Missouri River September Fly Fishing Forecast

Missouri River September Fly Fishing Forecast

Headhunters Fly Shop delivers for you today the Missouri River September Fly Fishing Forecast.

We have shed the heat of August as we stare into the fold of fall. And we like what we see. Gone are the morning hatches of summer, the blazing high sun, and along with them the crowds. We may see a few more weekends of fun floating non-anglers but if the weather is on the cool side they too will disappear only to re-emerge 10 months from now.

Lets get right into the Autumn fly fishing forecast for central Montana’s jewel the Missouri River.

Missouri River September Hatches

Three primary bugs will keep us busy this month. The Pseudocleoen is the star. Baby BWO’s is what they are. This can drive many anglers absolutely crazy. They hatch nearly daily like the Trico, and they are about the same size. Way too small for our older eyes to see.

Afternoons can be filled with this mega hatch. On a good day they can literally cover the top of the water. And they come and go pretty rapidly.

The right dry fly for the task? Shoot. We don’t really know. A small Adams can be good. An ant can be good. Remember that you do not have to match the hatch. Some are into that sort of play, others are not. The bottom line here on the Pseudo Baetis is that you may not be successful all the time. Sometimes yes, and other times no. Most times no.

Hot flies for this hatch will include any of those CDC based Cripples. I like using the RS2. Floating, or keeping the bug in the film is always a good idea. All year long here, as you know. A big Adams or a bigger Callibeatis Cripple can be just as good or better. I will repeat here again that not many, very few in fact guides, are match the hatch type of fellers and gals. Drift is important to those who want to catch them. Fly not so much.

The secondary insect of the month is not as present as the former. The October Caddis actually shows itself in September, for the most part. The nymph is good in September or the soft hackle. Both play well on the Missouri River. Obviously the Orange Stimi is a great top water option. Bastardized orange hopper patterns are an inside trick to October Caddis dry fly explosions.

Again the nymph can be a good thing to dangle below your big orange topwater pattern. Or get on the deep nymph submarine bus. Try one up top of your double nymph rig with a narrow bodied mayfly, baby BWO, tethered below.

The 3rd is the Callibaetis. Not any everyday player and only located in select runs through out the river. It is present in all of the reaches. When I see a few in the air I will put on an Adams. Or a spinner, Or a cripple. A good one to blindfish too. Fish find the Callibaetis nymph, cripple, and dun. They just do.

Don’t disregard the ant or the hopper this month either. If Mother Nature lines us out with warmer than average daytime air temps and that incessant Montana wind you oughtta keep those big floaty fly boxes in the mix.

The number 1 way to insure you do not catch the rising trout you are targeting is to make a shitty first presentation. If you think it is, just go ahead and try it with your wife, girlfriend, or that hot chick at the bar. Making a plan, an outline, some sort of loose idea of how to catch the trout is not lost on me. But alas, most men, males, rush right into things without thinking about the end result. A very hard habit to break. But…it never works!!

Trust me, I’m a fishing guide.

Missouri River September Weather

Sunny and snowy and warm and cold with some wind. The average temperatures this month fall from 73F all the way to 63F.

You really have to be prepared for anything. We can have daily air temps all the way into the hi 80’s. Morning lows can be well below the 40F mark. Some morning will even dip below the freezing temp.

Again you may need your waders on before noon and your tank top after noon. Suns out, guns out.

Precipitation for the month total about an inch and a half. It rained that much last month in one day. Dousing many of our local fires. Thankfully!  We can get some serious rain this month. These figures to the right are the averages. But you know with global warming and freaky weather patterns can bring us some unpredictable storms.

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You can see the snow totals adding up in the right hand columns. Yep, snow is a common occurrence in September.

As September moves out we get damn excited about the weather ahead in October. And November can be pretty special. It seems to be the new October. November we mean.

Missouri River September Flows

Historically we see flows in the 4K or less range. This year of course much lower. We will see flows remain where the currently are in the 3K mark through next March. We certainly know that it will not rise above the fabulous five thousand mark.

The weeds are not as bad as they can be this year. Stripping streamers yesterday in conjunction with the weeds did not drive anybody to drink. But about every 4th or 5th cast you may have to do some weed mitigation. For the nymphers the weeds are not an issue. You can find yourself in some eddy situations that can seem a bit weedy. I believe the current weed scale is a 3. But be forewarned if you have not fished here in the autumn or fall period, there are weeds in the water column.

September Missouri River temps are heading in the right direction. Fast. When we break into the hi 50’s things will get real good man. Remember that trout like 53F-57F. They love that zone. It is their 68F-72F. The water temps have dropped drastically over the last couple weeks and the fish love it. Well below 60F as you head downriver.

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Headhunters Fly Shop September Gear

We have you covered on this front. SIMMS gear galore for your September clothing woes. And if you need flies, want not. The mega selection of skinny mayflies will drop your jaw. Fully stocked and ready for action.

Nets, boat accessories, SIMMS, gloves, headwear, puffy jackets, base layers, wading boots, the best in waders with 22 sizes of SIMMS G3’s, Hatch reels, Orvis, Abel, Galvan, Sage,, Loomis, RIO, SA, Airflo…

And if you need anything relating to Trout Spey, you cannot find a fly shop east of the west coast better suited and stocked. Lines, lines, and more lines from OPST, RIO, SA, Airflo, along with the tips, leaders, swivels, tippets. A full quiver of demo  rods from Orvis, ACR, Echo, Sage, Loomis. Tons and tons of kick ass two handed gear around for your Trout Spey experience.

Get ready for fall at Headhunters. Open daily 7am til 7pm for the remainder of the fall season. Open first and open last. That is all you need to know. Guides, lodging, professional honest and transparent staff and information here at the information and education source on the Missouri River. Headhunters has got your back.