Great Falls, Montana Fishing Report 07.25.19

Hot summer weather is here and stream flows are falling.  So far, water temperatures remain favorable, but if you fish in the evening, land fish quickly and keep them in the water.

Terrestrials will soon be in play as the heat dries out the grasses and they don’t have so much cover to hide in.  To get you ready, we’ve got the Morrish Hopper on sale as our fly of the week.  Stock up now.

Current Conditions

Missouri River below Holter Dam - The Missouri River is still above 6K and that’s great news with the hot weather.  More water means cooler water and the fish remain happy and feeding.  As we move toward August, transitions are happening.  For the dry fly gang, pmds are still out, but they will be fading as the tiny tricos take center stage. Morning sessions with the pmd spinner and female trico duns are where it’s at currently.  As the day progresses, it's male trico spinners and caddis.  Lots of caddis. For the evening sessions, the caddis rule.

Nymphing is really good in the current flows.  You can fish tiny zebras and micro mays to imitate the little guys.  Tung jigs from #14 to #18 are always in play.  If you want to go bigger, you can dead drift larger offerings like buggers and the highly popular zirdle.

Creeks and Smaller Rivers - The rainy cycles have passed and all the freestones are falling.  Fish will begin to hold in predictable locations.  Fishing should remain really good for a while.  Caddis and pmds are coming off daily along with some golden and nocturnal stones.  Ants, hoppers, beetles, and classic attractors are bringing fish to the top.  Its dry fly fun season.

Ponds and Reservoirs - Nilan continues to produce with sporadic callibaetis and damselfly hatches.  Willow Creek Reservoir is being drawn down for dam work.  It is not certain yet, but we may lose all of the fish.  Get out there and catch and keep a few while you can.  Pishkin is still full and in prime shape for pike fishing.

Warm Water - The heat of the summer is a great time to fish early and late.  Hit your local bass pond before sunrise or when the sun begins to drop again.  Sight fish for carp in the morning when they are in the shallows and before the sun gets too hot.

Match the Hatch

It’s trico season.  Female duns come off the water early and tiny olive parachute patterns in the range of #20 to #24 will get lots of attention from pods of feeding fish.  A few hours later, the male spinners begin to fall and black-bodied spinners will keep fish focused for the remainder of the morning.

Need to fill the box before you go? Order flies online here.

Tips & Techniques

Many people hate fishing tricos because they are small and hard to see.  If you use a pattern with an orange or pink post, even a #24, it is surprisingly visible.  The fish don’t see the post, so make sure you can find your fly and pick one that you can see.  You’ll have a lot more fun that way.

Did you know...

Male tricos emerge throughout the night and wait for the females to hatch in the morning.  When the females arrive, the males are ready to mate.  After mating, the males fall spent to the water.  That is why we fish olive (female duns) in the morning and back spinners (spent males) after the mating clouds have dissipated.  The females lay their eggs sporadically later in the day.  Female (pale olive) spinners can be effective in the afternoons.

See past reports from the Great Falls region here, or click here to view all northwest regional reports.