A Complete Guide to August Dry Fly Fishing on the Missouri River

August on the Missouri River is a complicated time for dry flies- well for any type of fly fishing really. We’re in-between seasons, some days it’s still summer temps that hover around 80, some days it’s fall-esque and rainy. There’s still weeds in the water, the hatches are off and the days are long.

But still, you ask, the fish are there- how can I make them eat?

It’s a game of give and go in August on the Mo, but we’ve gathered up the best insights from decades of experience to get you a road map that you can use to get the most of the mid-season month of August.
Battling Weeds in August on the Mo
As the temperatures start to shift to true fall, the weeds begin to clear- a little. Streamer fishing by Craig Is still almost always out of the picture unless you are dredging for weeds on purpose.

The dries you select will vary throughout the day, and based on the temperature at the particular time you are out, but here is are basic options:

a.) Small dry options: You might be able to catch the trico hatch, and if you do, you’ll want to fish it with small purple haze, trico spinners and smaller parachute adams.

b.) Small-medium dry options: When it’s still as hot in August as it gets on the Mo, terrestrials are always a good thing to have in the fly box. If you keep ants, hoppers and beetles on hand, you’ll be able to use those along the banks once the heat peaks during the day.

c.) As a stimulator or indicator fly, you have a lot of options as you will hear from Rick in the video below. In the early morning and at night, you can fish mice and if you get bold throughout the day you can tie on some bigger indicator flies like the Royal Wulff.

As with any dry set up, adding a dropper is option that will usually increase your strike rates, but be sure to watch the video below to get an idea of what droppers will produce they won’t all work.
Battling Hot Water: Changing Locations/Species on the Missouri River
When the water gets hot, carp’s on the menu- and bass, pike, golden eye, drum- the list goes on and on. When fishing these different species, you will be able to select from number of flies that will keep you mid-water and higher, but as you know these other species aren’t as picky as trout, so you have a lot more leeway. You get to stay out of the weeds and still hook up with marauding fish.

But where do you go to target these other species in August?

The best options if you are looking to switch the game up on a hot day in August is to get below Morony Dam, just outside Great Falls. If you’re wade fishing, there is fishing access at the dam itself and up further at both Widow Coulee and Carter Ferry.

You can put in a kayak or canoe at Morony, but there are no boat launches until you get up to Widow Coulee and Carter Ferry.

Fred calls the best place, "The Land of the Lost," and there is an entire in-depth article on boat-launches, bank access sites he wrote up right here.
What else can you do to beat the skunk in August?
We’ve got a lot of insight to August fly fishing on the Mo the video below will give you a great number of options and plans of attack, plus you can get into the shop and talk with Fred or any of the guys--they always have a plan.

There’s some secrets we aren’t able to publish