Missouri River Report 8.21.16

I failed to get a Missouri River report off last Friday, because I was on the water-thankfully and joyfully. What a day it was! 72 degrees, no wind and fish on all day long. I wish every summer day could be like that.

We floated from the Dearborn to Pelican and encountered a total of three drift boats. Two of them were guides I was working with. One guy was out in a kayak and I saw two parties bait fishing from shore. That’s a pretty low density of anglers through a lot of water.

I love getting out early on summer mornings. The air is comfortable and the fish are happy. Sometimes, you can get on a good emergence of Trico duns, followed by a strong spinner fall and your day is made. Then you can throw some big foamy stuff with something smaller off the back and take whatever comes your way. You can also throw a streamer for some real entertainment.

Want to try out some new flies? Check out our fly selection here

Flip to the evening, and the action picks up as the sun gets low, especially in the shaded areas of the canyon. Out in the open, its best after that sun drops below the horizon. It’s a fleeting period of perfect light, but a great time to be on the water.

The fish continue to eat hoppers and ants, Caddis and Trico’s and a variety of fare on the double nymph rigs. If you are fishing below the surface, don’t be afraid to give them something big and rubber leggy. Maybe with a crayfish look. The big fly was our money maker on Friday. Others were fishing the worm and some larger nymphs. The fish were greedy.

Life is good on the Missouri River. I fished for six hours early last week and only saw one party at the landing and one canoer go by. I continually hear complaints about how busy it is out there, but I just don’t see it. If a particular stretch has a few boats, just pick another. The fishing is good from the dam to below Cascade.  I’ve even found a few incidental trout in the middle of Great Falls while fishing for carp.

Want to know how the river is doing? Check the current river flows here

Its prime time for carp fishing right now. The water is warm and they have their feed bags on. Just the other day, I spotted and cast to a large mudding carp. The fly landed just right and swung into his view. He started tracking it. I was preparing for the take, when a brown appeared out of nowhere and blocked him. Neither fish ate the fly, but it was a neat encounter. If the carp are getting smart enough to enlist brown trout to run interference, that’s certainly going to take things to another level.