We are entering the final third of July and the fishing is red hot.
Those who love to dry fly dawn til dusk are having their cake and eating it too.
Trico’s continue to be the hottest ticket from dawn too the afternoon period depending on the wind, the spinner fall and a billion environmental factors.
We know the reach cast factor helps too.
There PMD’s are still around but not always in the number we like. The spinner fall can come out of nowhere and make the afternoon more tolerable.
The caddis seem to be nowhere near as fulfilling as the past 50 years but the fish do respond to a caddis fly floated over their nose properly. Will they come in bigger numbers this year? We are not holding our breath. Braden our in house bug seiner and researcher is out right now gathering specimens and we should have a blog about the river contents today sometime. Keep it here for updates in regards to the biomass moments and changes.
Until then, here are the hot flies of July from Montana’s Missouri River.
Late July Missouri River Hot Flies
- Harrop’s Hi-Viz Rusty Spinner
- Harrop’s Hi-Viz Pale Green Spinner
- Harrop’s Hi-Viz Trico Spnner
- Quigley’s Cluster
- Cluster Midge Double Parachute
- Limestone Cripple
- D & D Cripple
- Cloud Caddis
- CDC and Elk
- Double Duck Caddis
- Stocking Wing Caddis
- Parachute Caddis
- Bloom’s Caddis
- Harrop’s Palmered Caddis
- Translucent Pupa floated
- X-Caddis
- Buzzball
- Bubba Ant
- Pink Morrish Hopper
- Bloom’s Ant
And a few nymphs for your palette.
- Poly Wing Zebra
- Purple Weight Fly
- Ultra Damsel Nymph
- Rainbow Sowbug
- Rainbow Warrior
- Green Weenie
- Tung Dart
- Zebra Midge Black & Red
- Cheeseman Emerger
- Ju-Ju PMD
- Mason’s Peep Show
- Soft Hackle Black
- Rainbow Czech Nymph
- Purple Lightening Bug
- Little Green Machine
- Grape Slushy
- SJW Red
- Tungsten Lightening Bug
That should keep you busy for a while. There are plenty of bugs that work that are not on this list. These are hot sellers and hot flies that seem to be popular for the last week(s) of July fishing Montana’s Missouri River.
Good dry fly bite in the mornings and it can continue throughout the day per above. The nymphers are doing well in all water types at all levels. Look for good nymphing in faster water as the fish are moving to higher oxygen environments. They do every summer as the water temps rise. No secret there. Just remember to follow your late summer instincts and fish near the surmise and the sunset. Smart.
See you tomorrow on this very buggy blog. Friday is just 4 days away!