Missouri River Fishing Report 5.4.2017

Our weather this season has been almost entirely unlike last year. On the same date in 2016, the flow on the Missouri river from Holter was 4140 CFS and the water temp was hitting 50 degrees. Currently, we have flows at 7510 CFS and water temps around 45. Four of the last five trips I’ve made to the river have required raingear.

This is not a bad thing.

Maybe our current dry fly fishing will be a little off by comparison, but our summer prospects look good. Water for fish is a good thing. Cloudy and wet springs also prolong snowpack at higher elevations. The current snowpack in the upper basin is very strong.

Nymphing

#16-#10 Scuds, sows and worms: Firebead Soft Hackles (Tan, Gray, Pink), Rainbow Czech, Pink Amex, Tailwater Sow, Rainbow Weight Fly, Mini Mo Czech, Dorsey’s UV Scud and Pink Crush
#18-#22 Midges - Zebra, Tuffted Zebra, JuJu Midge

Check out our selection of midge patterns online here.

#18-#20 BWO Nymphs: Radiation Baetis, Split Case BWO, Crust Nymph, Purple JuJu Baetis, Foldover Baetis, all the PT’s and many more.
#12-#14 March Brown Nymphs: PT’s, Death Metal, Tung Jig Assassin, Tung Jig PT, Tung Jig Hares Ear

6-8’ leaders (Indicator to lead or first weighted fly) are necessary in the increased flows, although afternoon short leashing on the flats is an option. The dry dropper can also work, with a March Brown sized dry and tungsten head BWO pattern stealthily run through the shallow runs.

Streamers

As always, mixed reports on the streamer. I’ve had some limited success on the swing with smaller #8-#10 leech size flies and a few grabs on #6 flashy stuff, but nothing steady. On the cast and retrieve, I’ve done best on big articulated flies like the Galloup’s Barely Legal. Others have told me the Skiddish, Polar and Coffee Minnows have been on fire. Maybe.

Dries

If my buddy Kevin sees a rising fish, he will catch it right now on his #20 Purple Snowshoe Para BWO pattern. Honestly, it’s not even fair. In general, dry fly activity has been hit and miss. Sometimes the hatch is strong and no fish are showing. Other times, a few bugs come off and the heads come up.

Got dries? Stock up on dry fly patterns on our site right here.

Midges are out in force. BWO’s have been big on the cloudy damp days. A few March Browns have popped off, but the main hatch is on the horizon. The hatch window is usually between 1 and 3 pm, but on Monday, I was out in the evening. A batch was coming off around 7 pm and fish were up. Go figure.

Expectations

Water levels will continue to climb. Deep Nymphing will become standard practice. Lots of spring anglers will be visiting the Mo as rivers around the state experience runoff and become unfishable. Rainbows will be coming off the spawn and more and more will be biting every day. Fishing should be pretty darn good. May is one of my favorite months in Montana. I’m glad I live here.

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