Land of the Lost: Fly Fishing the Lower Missouri River Near Morony Dam
Most fly fishers know the Missouri River as the water below Holter Dam, near Craig, Montana. For thirty some miles below Holter Dam, the Missouri River is one of the best trout waters in the United States. But there is more...
Below Great Falls, the Missouri flows for a considerable distance before running into Fort Peck Reservoir. All of that distance provides great fishing opportunities for a variety of species. Below Morony Dam and all way to and beyond Loma, there is great fishing for small mouth bass, pike, carp, drum and goldeye. There are also opportunities to catch walleye, sauger, a few odd but very large rainbows, brown trout and catfish.
As a fly fisherman, I’m likely to focus on pike, bass and carp, but I will take whatever other species wants to play. My mantra is any fish, any time, on the fly.
It’s fun to fish water where you never know what you might catch. We like to call the area from Morony Dam down, the "Land of the Lost". There can be some great fly fishing down on the "other" Missouri River.
If you want to take a kid fishing and be sure they catch some fish, goldeye are perfect. They are spread throughout the river and loaded up on current seams and eddy lines. They will hit any fly from an Elk Hair Caddis to the biggest fly you throw at pike. The only way not to catch them is to not set the hook as your fly sinks.
They tend to stay high in the water column- probably to avoid larger predators lurking below. Goldeye are like a cross between a herring and a parana. They have needle sharp teeth and they are voracious. It’s good that they don’t get large, because they would devour everything.
Pike fishing can be hit and miss, but bass and carp are always around.
Access is somewhat limited considering all the water available to fish, but there are some key areas.
The most popular access sites out of Great Falls are Morony Dam, Widow Coulee and Carter Ferry. Morony provides bank access. Some anglers will also launch rafts, canoes or kayaks. There are some serious whitewater ledges immediately downstream, so only experienced boaters should attempt floating.
There is no traile boat launch at Morony, so drift and jet boats need to look further down at Widow Coulee; it has concrete pad, so jet boaters can launch larger craft. Small boaters can launch whatever conveyance they have to reach the opposite bank or to float on down to Carter. Carter Ferry is the next spot downstream, with both boat and bank access.
If you decide to fish the other Missouri River and need more details on fishing the "Land of the Lost", stop into the Great Falls Fly Shop. We speak fish- all kinds of fish!