Trico's still near the dam

There are a few rising fish in the upper reaches. Be on time, 9-11 am, and look for our sipping celebrities. The rainbow and the brown. Both famous in their own right.

Two-Striped Grasshopper | Melanoplus bivittatus | Grasshopper Order

Are they everywhere? No. Are they consuming all of the green mass around the river? No. Do the fish eat them at every opportunity they get? No.

Is hopper fishing and the eats associated with them out of this world? Damn Straight.

This feller came the other day while fishing north of town, well north. Fishing was average, about 2 takes a mile. Not bad, if you are into that kind of thing. The 2 takes are predatory fish, that are generally brown in flavor.

Cap’n Carp snapped this fella on the infamous Hadhunters porch. Right next to the legendary YETI.

Some of the HH gang has been fishing the big pink Morrish. Big fly, big fish theory sometimes prevails.

There are a bunch of hoppers on the banks, littering the shorline. Not many in the water. Odd? Maybe. Ask the Hopper god, on he knows.

Trico's hatch on the Mo

Ephemeroptera Tricorythodes allectus 0r minutus | White winged black or commonly known as the Trico

Lots of these damn little bugs around the Missouri this month, and for that matter next month too. The fish really used to enjoy themselves indulging on this tasty morsel in the surface film, pods of them, the fish that is. But, alas, no more.

The last line makes me sound like a romance writer…Alas…cheesy shit for a Monday. Standard.

I used to tell clients when asked if they bite…

“Well yes, and don’t let them swarm about your head and face, my last client was inundated by them and we had to whisk her off to the hospital for a poison control,blood transfusions, and the like…”

I also used to attempt to put the fear of god in them by explaining it was either my first day guiding, or that I had a pretty good idea of where the put in was, but wasn’t really clear on how to find the take out. Can you imagine how long a new guide has to lie about his length of employment? It is truly terrifying those first few days on the water, with folks you do not know, who you a trying to do right by…scary shit. You may say, and why would that fishy lad tell a fib? Well, it’s pretty hard to instill confidence in your guests if you are heading into uncharted waters…literally.

A good scene at the Craig Bridge in August

Trico’s are an insect that do not appeal to all fishermen. It is so small, the fish are finicky whilst sipping them, and most of them will eat a caddis anyway. But for the Hatch Matchers, there is no finer quarry than the Trico fishing and all that it entails. As I mentioned above, and for those of you who were so very fortunate blessed mofo’s to enjoy the deceadent fishing of the 80’s, 90’s. and til 2001ish…then the fish boycotted pod feeding behaviors on the oil slicks of Trico spinners. You could set your watch by…

Trico’s are multibrooded meaning several generations will hatch during the year. They last about 2 months. The black male hatches at dusk and well into the darkness while the olive female comes off in the morning. They meet in mating swarms that appear to us the angler along the shorleline in columns reaching 50 feet in height. Big giant mating orgy. Then the females oviposite over the water and the both of them spin towards the water and the fish eat them. Or used to.

I’m not stating that our fish do not eat them anymore, because they do indeed eat Trico’s daily. Larval, pupal, emergent, dun, and finally the spinner. Then why are they so hard to catch when they are keying in on this impossible insect? Hell, I don’t know. I’ve never been able to communicate with those damn hard of hearing trout. Even shouted expletives do not seem to awaken them?

Bins of Trico flies at Headhunters

If you still wish to fish this hatch, as I do, as most of us…the hardheaded trout fisher dudes do…come out to the Missouri in the coming month. They will be here, in droves. The best day to catch these fellas when the fish become fond of the topwater bite…is…an overcast warm, calm, no pressure day. It is game on. Maybe this above average water will bring back the surface rise? Who knows, Mother Nature will certainly dictate the future. She nearly always does. If the last bigger water years are any sort of indication, and I think it may be, our fish will once again gorge themselves on this tiny tasty bug.I had a fellow once ask, “Why would such a large trout eat such a minute insect?”

I answered back, “How many sunflower seeds, M & M’s, pieces of popcorn… can you eat during a sitting? Countless…

Pelican Point Horse Play

Last week taken near Pelican Point. Liked this image lots.

Went south for a couple days with Ruppert for a great time on the Yellowstone and the Stillwater. Awesome. Recommend these freestone gems to anyone in the SW Montana Neighborhood. More on the short hiatus fishing trip tomorrow. Back to the Silly Sunday Scenery Shots…

Milling around near Craig on a lovely Montana evening...

The lesser of our two deer. Mule and Whitetail. Whitetails hang out in bottoms, and mule deer in the middle of the road near dusk.

Autrumn storms in late summer

Wandering around the Missouri

Headhunters Unite. Great weekend in the west, come out and fish with us. We’ll be here morning, noon, and night. Stop in for a chat, and local knowledge…or color.

I'll take it...

An ant eater. Bloom’s ant is kick-ass. So are any ant of your liking. Tied off behind a big fluffy see-um fly, like a hopper, and drifted down the golden road into a waiting brownie gullet. Strike.

What I love out terrestrial eats on this fine river is the non-crashiness trashiness freestone bite of the take. The fly may just disappear…like the floor just dropped out. Not the toilet flush sort of deal…much more refined.

Yes, sometimes the fish do explode on the fly…and that is fun too. But, most of our fish like the fly with a touch of Grey Poupon…”pardon me, but do you happen to have a jar of…”

The hopper bite is not shit hot yet. And as you all know, our river is not known for tremendous hopper days, with dudes coming in daily with hero hopper stories. But, they do eat it.

When ours, the bite,  is hot we will let you know, or not. We may tell you folks when it is ending, or something. The best way to know is to be here. Just take a short 2 week hiatus from that crappy ball and chain career of yours and join us for the time being. I’ll write you a note to give your boss…and if you are your own boss, shlep the rest of the week and next too to your subordinate and get here. We’ll save a bar stool at Joe’s for you.

Near sunset @ Pelican Isle 8/5 | photo Raisler

Good morning to you all, TGIF, get out of the house this weekend. Pack the Yeti full of ice, Budweiser, wienies…that’s all you need. And drive to a local watering hole, or fishing hole…put up lawn chair and begin.