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Missouri River - June 30th, 2010
supplied by: Big R Fly Shop
RECORDED: 
70 °
FISHING: Good
Wow, the Missouri is still flowing right at 16,000 cfs. It is still very important to be wary when anchoring and rowing. No wading exists at this point. Fishing is good. Nymphing is still king if you want to put numbers in the boat. Wire worms are a good starting point with PMD bubblebacks, Weight fly, Silvey's Caddis, Shop Vac, 3 Dollar or Tungsten Darts for droppers. Yellow Sallies are everywhere in the canyon. I am still running 2X to the first fly and 2 0r 3x to the dropper. Two to three BB's for depth should get you into the strike zone. Fish are eating the nymph but it is still difficult to track down one eating the dry. Soon, soon. Heard a few rumors of anglers doing well with streamers but you know how rumors are. Might as well give it a try. Again, be careful on the Missouri it may look calm but she is rolling, rolling, rolling....
Thanks Tim and Walker for another great trip, love the group photos!
Weather and Lunar Phases
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Missouri River - June 29th, 2010
supplied by: The Trout Shop
RECORDED: 
80 °
FISHING: Good
Is the pressure off the system? The hot weather we had for the last few days bumped up the flows in the Gallatin and the Madison by melting the remaining snowpack. The heat is still on, but the flows in both drainages are now trending down. Upper elevation snowpack throughout the state is dwindling. The Jefferson, which controls the headwaters of the Missouri, is dropping significantly and steadily. A week ago, the Jeff was running at a hefty 13,700 cfs. Now, it's running at 7,600 cfs. It still has a ways to go before it reaches its summertime flow, but the downward trend is obvious. Severe weather is suppose to reach the area for the next few days. Since Canyon Ferry Lake is still over full and the threat of rain is in the air, we may not see the drop in flows below Holter Dam we're hoping for as quickly as we'd like. Unless the moisture coming our way is torrential, expect incoming flows to continue their decline. When will the river managers ease down the flows below Holter Dam? We normally find out 24 hours in advance if a drop is in the cards. When we hear, we'll let you know. It's really nice to talk about high flows. Our trout are stallions and pumped up with a worm and crawdad diet that is derived from flushing flows. We can't see the river's bottom, but we know that it is pristine.
Caddis, PMD's and Yellow Sally's are out in solid numbers. Look closely and you'll find some noses sticking up above the surface. The Mo's wild trout are focusing on PMD spinners, but they can't resist a caddis imitation. Nymphing continues to be the best method to catch fish. The worm still works, but the fish seem to be shifting to PMD nymphs and Caddis larva. Streamers are hit and miss.
The river is still high and swift. Be very careful if you anchor. We haven't lost any boats this week, but the heavy volume of water is still a threat to your safety. The river looks placid, but it's not.
Weather and Lunar Phases
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Missouri River - June 28th, 2010
supplied by: Big Sky Fly Fishers
RECORDED: 
70 °
FISHING: Great
Missouri River Report
I was able to spend a great week on the Missouri River, fishing below Holter Dam, and all of the sections down to Mountain Palace. I very much enjoyed the fishing as the average size of fish was very impressive, and the action was steady all the way down through the canyon.
The flow was between 18,000 cfs to 19,000 throughout our week, but it seemed to help keep the bigger fish available, and in range for nymphing. Sometimes the lower flows allow the bigger ones to disappear, and hold in water where it's tough to reach them.
Although we caught some fish on PMD nymphs, our most successful tactics were fishing pink or tan soft hackles against the banks on the upper, and fishing a red chenille worm for a top fly in the canyon. Pretty basic stuff, but when willing to fish lots of weight, and adjust leader length to your depth, kept us in constant action.
Thanks to the clients (you know who you are) for one of the more enjoyable weeks I've had in a long time.
DON'T FEAR THE HIGH WATER!
Tight Lines,
Jeremy
Weather and Lunar Phases
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Missouri River - June 28th, 2010
supplied by: Big R Fly Shop
RECORDED:
72 °
FISHING: Good
The levels have lowered on the Missouri....... Fishing is starting to come back to the norm. We went from a double worm set up on Tuesday and Wednesday, to Saturday picking more fish up on scuds, caddis, and PMD stuff. Although a brown did puke out a 5" night crawler that looked like it came straight off of the harness. Few fish up here and there nothing real consistant. A storm roled in and kind of shut things down for a while. The flows are flushing the river out really nice and should be whipped back in to shape soon.
Weather and Lunar Phases
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Missouri River - June 26th, 2010
supplied by: The Trout Shop
RECORDED: 
65 °
FISHING: Good
Warm and pleasant will greet you on the river this weekend. By Monday, hot and dry will greet you. High temperatures will climb into the low 90's at the start of the week. We won't get a break from the heat until later in the week. Thank goodness. Break out your sunblock and put your raincoat away. Put your dry fly box near the top of your gear bag. Summer is here.
Can you feel the river dropping? Can you visualize yourself casting tiny dry flies to worm-fattened wild trout? With very few exceptions, Montana streamflows are making their final march into a summertime mode. Flows entering the Missouri Drainage System are at 14,900 cfs - down about 30% since last Monday. Soon, you won't have to visualize casting dry flies. You'll be doing it. Some already are.
