Bugs

It happened one day in June

It happened one day in June It is on. Day one of the PMD hatch has happened. Mark it in the calendar for June 20, 2019. Historically about, or around the 12th. But, what does history mean. So, we are…

Pale Morning Dun Nymphs

June 15, 2019

Pale Morning Dun Nymphs

Pale Morning Dun Nymphs Here are a few for you consideration. These and more at Headhunters in downtown Craig Montana. 7wt has selected an un-matched selection of PMD patterns for 2019. Nymphs, duns, emergers, cripples, spinners, half-duns, trapped duns… All…

Sunday Scenery BWO Image

May 5, 2019

BWO, Sunday Scenery

Sunday Scenery BWO Image Dreaming of BWO’s. We have some coming off in the upper lower end. And probably the lower end too. And a few fellers are tossing dry flies at them. Ladies too! Water at 10K. Not too…

Art of Giving a Fly Away

January 17, 2019

Art of Giving, Rene Harrop, Scott Jolly, Trico Spnner

The Art of Giving a Fly Away by Scott Jolly Ed Note: A great bit written by Scott Jolly and sent to us this holiday season. I found it, among other things, under the tree…when I took it down. This wonderful…

Missouri River Fall Fishing Forecast 2018

October 9, 2018

Bugs, Fishing Report, Headhunters Life

Dry Fly Fall Fishing, Dry Fly Fishing, November, Nymphing, October, Streamer fishing, Streamer Fishing the Mo

Missouri River Fall Fishing Forecast 2018 The weather is the first thing we want to change. Get rid of the sun and get into the clouds. That is the first thing on our list. Fish love gray colored skies. They…

Hi-Vis Trico Spinner 2FER TUESDAY BOGO

July 23, 2018

2FER TUESDAY, BOGO, Hi VIs Trico Spinner, Hi-Vis Trico Spinner 2FER TUESDAY BOGO, Online Only, Online Sales

Bugs, Fly Fishing Gear

Hi-Vis Trico Spinner 2FER TUESDAY BOGO This weeks Hot Fly from Headhunters of Craig is the ever popular Harrop’s Hi-Vis Trico Spinner. An awesome fly that we are using daily. Big Trico spinner falls daily at 845am on the Mighty…

Spider Eats Drake Head!

June 30, 2018

Bugs, Drake, Nature, Spider, Spider Eats Drake Head!

Spider Eats Drake Head! Found this on a window today. Scary. Trout generally eat Drakes. If the water drops we will see them soon. Happy Saturday. Book your July trip today. How about late July? August? Why not book it…

2FER TUESDAY BOGO D & D Cripples All Flavors!

June 26, 2018

2FER TUESDAY BOGO, 2FER TUESDAY BOGO D & D Cripples All Flavors!, Online Fly Sale

2FER TUESDAY BOGO D & D Cripples All Flavors! PMD, Baetis, March Brown and Callibaetis D & D Cripples Buy One Get One BOGO online fly sale Tuesday June 26th! One of the most popular fish crushers on the Missouri…

2FER TUESDAY BOGO CFO ANT

June 18, 2018

Bugs, Fly Fishing Gear

BOGO, CFO Mini Ant, Terrestrials

2FER TUESDAY BOGO CFO ANT Tuesday is here. And once again Headhunters offers up to you our favorite anglers 2FER TUESDAY BOGO CFO ANT. Buy one, get one. Live at Midnight tonight thru the midnight Tuesday. All day long. Tuesday. Awesome…

Top 15 Missouri River May Nymph Patterns

April 30, 2018

7 wt. says..., ninch, Top 10 Missouri River Montana Spring Nymph Patterns

Bugs, Fly Fishing Gear

Top 15 Missouri River Montana Spring High Water Nymph Patterns Some days it sure feels like there are not 10 patterns that are effective. And other days it fishes well and most every reasonable spring Montana pattern is getting some…

Summer Foreshadowing

April 9, 2018

Summer Foreshadowing Looking at the end of winter today? Maybe. Before we get to thinking about summer we have to get ourselves into spring. And that may happen this month? We sure hope so. A couple days of 60’s but…

Top 10 Missouri River Spring Time Dry Flies

April 3, 2018

DFO, Dry Flies, HH Fly Shop, Spirng, Top 10

Top 10 Missouri River Spring Time Dry Flies Here they are. The flies we like for spring time dry fly action Missouri River style The dry fly fishing has been sporadic as of late. You can bump into comments of…

Foxee Minnow Just Add Vise Video

March 31, 2018

Foxee Minnow, Foxee Minnow Just Add Vise Video, Streamer, Trout Spey, video

Foxee Minnow Just Add Vise Video Last week we showcased the Mozuri Minnow. This week we hit you with the ever popular Foxee Minnow. Just caught a couple in my boat last week with this very fly. Clousers too. Marabou…

Since my brain is fried, I may as well organize flies.

