Mark Raisler, Author at Headhunters Fly Shop

April, fishing report, Headhunters Spring Special

Monday Afternoon Missouri River Fishing Report Getting better every day. As the water temps rise so does the mood of the trout. Both good and not so good reports from both the upper and the canyon, depending on the day.…

Headhunters Annual Spring Special April 2021 3 weeks left!

April 11, 2021

Headhunters Annual Spring Special April 2021 3 weeks left! Yes, your favorite Missouri River Fly Shop is yet again running discounted spring guide trips. Lodging in the area is on sale too. You will have to call up the friendly…

Headhunters Friday

April 9, 2021

Headhunters Friday Looking like the lean side of average for our 2021 water year. Unless Mother Nature disagrees. TGIF. Predicting the future would be like betting on Gonzaga to take it all.

Drift Boat 101 Clinic April 24th Craig Montana

April 8, 2021

Headhunters Life, Uncategorized

We, Adipose Boatworks et al, are really excited to host the popular Drift Boat 101 Clinic again this year. Last year we had to cancel due to COVID, but believe that we can hold the clinic and keep everyone safe. If you…

Change, when Change happens

April 7, 2021

Fly Fishing Technique

Change, when Change happens April, May, June. One thing in common of all three is change. High water, low water, falling and rising. Water temps along with the left over weeds or peculiar dam operations can change the water conditions…

Little Green Machine JAV

April 6, 2021

Little Green Machine JAV You need the Little Green Machine tucked away in your fly vest this spring Possibly the most popular fly at Headhunters of Craig. If it isn’t, it still holds its own against many top notch techy…

Headhunters Fly Shop & Guide Service Anniversary

April 4, 2021

Lucky 13

Headhunters Fly Shop & Guide Service Anniversary It all began 13 years ago today. Headhunters opened the doors for the first time. Been a great ride. Enjoyed meeting all of you. Laughing, learning, and fishing with you too. Nothing stays…

Dick’s Super Dialed Swing Report

April 3, 2021

Fishing Report, Troutspey

Dick’s Super Dialed Swing Report Ed Note: Dick’s Spey Report today on the Headhunters Fly Shop Blog. Is this the totally dialed report? You will have to see for yourself! But I will say that it is a report. A…

Friday Foto Osprey are Home

April 2, 2021

Birds, Headhunters Life

friday foto, Osprey

Friday Foto Osprey are Home Yes, the Osprey have returned home. The annual migration back to the summer roost has ended. Most return to the river March 30, 31, or April 1st. Like clockwork. It is one of the signs…

Opening Day 2021

April 1, 2021

Opening Day

Opening Day 2021 April 1st is a big day. Lots happening in 2021. April Fools Day We have for years thought of spoofing you folks. But we really have not found or come up with anything funny that seems appropriate.…

Firebead Ray Charles Tuesday Tying Video

March 30, 2021

Firebead Ray Charles Tying Video, fly, tying, video

Firebead Ray Charles Tying Video Tuesday in Craig Montana. A squall passed through for the past couple days. Now we are headed towards fair weather for the remainder of the week. A few were tying this pattern up for the…

You haven’t booked your summer trip yet?

March 29, 2021

2021, booking, Guides, July, June, lodging, Summer

You haven’t booked your summer trip yet? You are not totally screwed yet. But that time is nearing. Like later this week… June and July are nearing the ceiling for both guide and lodging booking capacities. Just a simple heads…

Mystic Eyes Them along with Van Morrison

March 28, 2021

Mystic Eyes, sunday, Them, Van Morrison

“Mystic Eyes”, Them, along with Van Morrison On of our illustrious Headhunters members let us in on the link between these two songs. “Mystic Eyes”, Van Morrison, along with the band Them. And finished with everybody’s favorite “GLORIA.” Happy Sunday…

Into the Mystic Van Morrison

March 27, 2021

Into the Mystic, Van Morrison, video

Into the Mystic Van Morrison Love this tune. Many, many do. That is why today I had to post it. Cause even if you have heard it umpteen times, it still sounds great every time you are graced by Morrison…

Friday Foto

March 26, 2021

friday foto

Friday Foto Spring is here. For the most part. This coming week we see temps in the 40’s, 50’s 60’s with rain, wind, sunshine, and snow. Pretty standard for our Montana Spring Weather. Guide Trips out daily with our Spring…

