Missouri River Report 6.14.16
We are in the thick of it. Recently, there have been lots of bugs seen on the Missouri River. Several different Caddis, PMD’s, Gray Drakes, Brown Drakes, BWO’s, Trico’s, Giant Yellow Mayflies and Midges. I’m not saying you should fish all these bugs or that they are hatching in big numbers. A few random BWO’s are not going to focus a feeding behavior. One small cloud of Trico’s is not going to create an epic spinner fall. A single Hex is not going to create a big stir. I just want to illustrate that there is a large variety of potential food out there. Small hoppers, ants, beetles and crane flies are also present and anglers are still fishing scuds and worms. How about a drowning mouse?
PMD’s and Caddis remain the go to hatches for most angling efforts. Fishing the stages of these bugs should keep you in the game on any given day. If not, you can tie on just about anything and maybe find a player. It can be maddening or simple, depending on your outlook.
Running an attractor dry such as a small chubby, stimulator, hopper, Hippy Stomper, Stealth Ant or even a Royal Wulff over a PMD nymph is a great way to prospect when no heads are present. Fish are staged up in skinny water, looking for drifting nymphs and ready to chow on the next hatch. Indicators will put them down fast.
The water has been dropping toward its maintainable summer level. Lower flows generally mean good dry fly fishing and it is definitely dry fly season on the Missouri River. That does not mean you will always find lots of willing players, just that the fish are feeding up in much of the river during some of the day. My advice is to forget about numbers and focus on successfully catching a fish on a dry fly. Maybe you will manage to catch more than one, but one is all it takes to make for a successful outing. Take it slow. Be observant. Be stealthy. Enjoy the hunt. Now is the time.