February 21, 2018

Annual Hell, February, flies, Organization

Since my brain is fried, I may as well organize flies. Here I go. Winter is not over. It feels like it is just beginning. And flies do not sort themselves. As a fishing guide I have lots of flies.…

Missouri River Summer Foreshadowing

January 24, 2018

Ants, Beetles, Brown Drake, Bugs, Caddis, Guide Trip, Hatches, Hopper, lodging, PMD's, Streamer, Summer, Terrestrials, trico

Summer Foreshadowing Just the 24th of January today. We have more than our toe dipped into the proverbial year, more like our ankle has entered the water. We are just beginning. And having that ankle submerged made me think of…

Mayfly Madness Video

November 30, 2017

Bugs, Fly Fishing Video

Hatch, Insects, Mayflies, video

Mayfly Madness Video Check this out. From Nat Geo site here on YouTube. You may have already seen this. But if not, check it out. It is super cool! Thursday here in central Montana. Still fishing a ton. No folks…

Playoff Fishing here on the Missouri River

October 9, 2017

Bugs, Fishing Report, Headhunters Life

3rd Season, BWO, dry fly, fishing, October, Playoff, Streamer

Playoff Fishing here on the Missouri River It is go time here. Playoff fishing here on the Missouri River. Excitement daily as we are headlong into the fall fishing period. And it is good! I sighted many real life BWO…

5 Tips for BWO Success

October 2, 2017

5 Tips for BWO Success, Fall, October

5 Tips for BWO Success Snow days coming today and tomorrow. Some don’t like the weather forecast. Others are jumping for JOY! Lets hope it doesn’t blow too hard front he north. The fish will be loving it. They are…

AntMusic

July 30, 2017

80's, Adam Ant, Ants, Terrestrials, video

AntMusic Happy Sunday. 100F here today for us. It’s hot. Ants are in the mix, on the menu, and should be a part of your dry fly day. Blind fish it. Sight fish it. As long as you fish it.…

Squeeky’s Trico Box

July 26, 2017

Bugs, flies, patterns, Squeeky's Trico Box, trico

Squeeky’s Trico Box Top row left moving right… Sinky type Trico’s. Glass beads, silver beads, o beads. Sunken Trico Spinners. More sinky flies and an Adams. A couple King’s River Caddis and a spinner or two. Harrop’s Hi-Viz Spinners and…

Silly Sunday Scenery Tricos Image

July 23, 2017

Bugs, Silly Sunday Scenery Tricos Image, Trico's

Silly Sunday Scenery Tricos Image. It’s hot today. It reached 99F. Not 100F. Trico’s today from the only daily blog here on Montana’s Missouri River. The Headhunters Fly Shop Blog. Enjoy the week ahead. Hot here in central Montana. Trico’s…

Spents and Spinners

July 13, 2017

Spents and Spinners Dead shit. That is what we throw. July is full of dead bugs. And live ones too. The dead ones are easier to eat. Honest. Fish them with confidence. As you can see I am becoming sun…

2016 UMOWA Macroinvertebrate Report

June 15, 2017

Bugs, Conservation

Bugs, conservation, fly fishing technique, missouri river, Nymphs, UMOWA

2016 UMOWA Macroinvertebrate Report On March 17, the Upper Missouri Watershed Alliance (UMOWA) published the results of the 2016 bug study performed by David Stagliano of Montana Biological Survey. We are late in sharing the results, but with the UMOWA Annual…

PMD Forecast Missouri River Montana

June 13, 2017

Cripples, Duns, Emergers, patterns, PMD, PMD Forecast, Spinners

PMD Forecast Missouri River Montana Lots of folks in with questions about the Pale Morning Dun. Our answer? Yes, that can be a tough one out there. And then sometimes, easy. But mostly in the middle of those two answers. Drift…

Friday Foto June 2nd

June 2, 2017

Friday Foto June 2nd PMD Spinner on Amadou What does this mean? It means June has arrived. And we are in it. Lower that water level and we will be covered up in it. PMD’s I mean. But the water…

Missouri River Bugs – May 2017

May 16, 2017

Bugs, flies, fly fishing technique, Nymphs

This week, we collected bugs on the lower river between Pelican Point and Cascade. Today we are going to talk about what Missouri River bugs we found and how to best imitate them during periods of higher flow. The Usual…

Missouri River Midge Mania in April

April 15, 2017

DFO, dry fly, Missouri River Midge Mania in April, Zebra Love

Missouri River Midge Mania in April Fish on top. Fish on the bottom. Fish in the middle. Missouri River Midge Mania in April has begun. BWO’s too. Saturday and the wind monster has arrived. Gusty and windy on the river with…