Thursday in Craig Montana

March 25, 2021

COVID-19, Thursday

Thursday in Craig Montana Second vaccination clinic here at Headhunters Fly Shop in downtown Craig Montana. Big day. Snowing now. Fishing is good. The reports coming in daily are increasingly better and better. The nymph bite is on. The dry…

Izaak’s Opening Friday March 26th 2021

March 23, 2021

Food, Headhunters Life, Un-Fishing

Call Chef John!, craig, Help Wanted, Hiring, Izaaks, Job, Summer, trout bum

Izaak’s Opening Friday March 26th 2021 Izaak’s Opening Friday March 26th. 4-9pm Wednesday thru Sunday. We are excited to have Izaak’s back for the season! Yummy. Stop in and see Chef John for your BBQ fix. Welcome back Izaak’s!! …

Spring Training Video

March 20, 2021

Fly Fishing Video

dry fly, Sara Spring Training, Spring Training Video, video

Spring Training Video It is here. Spring is here in Craig. We felt it last week. Super busy this weekend again. Lots and lots of boats, wade anglers, and guide trips out there as our Spring Special makes it through…

New Breed Chicks Rule Redux Jana

March 19, 2021

2021, friday foto, Jana, NBCR, Spring

New Breed Chicks Rule Redux Jana Found this image roaming through the files last night. My cousin Jana Raisler with this nice rainbow from a couple years back. Jana lives in Sea/WA and shops at Avid Angler in Lake Forest…

Wolf Creek Classic #TBT

March 18, 2021

Wolf Creek Classic #TBT Squeeky lived in downtown Wolf Creek in the late 90’s. Many trout bums have lived in Wolf Creek Montana. A great little community with many amenities that any trout inclined slacker would enjoy. The Canyon Store…

Dick Magill Chronicles: Early Spring Outlook

March 17, 2021

#dickmagill, Dick, Magill, missouri river, Outlook, Spring

Dick Magill Chronicles: Early Spring Outlook The sun is almost rising before I wake up this time of year. Once it does, the sky here becomes a beautiful collage of colors that in many ways resembles cotton candy. It’s a…

2021 Missouri River Water Update

March 15, 2021

Fishing Report, Headhunters Life, Nature

2021 Missouri River Water Update Spoke with the water managers this past week and here ar the updates. Stephanie Micek stated that it may be a lower than average water year. Of course there is lots of time before the…

Silly Sunday Scenery

March 14, 2021

Birds

Silly Sunday Scenery These guys will be sitting on island points soon. Yes, the Geese are here. And they will be making babies very shortly. Sunday and the Geese, are here. Which means spring is near.

Little Green Machine Tying Video

March 9, 2021

fly tying, Little Green Machine, Scumliner Media, video

Little Green Machine Tying Video You read a couple days ago that these guys are swimming around subsurface. So tie them!

Monday Missouri River Fishing Report 3.8.21

March 8, 2021

Monday Missouri River Fishing Report 3.8.21 Water temps crawling higher. And the fish are responding. A better bite this weekend for many. We had come out of a hit and miss period and let’s hope that has passed! Consistency is…

March Missouri River Fly Fishing Forecast

March 5, 2021

Fishing Report, Troutspey

Forecast, MArch, Spring

March Missouri River Fly Fishing Forecast The first thing that most anglers ask on the phone is if we are gonna have high water. The second question is if we will have low water. Then the third is if we…

2021 Montana Fishing Licenses

March 3, 2021

Do it at home, Fishing License, Montana

2021 Montana Fishing Licenses It’s time to renew your Montana State Fishing License for 2021. The new license will be valid March 1st thru February 28th 2022. We are fortunate in Montana to have beautiful scenery. Great fishing. But sometimes not so…

HELP! Two hired, have backed out! Headhunters Fly Shop Hiring Shop Staff 2021

March 2, 2021

2021, fly, Hiring, Shop, Staff

HELP! Just had the second individual we had hired for the 2021 Season back out. Unfortunate circumstances for us, but maybe the best opportunity for you out there in HeadhuntersLand! If you were not hired for this season, please give…

Talking About Tippet, Leader, etc

March 1, 2021

Fly Fishing Gear

etc., leader, Steve Collie, tippet

Talking About Tippet, Leader, etc Ed Note: Steve Collie speaking to you today about way deeper topics than SOL generally does. So soak this in folks as content this good only graces these pages occasionally. Steve educates us today with…

Montana’s Sunday Snow Pack

February 28, 2021

2021, Forecast, Snow, Summer Water

Montana’s Sunday Snow Pack Looking good. Lots more time to add to this total. We are looking for an average water year. But Mother Nature generally does not include us in the decision making process.

