Summertime on the MO’

Can it really be that there are just four days remaining in the month of June?

Like it or not, the season is rapidly passing us by and we’re still waiting for the water to come down which sooner or later it will. And while sooner and later are relative terms we’re confident that two weeks from now we’ll be looking at more wade-friendly flows and perhaps the best dry fly fishing of the year.

Traffic has been on the rise this past week with the Missouri still being one of the few and likely the best option in the state right now. Last week’s heavy precipitation delivered the punch we’d been hoping to avoid. The swollen waters caused widespread flooding and road closures in our region and muddied up the MO below Little Prickly Pear and Dearborn which has made the Dam a VERY BUSY PLACE.

The good news is that things are on the drop and the weather forecast looks favorable to maintain this trend. The bad news is that flows on the MO had to be held steady while the tribs blew up but now that things are on the drop it’s time to dump the excess, hence the bumps in flows on the MO this week.

It’s not all doom and gloom though….here’s the brighter side of things.

Yes, high water consumed the month of June and ruined the plans of many a wade angler but the Missouri is so much better for it and if the past is any indication 2019 could be obscenely good following these flushing flows. Stay tuned

The creeks have been off limits for much of the time they’ve been open this year due to the high flows but things are about to come into shape and we should be in for a great summer of creek fishing. Many a season we’ve already been under Hoot Owl closures by this time on some of our favorite small water haunts so we’re stoked to have things just coming into shape as we approach the first of July.

Fishing on the Missouri has been excellent despite the high water and it’s about to get even better. As you’ve no doubt been reading the nymphing on the Missouri has been nothing short of awesome more often than not this season. Sow bugs have remained the steady diet of our trout for months and while I’m not saying there haven’t been a few tougher days out there, more often than not the fishing has been good. The right water, the correct depth, the right amount of weight and a sow bug or two has been the key day after day, no matter the flows. The baetis have come and gone and the PMD’s are soon to be in the rearview but not to worry. We’ve got at least a couple of weeks left of PMD activity and Tricos are on the horizon. Dry fly fishing has been a challenge to say the least but a few days of dropping flows (which we should see very soon) could totally change the game. If you’re headed our way sometime soon you might just be in for some phenomenal dry fishing.

You’re just in time for HALF PRICE FLIES! As always, the Fourth of July is the day for the annual WCA Make American Fly Again Half Price Fly Sale.  It doesn’t get much better than half price flies!

Traffic is spreading out on the MO’. You can plan on seeing plenty of activity at the dam and Wolf Creek from here on out but maybe not quite so crazy as it’s been this past week.  The water is rapidly clearing and people have already started to wander into the lower stretches. It makes all the difference in the world to have 30 miles of water to work with rather than eight.

These are just a few of the reasons the future is looking bright on the Missouri. We’ve all been biding our time, waiting patiently for things to start to feel a little more like Prime Time on the Missouri. I suspect it won’t be long…