Missouri River April May Fly Fishing Forecast

April 11, 2017

Birds, Bugs, Fishing Report, Fly Fishing Technique, Nature

April, birds, Bugs, Forecast, May, Populations, Trout, Water LEvels, Weather

Missouri River April May Fly Fishing Forecast Squeeky attended the annual Upper Missouri River water Advisory Meeting last week and got the skinny on the upcoming water flow predictions and the update on the trout populations. Lots of folks in…

Missouri River Bugs – April

April 3, 2017

Birds Bugs and Wildlife, Bugs, Fly Fishing Technique, Fly Tying, Nature

April, Bugs, flies, fly fishing technique, Nymphs

Last week we collected our first sample of bugs from the Missouri River below the Untouchable’s Bridge. The bugs that we collected were about what you would expect for April. Sows and scuds composed the majority of the biomass, but midges and…

The New Kid in Town. Meet Mr. BWO

March 13, 2017

BWO, Foreshadowing, Mayfly Nymphs, Spring, Think

The New Kid in Town. Meet the BWO While we still primarily see life through pink colored fly lenses and will be for at least another month, we began flirting with a different shade of blue this week. The Blue Winged…

We like the Missouri River May Show

March 8, 2017

Big Brown Trout, Dry Flies, May, Streamer Lovers Unite!

We like the Missouri River May Show We like May. It has become one of the favorite months for us here at Headhunters in Craig Montana. Why? Big fish. Some of the best fish of the year come to the…

Friday Foreshadowing Foto

January 20, 2017

Bugs, Summer, Trico's

Friday Foreshadowing Foto All I can think about this week is summer. And summer bugs. And short pants. And spinner falls. And when this damn snow will go away… And to think we are already a whole month total…

January Flies – Winter Nymphs and Streamers

January 9, 2017

flies, January, January flies, Missouri River Winter Flies, Nymphs, Streamers, winter

The air temps have been well below freezing for the last few weeks, but there have been a handful of anglers out fishing. If you’re able to tolerate the cold temps, and have the right January flies, winter fishing can be very good.…

Attn DFO’s One Month Left

October 25, 2016

DFO's, dry fly, Swingers, troutspey

Attn DFO’s One Month Left Saw the new web site banner that John updated this morning and was reminded that we getting short. The time left to throw that dry fly at a specific target is waning. And if you…

Missouri River September Fly Fishing Forecast

September 6, 2016

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.…

Missouri River Ant Fest! Are you an Ant Addict?

August 15, 2016

Ants, Fly Pattern, Missouri River Ant Fest, Terrestrial

Missouri River Ant Fest I got an order for ants about 25 years ago. I was tying commercially and this feller wanted a couple hundred ants. What kind of ants I asked? He said quite simply…”Oh tie me up a…

Missouri River Bugs – July

July 11, 2016

Bugs, Fly Fishing Technique, Photography

fly fishing technique, fly tying, Nymphs, photography

Missouri River bugs The following are some pictures of Missouri River bugs that were collected just downstream of the Mid Cañon boat ramp on July 7th. It has been a month since our last bug post, so some of the bugs…

Blackfoot River Salmon Flies & Fishing Report

June 8, 2016

Blackfoot River, Blackfoot River Fishing Report, Blackfoot River Salmon Flies, Bugs, Salmon Flies

Blackfoot River Salmon Flies & Fishing Report Hey all good across the divide. The Salmon Flies are out in force and the trout don’t want them. So what to do? Well I’m not really sure other than keep fishing and…

Missouri River Bugs – June

June 7, 2016

Birds Bugs and Wildlife, Bugs, Fly Fishing Technique, Nature, Photography, Uncategorized

Bugs, flies, fly fishing technique, June, Nymphs, phtography

Missouri River Bugs The following are some pictures of bugs from the Missouri River that were collected in June a couple miles upstream of Craig. These images will hopefully aid in your fly design and/or fly selection while you are fishing this…

May Missouri River Fishing Forecast

May 9, 2016

Bugs, Fishing Report, Fly Fishing Technique

BWO's, Canyon Ferry, dry fly, fishing report, Forecast, Hatches, Inflows, March Browns, May, Mother's Day Caddis, Nymphing, Outflows, Projection, Streamer

May Missouri River Fishing Forecast Today on the Headhunters Fly Shop Blog you get the May Missouri River Fishing Forecast. What to expect, wish for, and believe for the month ahead. Missouri Rive May Weather and Water Forecast May is…

Plenty of BWO’s around the Missouri River

April 18, 2016

Bugs, BWO's, Insects, Mega-Hatch, missouri river, Spring

Plenty of BWO’s around the Missouri River The sun will squash the great dry fly fishing for the most part this week. But, if you sneak around you will find some fish to cast at. Plenty of BWO’s around the…