Saturday 2.27.21 Missouri River Fishing Report

February 27, 2021

fishing report, winter

Saturday 2.27.21 Missouri River Fishing Report Water flows 3300cfs lower then normal. To find those deeper winter buckets you may have to search a bit. The fish are holding in them. But those spots may be off the shore farther…

Friday Foto

February 27, 2021

Big Slick, friday foto, Joe, Winter Run

Friday Foto Fishing Friday. Nymphing. Somewhat slow. The fish were not all that excited. But a few were. While winter fishing be sure to be diligent. And try hard. Shop open daily 8am. Guide trips out. More and more as…

The Montana Story 40 Years of Success Video

February 25, 2021

Conservation, Fly Fishing Video

The Montana Story 40 Years of Success Video, Trout, video, Wild

The Montana Story 40 Years of Success Video Awesome. A great story about this great state. It is why we have trout like no others. Period.

Goose Quill Tungsten Jig Nymph Dakota Angler Vid

February 24, 2021

Jig, Quill, Tungsten, tying, video

Goose Quill Tungsten Jig Nymph Dakota Angler Vid Our friend to the east Hans Stephenson with this cool tying video with a Goose Quill Tungsten Jig Nymph today on the Headhunters Fly Fishing Daily Blog. Hans owns a great shop…

Tuesday. February.

February 23, 2021

Tuesday. February. Tuesday. February. Re-tooling. Re-fitting. Refining. Summer will be here soon. Craig will be bouncin.’ Take the time to prepare your self and gear for when that happens. Reminder: The fish don’t care that you got a new fly…

Hot Dog…The Movie Trailer

February 20, 2021

Hot Dog The Movie Trailer For fellas from John and Mark’s generation that worked in the ski business Hot Dog The Movie plays out the fantasy of what got males into the industry. Some of it is true. Most of…

Friday Foto Half Breed Rapids

February 19, 2021

Friday Foto Half Breed Rapids Warmer this weekend. Anglers around the latter part of this week. Watch for shelf ice. Floating icebergs. Kinda dangerous in some reaches. Just below this image the river is frozen across bank to bank. The…

Mid February Fishing Report

February 18, 2021

Fishing Report, Uncategorized

fishing report, Late Winter Fishing Report by Richard, winter

Mid February Fishing Report Richard writes the Headhunters Fly Shop Mid February Fishing Report today The last several weeks showed us that Montana is no place for the faint of heart during winter months. Daily air temps have been struggling…

Dick Magill Chronicles: Summer of 2021

February 16, 2021

Dick Magill Chronicles: Summer of 2021 Another installment of the Dick Magill Chronicles. Thanks Dick for keeping us up to date on all things Craiglandia. Dick has one ear to the ground locally and gives us this February update! The…

Update: All the info for CRAIG FISHING ACCESS SITE DRAFT ENVIRONMENT ASSESSMENT

February 16, 2021

boat ramp, Camping, Comment PEriod, craig, Expansion, FAS, FWP

FWP ACCEPTING COMMENTS ON CRAIG FISHING ACCESS SITE DRAFT ENVIRONMENT ASSESSMENT NEW CONTENT: See Image! Here is the Environmental Assessment I forgot to add! Read on. Recent news from the FWP office in Helena. Some movement in the Craig area…

Valentine’s Day Love and Kids

February 14, 2021

Valentine’s Day Love and Kids Sending Craiglandia Love to all of you folks out there. We love you and thanks for being a part of our Headhunters Family. We know you love your kids too! Here in Craig we love…

Feeling Cold Feeling Alright

February 13, 2021

Feeling Alright, Rebelution

Feeling Cold Feeling Alright Feeling Cold, Feeling Alright by Rebelution today on the Headhunters Fly Shop Blog. Yesterday morning the low was -28F. Today much warmer with an overnight low of just -20F creeping upwards when we will endure a…

