sparkle minnow Archives - Wolf Creek Angler

MOvember

Winter weather is here and all has gone quiet on the Missouri.

A few hangers on out there last weekend but a different story this week with few souls braving the elements. Empty boat ramps from Holter Dam down and not a wade angler in site. Today looks like it may have fishy potential with cloudy skies and a high of 43 with SW winds 10-15 mph but I wouldn’t expect any lines at the boat ramps.

It could be an epic streamer day today (or not). The chase has been on with swingers and strippers both reporting solid action as of late. I’d opt for a moderately lengthy float today and target everything that looks fishy and some stuff that doesn’t, paying extra attention to transitional water and making sure not to overlook the shallow flats. Status quo on the water conditions with flows holding at around 3100 CFS and water temps in the 45 degree range but soon to drop.

Swingers have been finding concentrations of fish in the obvious spots but don’t limit yourself to the handful of spots you know have produced in the past, study the water and find more just like those…they’re likely holding plenty of fish as well.

Kreelex season is underway but we’ve also had good luck with Skittish Smolts, Sparkle Minnows, Swim Coach, Dirty Hippies, Circus Peanuts, Colonel Kurtz, Polar Leeches, Thin Mints and Fruit Roll Ups. Pearl, white, brown/yellow, copper have all seen some action on the brighter days. Black, brown, natural and Olive have all been good options under cloud cover but don’t get stuck in that conventional wisdom either – throw the kitchen sink at them regardless of light conditions.

Just a reminder – we’re still running our autumn rod and reel sale with 20% off any rod or reel and 25% off and rod/reel and line combo. It might be the perfect opportunity to step up your streamer rig or to surprise your favorite fly fisher with a shiny new SAGE, ECHO, LAMSON or REDINGTON rod and/ or reel.

Each year, around this time it seems a switch is flipped and things go completely quiet on the fishing front. With Thanksgiving a week from today it feels like the focus has shifted. The weekend forecast looks cold and snowy and while it looks like we’ll be precipitation free next week, daily highs only in the 20’s and 30’s will likely keep all but the most hard core anglers away.

Our shop hours will reflect the weather next week which means we’ll be here if there’s a decent chance folks will be around but if not we more than likely won’t. We know for sure we’ll be closed on Thursday. Black Friday looks like lows in the single digits and a high of 25 so maybe not. Suffice it to say you should call ahead before you come out. Published hours are Tuesday – Saturday 9 AM – 3 PM.

Enjoy the run up to Thanksgiving, embrace the winter weather and pray for lots of desperately needed snow all winter long, call the shop and make your gift purchases from the comfort of home including the always popular Wolf Creek Angler Gift Cards and get ready for the Brawl of the Wild, kickoff is Saturday at noon.

Go Griz!

By Jason Orzechowski|2024-11-21T09:10:47-07:00November 21st, 2024|Categories: Shop Life|Tags: Brawl of the Wild, colonel kurtz, Echo, fly fishing, Missouri River, running line, skittish smolt, sparkle minnow, Streamer Fishing, Swim Coach, winter, Wolf Creek, Wolf Creek Angler|0 Comments

Predlude to Spring

It’s been a roller coaster weather wise this week on the MO with spring showing up on Monday and Tuesday before another winter smack down in the form of a Winter Storm bringing 6 plus inches of new snow on Tuesday night and Wednesday.

The sun is shining this St Patrick’s Day morning and the forecast looks good with an abundance of sunshine and a high near 42 and south southwest wind just 7 – 11 mph. Definitely a favorable forecast for spring fishing on the MO but you might want to give it a minute as we’re currently sitting at 14 degrees.

And speaking of spring fishing – Monday is the day, the official first day of spring. The current forecast is calling for mostly cloudy skies with a high near 50 and calm winds. If that forecast holds you can’t do much better than that for the first day of spring on the Missouri River.

Between now and then the weekend looks similarly appealing with highs right around 50 each day, manageable winds on Saturday and calm winds on Sunday. No sign of snow in the forecast until Monday night and that chance will linger throughout next week but maybe, just maybe we are past the significant winter weather. A welcome change to be sure!

In spite of the weather ups and downs what has been consistent is the fishing which has been consistently good all week long. Early spring is amongst the very best times to fish the MO if numbers are important to you. It’s already heating up as our fish emerge from their winter slumber. A couple of more ticks up in the water temps and it’s going to go off! We’re still hanging around 34 degrees which is on the cold side but it won’t be long and those spring sun BTU’s will get things moving towards optimal trout temps (44 – 67 degrees).