Stocking Wing Caddis Step By Step

March 16, 2016

Caddis, fly fishing technique, fly tying, step by step, stocking wing caddis

Stocking Wing Caddis Step By Step During the caddis fly hatch on the Missouri River, it’s a good idea to have several patterns with differing profiles in your box including there Stocking Wing Caddis. It makes sense to have some high floating…

X Caddis JAV Kit and Tying Video

March 10, 2016

Bugs, Fly Fishing Video

fly tying, Headhunters Online Store, JAV, Just Add Vise, Online Store, Scumliner Media, Tying Kit, video, Vimeo, X Caddis

X Caddis JAV Kit The X Caddis is a killer fly! Still a couple months away from needing this bug. But I truly believe that the X Caddis originally tied by Craig Mathews is one of the 5 caddis you…

Missouri River Winter Midge Hatch

March 9, 2016

February, Midge, missouri river, winter

Missouri River Winter Midge Hatch Early March has arrived and midge fishing is on our minds. On any given day you can certainly find a window of activity with fish falling for the skittering midge fly. And skitter they do. The…

Missouri River March Fishing Forecast

March 7, 2016

Birds, Bugs, Fishing Report

Bugs, Flows, Hatches, MArch, Missouri River March Fishing Forecast, Weather

Missouri River March Fishing Forecast Things to think about in March We are already a few days into the 3rd month here on the Missouri River. The Missouri River March Fishing Forecast looks strong. Average water levels and warming water…

Saturday Midge Image

March 5, 2016

Saturday Midge Image. Today is the last Free Spey Clinic sponsored by Headhunters Fly Shop in Craig. Looks like a great weekend to be on the Mo. Enjoy!

At the Headhunters Vise last night

February 25, 2016

Buzzball, Cluster Patern, dry fly, fly tying, Headhunters Vise, Kreelex, LEech, UV Light

At the Headhunters Vise last night in Craig Montana. The usual suspects tied for a couple hours chomping on some KFC brought by Rick. Thanks Rick. Remember when at those strange family or neighborhood party’s in the 70’s when the…

Top 10 Tailwater Midge Flies

February 22, 2016

Bugs, Fly Fishing Gear, Headhunters Life

Dry Flies, February, flies, Midge, patterns, tailwater, winter

Top 10 Tailwater Midge Flies These Top 10 February Top 10 Tailwater Midge Flies are sure to please your Missouri River fancy. The midge hatch has begun in ernest and manny anglers are asking about the correct midge patterns to…

Fly Tying Efforts

February 14, 2016

fly tying, Fly Tying Night in America, Winter Wednesdays

The regular gang was at the shop Wednesday night for Fly Tying Night In America. Ninch, Sara, Kurt, Dewey, Braden, Rick, Mark T, John, and Mark. A few beers, some homemade Hummus, a few chips and salsa, and several vises.…

Macroinvertebrates On the Back of an Envelope

February 2, 2016

fly fishing technique, missouri river

Birds Bugs and Wildlife, Bugs, Nature, Uncategorized

If you like aquatic macroinvertebrates (river bugs), here are some “back of the envelope” calculations that may amuse you. The UMOWA 2015 Macroinvertebrate Monitoring Report reported that the greatest density of macroinvertebrates occurred between the Dam and Craig. The density…

Rainbow Czech Nymph Video

January 11, 2016

Bugs, Fly Fishing Video, Uncategorized

Rainbow Czech Nymph Video Headhunters very own Fly Tying Kits for your winter fly tying consumption. Winter is a good time to tie up a box full of the #1 selling fly on the Missouri River. It is losing ground…

Silly Sunday Shop Scenery

January 10, 2016

flies, fly shop, Scenery, sunday

Ninch checking it out. The new ’16 flies come in beginning in March. Out with the old and in with the new. Ninch gets rid of all of the flies that either do not sell, or do not work. Yep,…

Macroinvertebrate Report from UMOWA

January 5, 2016

fly fishing technique, missouri river

& Wildlife, Birds Bugs and Wildlife, Bugs, Conservation, Fly Fishing Technique, Nature

On December 22, the Upper Missouri River Watershed Alliance (UMOWA) released the Baseline Macroinvertebrate Monitoring Report 2015 for the Upper Missouri River, MT, prepared by David Stagliano. The purpose of this study was to provide baseline macroinvertebrate (bug) monitoring data in order to assess…

MRDF 455 Lab Summer Quarter 2016

December 30, 2015

Brown Trout, Casting, Education, information, Mayflies, Trout, Trout University

MRDF 455. Lab only. 3-5cr.(days) Summer Quarter. Class location Missouri River Craig MT. Missouri River Dry Fly 455. PREREQUISITE: An intense desire to learn. Examines and explores Missouri River dry fly technique primarily with mayflies. Dry fly casting techniques will…

Top 10 Missouri River November Flies

November 2, 2015