#TBT 2008 Snow Fly Shop

February 11, 2021

#TBT 2008 Snow Fly Shop The first year. 2008. It snowed then too. This image from the first week open. It may be the first day open April 4th 2008. Snowed heavily that week. Bluebirds were traveling through. The BWO’s…

Squeeky’s Top 10 Boat Items you may not know you need

February 10, 2021

Squeeky’s Top 10 Boat Items you may not know you need As I spend the half of my life in a drift boat I find myself enjoying the little things in fishing life. And most of the items below are…

Headhunters Cold Weather Week

February 9, 2021

Arctic Weather, Closed, COLD, Too cold to fish, ZERO or BELOW

Headhunters Cold Weather Week Too cold to fish. Which means too cold to be open. Although we do have a warm-(f)ish body in the store for phone calls, ice fishing reports, online orders, and making sure that anybody lost on…

Best Time to Fish the Missouri River for Beginners

February 8, 2021

Fly Fishing Technique, Future Fly Fishers

Best Time to Fish the Missouri River for Beginners A common question we get here at Headhunters as we book guide trips and lodging for first time or beginner anglers…is When should I come? Best Time for Beginners We here…

Dry Fly Super Bowl still a few months away

February 7, 2021

Fly Fishing Technique

Casting, DFO, dry fly, Practice, summwer

Dry Fly Super Bowl still a few months away Image: Long time Headhunter Jim Arkin sizing up a PMD flat. Patience along with accurate confident first drifts put Jim in the right mood for success. A big game today. All…

Snow Days. Bitter Cold. CLOSED Sunday, Monday, Tuesday…?

February 5, 2021

Closed, Day, Schedule, Snow, winter

Snow Days. Bitter Cold. CLOSED Sunday, Monday, Tuesday…? First real storm of the true winter. Had some snow back in September and October. Then not much to speak about for the next three months. Until this weekend. Looks pretty good…

Missouri River February Fishing Forecast 2021

February 2, 2021

clinics, Dates, February, Flows, Forecast, Hatches, missouri river, Montana, Vacation Planning, Weather, winter

Missouri River February Fishing Forecast 2021 Welcome to February. Football is over, baseball is coming. We are getting nearer to spring ’21 everyday and we for one are damn excited about 2021. We bring you the Missouri River February Fishing…

From several years back…

January 31, 2021

Fly Fishing Video, Headhunters Life

Drift Boat Sledding, From several years back..., Scumliner Media

From several years back… This was the precursor for the Classic Scumliner HH Flick Somewhere Out West. Sunday in Craig Montana. The weather while not much for snowmaking or water generation for the summer, has provided a great period for…

TBT 2010 HH Fly Shop

January 28, 2021

#TBT, 2010, fly shop

TBT 2010 HH Fly Shop Headhunters Fly Shop nearing year 14 here in Craig. This image shot in 2010. Great times then, great times to come. Live it.

Tuesday Trout Spey

January 26, 2021

Troutspey

Trout Spey

Tuesday Trout Spey Starting off with 10F and light snow this morning. Not a good day for tossing the Trout Spey. You may get a couple casts off between breaking ice from the guides. Maybe. The good news is the…

Seasons of the Mo

January 25, 2021

4 Seasons, Mo, Seasons, SOL

Seasons of the Mo We love the winter season. A slower pace of life. Time moves slower. Winter can do that to a feller. Time to think about… …the Seasons of Fishing. How different they are. How enjoyable the summer…

Sunday Ice Image

January 24, 2021

Craig Montana Winter, ice, Shelf, winter

Sunday Ice Image Ice image yesterday on the river. Winter here on the Mo. But not really the weather of winter. Highs in the 20’s for the front end of the week ahead, then 30’s, then the 40’s. Great fishing…

Saturday January 23rd Missouri River Fishing Report

January 23, 2021

fishing report, Midge, Nymphs, Streamer, Trout Spey

Saturday January 23rd Missouri River Fishing Report Still kinda winter here in central Montana. Cool this morning as well as yesterday with air temps dipping into the single digits. Not much snow, if any accumulations int he last couple months.…

Friday Foto

January 22, 2021