo by Wolf Creek Angler

As we wrap up our spring break here in Michigan and prepare for the long journey back to Wolf Creek I’m hearing nothing but good things about the fishing on the MO. LGM’s, Rainbow Czechs, Wire Worms, Pink LB’s, Black Zebra midges and tungsten Tailwater Sows are reportedly all getting plenty of attention and while I’m experiencing the usual end-of-visit blues, I can’t wait to get back on the Missouri this week and find out for myself what’s happening out there. Most of what I am hearing is that the nymphing is really heating up and I’m confident there will soon be some solid streamer action as well with the water temps climbing into the low 40’s. Mostly cloudy skies with a chance of rain and snow and daytime temps in the 40’s through the middle of next week should translate into some pretty good days out there both on top and underneath.

I closed out my Michigan fishing on Wednesday with another visit to the Pere Marquette, this time a walk-wade outing to the upper flies only. Things were a little slow by most reports but we did manage to do battle with a few and also picked up a good brown feasting on the train of eggs behind the spawning fish. I’d forgotten about the impressive browns you can almost always find hanging behind the redds. A well placed #14 double egg rig is ultra effective on these fish and while they don’t give you quite the fight of the chrome rockets it’s an opportunity to sight fish for big browns with a pretty good chance for success.

It was a great couple of days with great friends back on the PM. I got my steelhead fix for the season and I’m ready to get back to the MO. I spent yesterday visiting the past and continued the tour of new Michigan breweries. Two things I love about Michigan and Montana – the spectacular fishing opportunities and the craft beer culture. Both states are great for these reasons and many others, the main reason in Michigan of course being the amazing friends we will always have here. It’s been a great visit and now the mountains are calling and I must go!

Thanks to WCA guides Jim Murray and Matt Hargrave for helping out with the blog this week. These guys do a great job of writing and an even better job of showing clients a great time on the Missouri. Give us a call and book a $300 Spring Special trip with one of them or any one of our other expert guides today. The spring special and our winter room rates run through the end of this month so don’t miss this opportunity.

I can’t wait to get back to the shop and see all of the new stuff that’s arrived. It’s full on spring fishing season now. New clothing, new gear, new bugs, new accessories etc., shuttles, rental boats, lodging and the same friendly service and commitment to making WCA everything you expect your Missouri River fly shop to be.

See you soon in the shop and on the MO. ~Jason O.

By Jason Orzechowski|2016-10-25T16:15:56-06:00April 3rd, 2015|Categories: Fishing Report, Montana Fly Fishing|Tags: $300 Missouri River Guide Trips, brown trout, Missouri River, Missouri River Spring Special Guide Rates, running line, Wolf Creek, Wolf Creek Angler|0 Comments

Back on the Pere Marquette

PM Steel – photo by Brad Turner

I spent Monday floating the Pere Marquette River with my friend and fellow fly fishing guide Brad Turner. Brad taught me much of what I know about fly fishing many years ago and inspired me to pursue guiding which eventually led to career 2.0 at Wolf Creek Angler. We try to get together and fish whenever we can so following a great couple of days on the MO late last summer this time it was back to my home waters of the Pere Marquette for steelhead and streamer fishing.

We floated the fly water on what turned out to be a gorgeous spring day with near perfect water conditions. The first hours were spent trying to find a streamer the fish were interested in which proved to be quite a challenge. We didn’t move a fish for the first two hours. Though I’ve had some EPIC streamer days on the PM over the years I’ve also had plenty of days like the way this one was starting out where it’s just not happening. I ran through my tried and true PM favorite patterns unsuccessfully and finally found something that worked with a Wilson’s Articulated Sparkle Minnow. We moved a few, hooked a few and landed a few over the next miles including a couple of 20″+ fish following right to the boat but opting out of the eat. A frustrating scenario but definitely what has kept me throwing streamers all of these years. The visual aspect of streamer fishing a river like the PM is something we miss on the MO. Streamer fishing on the Missouri is still a blast but there’s something about bombing the banks and the structure on small water like the PM and seeing those big browns emerge from their hidden lies to chase down a streamer that gets your heart racing and makes you throw until you are too sore to throw anymore which was definitely the case yesterday.

