Monday Morning Missouri River Briefing
Good, decent, great, not so great, slow.
All heard in the shop post fishing this last week.
Guide Brett Matula said to me this week “If you capitalize on half of the eats today you will have had a great day. If you don’t, you’ll call it slow.”
And Brett is right. Land half, which is better than average, and you will buy the first round at Izaak’s. Lose most? Head hung low.
But it shouldn’t be. This is a tough river with realistic outcomes somedays. That is fishing my friends. And we have all experienced it from time to time. And will again.
Fishing styles in my boat during the past 10 days have run the gamut from swinging a 1wt Sage Trout Spey HD, Scandi and softies, to deep nymphing, to techy small Trico dry fly Headhunting with Sandy (pictured above) and Maurice, hopper fishing, ant fishing, dry-dropper with large Adams and a small PT drum behind, streamer fishing with a sink tip and a dry line, dredging with worms and crawdaddy’s, trying to fool Pseudo rising trout, to short-leashing lite nymph rigs.
Yes, all of it happening right now in Craig Montana. And that is how we like it.
As the fall progresses the fishing will only get better. We love September but don’t want October to leave. November? Ohh, that is when the industry folks fish. And we do love it.
Speaking on the porch with beer in hand this afternoon apres guiding we spoke of October Caddis being seen and employed with success. Yes, our largest annual insect is out in September. It always is and the October Caddis is fished and found by the trout in this month. So get after it.
Skittering Caddis in runs. Watch them splash, sip, feed aggressively and put on a 16 tan caddis and get some.
Short leash when the light is low. Deep nymph in the sun.
The dam is not too bad. Fish caught up there daily. The rest are spreading out again as the weeds seem, if only temporarily, to be waning. Probably not, but the past couple days not bad at all.
Hopper fishing seems to be leaving us.
Flows at 5350cfs and water temps at 63F. All good. Flows above average. We have not seen September or late season flows like this in 20 years. I have not looked, but that is my recollection.
Gonna have to fall a bunch of stare temp degrees before we see the big BWO. Maybe a month from now.
Remember to stock up on October Caddis wets and dries for the next couple weeks.
Lots of fall gear walking in daily at your Trout Spey Source in Montana and beyond House of Headhunters.
Fall hours currently are 630am til 8pm. Guides available daily. Still got 2 spots open in our Sub-Surface School September 27, 28, 29. Check out and attend our Trout Spey Camp October 10, 11, 12. Check out the Event Page here. This is gonna be the Trout Spey Event of 2019. Come one, come all. Bring a friend and enjoy the entire weekend in Craig.