Best bets for nymphing – Pill Popper, Bubble Yum, Cotton Candy, Pederson’s Sow, Tailwater Sow, Rainbow Czech, Pink Amex, Pink Lucent Bead Ray Charles, UV Yum Yum, Caviar Scud, Radiation Baetis, Zebra Midge, Firebead Ray, Firebead Czech, UV Sow, Soft Hackle Sow…you get the picture. All of these and many more in stock NOW at WCA.

Midge Madness on any given day for those looking to catch that first fish of the season on a dry fly. Try a Griffiths Gnat, Grizzly Midge, Bucky’s Midge Cluster, Black Sipper, Black Midge or even the tried and true Parachute Adams.

We’re a couple of weeks out from Prime Time for streamer fishing but there’s no time like the present to start down that road. Good reports as of late on white, grey and black but that will change with the day depending on water conditions and light levels. Polar Leech, Kreelex, Sparkle Minnow, Skiddish Smolt, Thin Mints, Mod Maidens, Mojo Minnows, MK Ultralite all good on the slow strip. Best bet on the swing would be leeches, buggers, Fruit Rollups and the like.

The shop is stocked up with TONS of Bugs, Simms Waders and boots, a bunch of new sweet sticks from Sage, Lamson, Echo and Redington and all the gear and accessories you’ll need for your day on the water.

We’re open from 8:30 – 4 PM Monday – Saturday and will expand those hours as things get busier.

Stop in for shuttles, fishing licenses, intel, the best coffee in the canyon and so much more.

By Jason Orzechowski|2023-03-17T11:15:59-06:00March 17th, 2023|Categories: Fishing Report, Uncategorized|Tags: Black Midge, Black Sipper, bubble yum, Bucky's Midge Cluster, Caviar Scud, cotton candy, dry fly fishing, Firebead Czech, Firebead Ray, Griffiths gnat, Kreelex, Lamson, midge, Missouri River, MK UYltralite, Mod Maiden, Mojo Minnow, Pederson's Sow, pill popper, Pink Amex, Pink Lucent Bead Ray Charles, Polar Leech, Radiation Baetis, Rainbow Czech, running line, simms, sparkle minnow, Streamer Fishing, Tailwater Sow, Thin Mint, UV Yum Yum, winter, Wolf Creek, Wolf Creek Angler, zebra midges|0 Comments

Quiet on the MO’ photo by Wolf Creek Angler

We’ve definitely reached that time of year when angling traffic all but ceases on the MO’. The cold and snow have ushered in The Quiet and while you may find the occasional trout-obsessed, hard core angler out there swinging the tail outs or driving up and down the Recreation Road praying for BWO’s as they comb the side channels in search of rising trout, there is no shortage of solitude to be found on the river these days.

The same can unfortunately be said for the confines of the shop where we’ve been engaged in such year-end pleasantries as counting flies and FINALLY completing those pre-season orders. The season is now over for shop staff which means it’s just yours truly and usually the dog here as well to keep me company.

So while it is indeed The Quiet Time, it’s also that time of year when my job description is expanded to include ANYTHING and EVERYTHING that needs to be done. Housekeeping, laundry, maintenance, snow removal, security, phone calls, emails, dog walks, website work and more. And on the rare occasion a customer darkens the door, I may even get the chance to sell stuff.

Mid-November through the end of the year are by far the quietest weeks of the season. Hunters are afield and the holidays are approaching which means we simply don’t see much in the way of traffic. It’s a perfect opportunity to take stock of the season and think about how we can do things better next year and it’s also the perfect opportunity to get out and enjoy the solitude of the season.

All that being said, I do expect there may be a slight uptick in traffic next week as we see things warm up early in the week with temps in the high 40’s though mid-week. The rest of this week doesn’t look terrible though temps remain in the 30’s and winds are forecast to increase with the least desirable day looking to be Saturday with sustained west winds 22-28 mph, gusting to 44 mph.

River flows are currently 3560 CFS with water temps hovering around 43.5 degrees. Water conditions are favorable for BWO emergence, weather conditions maybe not so much though Monday looks like it could shape up to be one of those quintessential fall BWO days with overcast skies and rain and snow in the mix. If the wind allows for it perhaps Monday will be the day you DFO’s have been waiting for.

If you’re swinging or stripping, weather and water conditions aren’t nearly as critical though overcast skies are certainly your friend as well. And those looking to chase the bobber will also welcome the cloud cover. Again, it won’t be busy even if we do see a few more folks around so if you haven’t had your fill of fall fishing next week looks like a good time to be here.