It was after lunch time before we decided to try some steelhead fishing and as is usually the case with Brad he had us fishing some spots I never even noticed in my years on the PM, the second of which yielded a couple of hookups and one bright small female to hand (though not to hand long enough to get a picture). It’s been a long cold winter in Michigan and the new fish are just starting to move into the system so we were excited to see this fresh chrome beauty.

It was back to the streamer for a few miles, working a few steelhead spots along the way. The action definitely slowed towards evening though I did hook a steelhead on the streamer which resulted in a screaming reel battle which I lost.

As night began to fall we did find a couple more fish willing to play and it was near dark when I landed the biggest steelhead of my career after an epic battle which included plenty of coaching from Brad. I’ve had some great fights on the MO with some sizeable rainbows and coached clients through many a fight but I had forgotten just how powerful these fish are. What a rush and what a great day on the Pere Marquette!

By Jason Orzechowski|2016-10-25T16:15:56-06:00April 1st, 2015|Categories: Fishing Report|Tags: brown trout, Michigan, Missouri River, Pere Marquette River, running line, Steelhead, Wilsons's Articluated Sparkle Minnow, Wolf Creek Angler|1 Comment

Final fishing report for March 2015

Leslie with one of many from Sunday’s float. Things are heating up on the MO. – photo by Jim Murray

Guest Blog from WCA Guide Jim Murray

Things are heating up on the Missouri. Literally. With the water temperatures pushing past that 40 degree mark, the river is really turning on. I had a chance to get out on the river Sunday with my ~~girlfriend~~ fiancé, and the Mighty Mo did not disappoint. Fellow WCA guide Matt Hargrave had told me that the fish were keying in on mayfly nymphs, and boy was he right. It seems with the warmer water temperatures, the baetis nymphs are getting really active subsurface and the fish are keying in on them. Little Green Machines, Micro Mays, Hogan S&M, and the Ju Ju Baetis in sizes 16-18 all produced fish. And don’t forget the Zebra Midge. We managed to bring one fish to the boat on a Firebead Rainbow Weight Fly, but the fish definitely seem to be moving off the pink/firebead stuff for the time being.
Along with bugs getting active, the warmer temps have the fish feeling a little more feisty and moving out of those deep winter holes. Fish were found primarily in 2-4 of water. Soft bends and shelf lines seem to be the key.
Adding to the fun is the fact that the dry fly bite is really turning on as well. Heads were spotted up between Wolf Creek and Craig, with trout willing to eat a well presented midge pattern. Rumors of big bugs being spotted in the canyon have started to be discussed over beers at the end of the day, and I know of a few anglers who have had some success giving it a try.
The streamer bite still seems to be hit or miss, (many times dependent on the angler) but only figures to improve in the coming days and weeks as the fish start to really shake off the winter doldrums and get a little nasty and aggressive. I know I have a new 8 weight rod that I’m just itching to get out and throw.
All in all, the Missouri is fishing well, and figures to only get better as conditions continue to heat up. It should be a great Spring on the Missouri. Now if we can just get some precipitation to keep it a great summer…

By Jason Orzechowski|2016-10-25T16:15:56-06:00March 31st, 2015|Categories: Fishing Report|Tags: dry fly fishing, fly fishing, Fly Fishing Film Tour (F3T), juju baetis, midge, Missouri River, running line, Wolf Creek, Wolf Creek Angler, zebra midges|1 Comment

Sunday Report- Guest Blog from WCA Guide Matt Hargrave

Danya with one of many from Friday’s float. photo by Matt Hargrave

Montana experienced a very mild winter this year, which created plenty of fishing opportunities for local anglers. Personally, I kept my eyeballs on the ten day forecast, and made sure I was on the water whenever air temps were 40 degrees and above. While the fishing wasn’t always on fire, it was nice to be in the boat, on what became “bonus” days for all us trout bums. Most of those “bonus” days proved to be slow fishing with few fish to the net, and some of those days the only thing caught was a buzz and a minor case of hypothermia.

