Weekend Fishing report Montana’s Missouri River
Water temps diving as we head into October. Check out the chart. We like that kind of downward movement. Trout like it too. Trout love 54-58F. It is their happy zone.
Water levels currently 3200cfs.
The streamer gang is pretty happy. Fewer weeds daily and cooler water temps have gotten eh fish looking for a meal. Gone are the days of Zirdl’ling and the bugger chuckers are getting after it. We love this fly below and the derivations thereof. Dry lines are intermediate tips are the norm with the heavier sink tips in wait for cooler temps yet.
Headhunters is your fly line source with the right kind of lines for your Missouri River journey including our own HH Dry Fly Line and the increasingly popular Montana Boat Line. Get them in store or online @ CraigFlyShop.com
Beadhead Bugger Olive Grizzly
Weather ahead this week includes temps below 70F. With the constant Montana wind the feels like temps will be below 70F. Normal average wind speed here in the Mo River Canyon is 12.4 mph. That is more wind than most enjoy. 1 day a week it is calm. 5 days outta the S-SW. 1 day from he Nth. Fall is in the air. And the wind.
Quotidian nymphs that are popular this month include the Gut Sack Sow, Heavy Ho Sow, Pink Sock Sow, Ninch’s Pill Popper, Epoxy Back Sow, Little Green Machine, Weight Fly in Gold or Purple, Tungsten Zebra, Two Bit Hooker, Lightening Bug, Tungsten BWO Redemption, Tungsten Olive Mic Drop, Tungsten Jig Hare’s Ear, Tungsten Jig Halo Olive, Morrish Anato May Olive, Pearl Rib Perdigon Black, Perdigon Nymph Pearl, Magic Fly BWO, Quilldigon Olive, an old school Rainbow Warrior, Montana Bullet Olive…
Sparkle Flag BWO
BWO’s are coming. The tiny BWO currently hatching named the Pseudocloeon is not truly a BWO anymore. For us, it is. For the scientists, it is not. Another conversation on that topic. We treat this tiny maddening insect as a BWO. We use BWO patterns to emulate it. Sort of. We, the fly fishing world, does not fish tiny flies to this insect. May times we toss a caddis pattern at the fish eating these bugs, or a BWO cripple, emerger etc.
Many report BWO’s coming off. This is not terribly true. You may see an occasional, 1 or 2 that may get your blood pumping, but BWO’s do not emerge or hatch at water temps of 60F. 42F-56F is the window. Many report that there bugs are hatching when the weather is right. Nope. Many refer to the tiny Pseudo as a BWO and your effectiveness will be minimal. We look for the true BWO to arrive late in October. Water temps will have to dip significantly for this bug to appear before the end of October. Just sayin’.
Many when they see intermittent Pseudo activity toss an autumn caddis pattern at the trout. Locals do that sort of thing. Match the hatchers dig deep in your box. Get out a small, tiny, almost non-seeable pattern and start casting. The other half tie on a BWO cripple and set the hook.
Dry Fly patterns we like for the next couple weeks include BWO Sparkle Flag, Stacker Midge Royal or Olive, Traditional Dun Olive, Translucent Emerger, Translucent Emerger Orange, Translucent Pupa brown, Wild Turkey Baetis, Biot Trailing Shuck Comparadun BWO, Captive Dun Gray Olive, Captive Dun BWO, Callebaetis Spinner, Purple Haze, Parachute Adams, Buzzball, Griffith’s Gnat, CDC Biot Emerger BWO, CDC Comparadun BWO, Film Critic, BWO D & D Cripple, Polywing BWO, Half Dun Hatching BWO, Guide BWO Spinna-Winna, Hi Vis Spinner BWO…
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