I’ve not heard of much happening on the dry fly front so I won’t waste your time with a report about how nothing is happening. If you’re a fall BWO angler you know the game, you’re not looking to us to tell you HOW to get it done, just maybe WHEN. We’ll keep you posted though if you find yourself reading about how great of a BWO day we had yesterday then it’s likely too late!

Nymphing reports have been on the sub-par side overall these past couple of weeks but any day could turn out to be the best day of your season. You won’t know if you don’t go! Your go-to bugs should be Rainbow Czechs, Tailwater Sowbugs, Zebra midges, Soft Hackle sows, Pill Poppers etc. and you might keep some baetis nymhs (Green Machine, split case BWO, BWO Magic Fly) in the mix though we are definitely entering winter nymphing conditions. Bring on the Pinks and Firebeads!

Streamer fishing has been decent depending on the day and should continue to produce. Swingers are getting them on Polar Leeches, Kreelex, Fruit Rollups and the like and while those work on the strip as well we’ve been getting plenty of action on Sparkle Minnows, Swim Coaches, Mini Dungeons, JJ’s and MK Ultralights.

Swing the tail outs and strip off the bank or through the flats and tail outs. Don’t overdo it with your stripping action. The water is getting cold so keep it on the slow side with plenty of pauses.

Just to remind you, our winter shop hours go into effect next week. Wednesday – Saturday 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM, CLOSED Sunday – Tuesday. The days we are open and our hours will fluctuate with the weather conditions. Please call ahead to make sure we’re here when you need us but expect that if the weather dictates it we will be here, at least in the mornings.
And once again, we have discontinued our shuttle service for the season and will resume shuttles in the spring. Please contact Headhunters Fly Shop for winter shuttles.

Steer Clear of the Covid, enjoy The Quiet and find the good in each and every day.

By Jason Orzechowski|2020-11-12T17:08:04-07:00November 12th, 2020|Categories: Fishing Report|Tags: Craven's Swim Coach, dry fly fishing, fly fishing, Kreelex, Missouri River, Missouri River Winter Fishing, pill popper, Rainbow Czech, running line, sparkle minnow, Streamer Fishing, Tailwater Sow bug, Wolf Creek, Wolf Creek Angler, zebra midges, zk's mk ultralight|0 Comments

Doubled Up time on the MO.

Beach weather expected today with sunny skies and a high of 71. Winds south at 5-10 mph. A perfect day for a float and while the sun might not make for ideal fishing conditions it’s tough to complain about a 70+ degree sunny day in mid-April.

Saturday will be a little more spring-like with steady light rain in the morning and showers continuing into the afternoon with highs in the low to mid 50’s. Intervals of clouds and sun on Sunday with highs near 60. Sounds to us like three perfect days to spend on the Missouri.

Traffic remains pretty light out there despite the fact that fishing has been consistently good all week. Dam to Craig had been fickle last week but seems to be improving. We had several trips through there the last couple of days and they did very well with the fish preferrring the smorgasbord approach to any one pattern in particular. Nothing new to report on specific patterns – sounds like a little bit of everything is working. Sowbugs, Rainbow Czechs, SJW’s, Military Mays, S & M’s, LGM’s, BWO Magic Flies, Hot Belly PT’s and on and on. Stop by the shop and we’ll get you set up with any and all of the above and more.

There were a bunch of BWO’s around yesterday along with the piles of midges we’ve been seeing daily but not much in the way of fish up, at least during the early to mid afternoon save for a few small pods where you would expect to find them.

We devoted a good couple of hours to throwing streamers yesterday and didn’t have a lot of action which wasn’t a big surprise in the bright sun but we did manage to move a few good fish regardless. We tried a bunch of different bugs and only got them to move on one of them. We threw polar leeches, smolts, sparkle minnows, circus peanuts, kreelex, rattlesnakes, buggers and more in a bunch of different colors – stop by the shop and we’ll let you know which one worked. We’ve got plenty of all of them and tomorrow just might be the day to throw them.

Discounted lodging and $300 spring special guide trips available through the end of the month. Book yours today.

By Jason Orzechowski|2016-10-25T16:15:54-06:00April 17th, 2015|Categories: Fishing Report|Tags: $300 Missouri River Guide Trips, Circus Peanut, Kreelex, Missouri River, running line, sparkle minnow, Streamer Fishing, Wolf Creek, Wolf Creek Angler|0 Comments