Yesterday was the day that I had been waiting for. The forecast called for a high of 75 with gusty winds. It never reached 75, but it didn’t get windy either. Perfect. Danya and I floated Dam to Craig. I did the usual row around just below the wire. We touched a fish on the first pass, landed a fish on the next two consecutive passes, and touched another on the fourth. The fish were definitely hungry yesterday, and Danya was crushing fish in the front of the boat. I had a nymph rig set at around 6 feet from bobber to split shot, with a #14 Tungsten Tailwater Sow bug, trailed by a #20 silver bead black zebra midge.

I finally bailed due to a handful of boats anchored up around me. Things slowed down below the grass flats. I changed out the zebra midge for a #16 grey Little Green Machine. The trout were all over that! Most of the fish seemed to be holding in knee to waist high water. I avoided the riffles because Rainbows are starting to build redds. As a reminder please avoid wading across the riffles, and be sure to look where you are a wading!

Below the Wolf Creek bridge, it continued to nymph well, but I also saw a lot of heads up eating midges, including a few legitimate pods. Some were rising here and there, but there were plenty that were consistently feeding. It was really exciting to see them come up and eat! You could see the cotton white on the inside of their mouth, which means you got a pretty good shot of catching that fish. Well, if you can set the hook at least. I blew about 8 or 10 hook sets. Call it first day dry fly fishing jitters. Or you could say that I didn’t check my hook after missing a fish. I got a couple more eats, but no hook set. Upon closer inspection, my Quigley’s Midge Cluster had a bent hook. Either I was ambitious or just care less, but my next fly choice was an impossible to see Griffith’s Gnat, which may or may not have induced an eat. All I know is that I set on eats that I thought was my fly. No fish to hand, just pulling up the anchor and looking for the next fish because those guys I spooked ain’t coming back up.

I managed to find another midge cluster, missed more eats, and put down more trout before realizing it was getting late and we had to go. I motored from spot to spot, Danya caught a couple more fish on the Little Green Machine and the Tung Tailwater Sow Bug. It was the fishiest day of the year so far. I expect there to be more days like this in the future as water temps are on the rise. Spring fishing is here, get out there and enjoy it my friends!—Matt

By Jason Orzechowski|2016-10-25T16:15:57-06:00March 29th, 2015|Categories: Fishing Report|Tags: dry fly fishing, green machine, Missouri River, running line, Wolf Creek, Wolf Creek Angler|1 Comment

Weekend Edition

Spring weather underway in Wolf Creek

Ending the week with some summer temps here at the end of March with a high of 75 expected today. It could get a little breezy with gusts up to 21 mph but all in all it’s a gorgeous spring day to fish the Missouri. The water temp is bumping up against 40 at the dam and is starting to warm enough the further down you go to provide for some pretty solid streamer action. Fish are starting to be picked up in the shallows as well as the winter water so don’t overlook any of it right now.
There continues to be plenty of action on top pending the sun and the wind conditions and the nymphing is heating up. Firebeads and pink stuff have slipped out of style for the time being but we’re thinking they’ll be back at some point. In the meantime zebra midges, tailwater sows, LGM’s, Peepshows and Micromays have been gaining popularity amongst our customers and presumably amongst our trout.
Sparkle Minnows, Gold/Brown Kreelex, Black Buggers, Olive Smolts and Polar Leeches in all flavors have been getting some attention out there. Keep the bugs in the deep slow water and the retrieve on the slow side to start but don’t be afraid to target some shallow spring trout lies and speed up your strip with plenty of pauses in between.
Midge clusters some days, single midges on others. Try trailing an emerger to increase your odds.
We have plenty of winter-rate lodging available for the weekend and don’t forget our $300 Spring Special Full Day Guide Trips happening NOW through the end of April.
Stop by WCA on your way to the river for EVERYTHING you need for your day on the MO. Shuttles, boats, lodging, Kast Extreme Fishing Gear, friendly service and the largest selection of Missouri River flies ever assembled under one roof in Wolf Creek Montana.

By Jason Orzechowski|2016-10-25T16:15:58-06:00March 27th, 2015|Categories: Fishing Report, Uncategorized|Tags: $300 Missouri River Guide Trips, fly fishing, Missouri River, Missouri River Spring Special Guide Rates, running line, Wolf Creek, Wolf Creek Angler, zebra midges|0 Comments