Nice fish Duke. Caught on the lower Missouri below Moroni Dam. Loomis fly rods handle the Big Dogs!!

Check out this article in the NY Times. It real, the Aquatic Nuisance Species stuff. Honest.

Ubiquitous on the Mo this time of year...

Boreal Bluet | Enallagma boreale | Dragonfly Order

1 1/4″ Damselfly. Male brilliant blue, with black markings on head and abdomen. Female, lighter with more black on abdomen. Wings clear.

Did you notice the PMD, Ephemerella infrequens, dangling precariously from his mandible? I do too, although I suspect it will not escape. Saw this damsel snatch this fly from the surface of the water, from the clutches of freedom. Can you imagine spending the last 12 months growing, molting, emerging through the terrifying trout frenzy and struggling through the surface tension just to get lifted off the water by this blue damsel. Tough way to go. The life cycle of the ecosystem we love, the living river system we enjoy daily.

Joe, nice!

Not bad for hump day fishing. What will today bring? Mosquitoes? Yes.

Big fish? Yes. Fun? Yes.

Duck, no rods up.

Fished well yesterday and should continue into the unforeseeable future…says the fish see-ers. I’m a fish see-er after  a dozen Budweiser’s too.

Come visit the Missouri this year. You will enjoy. Have seen some wade fishers on the river. It is nearly wade fishable. Be careful, still pretty deep.

Thanks to all Dad's

Thanks to my Father and the Father’s of the world. Most of us experienced the outdoors initially with our Father’s, Uncle’s, and even neighbors.

Bottom line: Dad’s facilitate fishing addictive behaviors. They are enablers. Thanks to them for creating an environment for soulful nature release.

If is weren’t for Fathers, how would we have our first beer, first cigar, increased our vocabulary with words we still cannot use in front of Mom…You know, all the cool shit.

Father and Son fishing with Peter Howell on the Missouri

Not all Dad’s encourage this type of growth, but your Uncle may have been the impetus. I say this with the highest respect for our first role model. Our first mentor.

All I know is hold your beer high and toast Father’s across the nation!

They taught us how to interact with the outdoors. How to respect those around us, the animals, the plants and trees, the fresh air…and that it is OK to sit around the fire and not speak. Just to enjoy the entirety of it all.

Spending time with Dad fishing shaped my life. Of course had no idea that hanging with Dad would lead me down this road…or river. It did, and I am thankful.

If your Father did not introduce you to this way of life, your fishing passion, or your endless pursuit of less work and more fishing…I’m sure he encouraged it.

Many of my clients strongest memories include their Dad and fishing. They all start the same way…”I remember Dad loading up the back of the station wagon…the maroon steel Coleman ice box…him untangling my 13th rats nest of the morning…eating beef jerky til my mouth puckered up from the salt…” We all cling to those warm and fabulous memories.

Just chatting is enough with Dad

The time spent with Father’s is worth its weight in gold, or dry flies for that matter. Drifting down the river and not fishing. Good enough. Try it…

Praise Father’s and what they have done for us. Praise Father’s for smiling and not saying a word while we as kids would scream and behave irrationally upon losing a fish. Praise Father’s for going above and beyond when all they wanted to do was sleep in, not get up at 2am, drive an hour in the rain, set up decoys…just to have you miss every shot all day. Praise Father’s for encouraging outdoor respect and appreciation for Mother Nature. Praise Father’s for allowing growth and maturation through outdoor and fishing activities. Praise Father’s for providing opportunities for guided discovery.  Praise Father’s for the introduction of life, and all that is important in it…meaning fishing.

High water does not mean no fish

…the water is high. Yes, it is tough, but there still are fish in the Missouri. True, they are trapped.

They do not have feet, or wings…thankfully. If they did we would be totally screwed.

Will our fish enjoy this 3rd year of oxygen, food, higher water. You  be the judge. I, for one, am all in. The fish could not get any fatter, or healthier. Could they?

Yes, a fatty

Deep is the word. A few fish on top too. Look hard, even look twice…you’ll find ‘em. Really look hard. Back to the deep deal. 13K and maybe rising again today. Lots of weight, 3/0 and tungsten is the key. Then find deep tail-outs and work it brother. Stay away from the sexy shit, I do. It will come back, the seams, rip rap, eddy lines, etc. Until then, fish the boring stuff bro.

More later, I’m out. Check out the YETI BLOG here about Headhunters Fly Shop.