Missouri River Report 8.5.16

It’s a bit scratchy out there on the Missouri River. Trico’s are the primary hatch when you’re in the right zone. They are out there, but not showing everywhere you’d like them to be.

The good news is that you can fish a bigger bug. Some fish will still take a Caddis. General ant, hopper, beetle, Chubby, Purple Haze and various attractor dry flies can work in place of a hatch matching Trico. Try an Ant with a sunk Trico Spinner or go big and fish a Hopper with an Ant off the back.

Lots of nymphs are working. Two Bit Hookers, Radiation Baetis, Split Case, Crust Nymphs, Shot Glass Baetis, Rainbow Warrior, Military May, Psycho May, Tung Zebra’s, Tailwater Tiny’s and all the rest.

The key is a stealthy delivery system. Big splashy indicators are not helpful. Using an attractor dry as the indicator is a great approach. If you want to go with a double nymph rig, try a Palsa or a tuft of yarn. If you still need that big indicator, try a Clear Air Lock.

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

There are lots of floating weeds. That’s a fact of late summer. Sometimes your top fly catches the weeds while your bottom fly does the fishing. That’s OK.

Fish those nymphs and dries as much "downstream" as you can. Make a reach cast and let it go. As soon as you add tension or try to mend, you will be pulling weeds.

If you fish a streamer, rip it. This can activate the fish and remove any flotsam and jetsam klingons.

Water temps are holding in the fishable mid to upper 60s and flows are still above 4000 cfs for now. Lots of splash and giggle activity on the weekends, but mid-week traffic is light. I was out last Saturday and had to dodge a lot of tubers. On Tuesday, the river was wide open and the fishing was pleasant and productive.

Curious how the river is doing? Check out the most current temps and flows here