Caddis love the higher flows. They're hatching and clustering over the trees. PMD's aren't thick, but they are out there. Yellow Sallies, black caddis and a few Calibaetis are rounding out the bug population. As the river drops, expect the hatches to intensify and riseforms to become more noticeable.
At 15,800 cfs, the Missouri River is still the Mighty Mo. You need to be careful. At least 3 driftboats sank last week for various reasons, but the main culprit was high flows. Be careful where you anchor. Be prepared to let your achor go if you get in a jam. Wading is still out of the question.
Hopefully, the light breeze we're getting will stick around through Saturday evening. It will keep the mosquitos at bay while you're enjoying the Fly Fishing Film Festival at Izaak's Saturday evening.
Great fishing and lower flows are promised for the 4th of July weekend. After a great day on the river, stop by The Trout Shop Cafe for our annual ribfest. As the day winds down, step onto the bridge and enjoy the impromptu fireworks display that gets better every year.
Fishing will go from "Good" to "Off the Charts". We can't guarantee when the river will give up its bounty, but it looks like the 4th of July will see a lot of smiling faces.
Weather and Lunar Phases
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Missouri River - June 24th, 2010
supplied by: The Trout Shop
RECORDED:
69 °
FISHING: Good
Reduced river flows are leading customers to the dry fly bin. Caddis, PMD's, Black Caddis,Yellow Sally's and a few Calibaetis are drawing a few fish to the surface. Most customers are filling their cups with the worm and an assortment of nymphs. Split shot is somewhat of a commodity. At 16,000 cfs, the Mighty Mo is fast and deep. Long leaders and split shot are a must. When you do reach the fish, be ready for a battle. The Missouri's wild trout are huge and strong. There are lots of them. We can't wait to see them plucking caddis off the surface in the middle of the day. It won't be long.
River flows coming into the the drainage system continue to drop quickly. The Jefferson is still high, but only 200% of normal. A few days ago, the Jeff was 400% of normal.
The weather for the next 10 days calls for hot and dry. We'll see high temperatures approaching 90° by Monday. Down, down, down goes the river. Expect to see incremental drops in the flows below Holter Dam as long as the weatherman is right. We'll hover around 15,000 cfs on Friday.
If you planned your trip to the Missouri for the July 4th weekend, you probably nailed it. You might still need a guide or boat, but the dry fly show should be readily available to you. If you're tying, slow down on the worm and ramp up the caddis, pmd, and brown drake dry fly production.
The Fly Fishing Festival will be at Izaak's on Saturday the 26th. The 4th of July is just around the corner. The Trout Shop will be firing up the BBQ for a rib fest on the 4th at the Cafe. Undoubtedly, the skies will be alive as the annual fireworks competition fires off. If you're going to be in Craig for the 4th, it might be wise to enter off of the interstate. Last year's fireworks display turned the Craig Bridge into a viewing platform. Get ready for some fun. Finally, it's summer.
Weather and Lunar Phases
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Missouri River - June 22nd, 2010
supplied by: The Trout Shop
RECORDED:
67 °
FISHING: Good
Finally, the Missouri is at parity. Incoming flows are now matching outgoing flows. Both are at 18,300 cfs. We watched the river below Holter Dam drop a little today - 300 cfs. We're uncertain if the drop was in an effort to match incoming flows, but we'll take the drop as good news.
There's still a bunch of water spilling out of Holter Dam, but it's trending downward. Weather is on your side and will hopefully keep the riverflow trend in the downward direction. We had a few showers in Montana today. Despite the moisture, the flows continued to decline.
The Dearborn River is in perfect shape. It was muddy yesterday and clear today. If you want a break from the Mighty Mo's flows, consider seriously floating and fishing the Dearborn River. You'll need a raft to get the job done. Many of our guides will be happy to take you down this Montana gem.
The Missouri continues to fish very well on the worm and fire bead sow bugs. We're getting a few reports of anglers reaching some fish with dry flies. We don't have a lot of either, but both PMD's and Caddis are starting to come off. The worm still works, but it may not be working as well as it was just a few days ago. This is a good sign. Perhaps the river's wild trout are looking for a buggier food source. Worms have plumped up the fish in a big way. We can't wait until they shun the worm and will seemingly only eat dries.
We know that you've been anxiously waiting for the summer dry fly season. The river will drop now that the snow has run out and the rain has stopped pouring down. With 80° weather headed our way and little chance of rain, we'll reach the holy grail soon - fishing little dry flies to HUGE, worm fattened, rainbow and brown trout.
Thank you for your patience.
Weather and Lunar Phases
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Missouri River - June 21st, 2010
supplied by: The Trout Shop
RECORDED: 
60 °
FISHING: Good
Now that it has quit raining, rivers throughout Montana are on the decline. Persistent soaking rain had perked up every river in the state. Over the next several days, rain isn't really in the picture. We can honestly say that we've had enough moisture for the time being. Perhaps Mother Nature is ready to give us a break.
NOAA Weather Great Falls, Montana June 21, 2010
Tuesday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after noon. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 73. West southwest wind between 10 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 79. Southwest wind around 9 mph.
Thursday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after noon. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 78.
Friday: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a high near 71.
Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 71.
Sunday: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a high near 75.
Monday: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a high near 69.
Flood control is the guide used to manage flows below Canyon Ferry Lake at this time. Once Canyon Ferry Lake (the Missouri's flood control reservoir) is full, the Army Corps of Engineers has 3 vertical feet of emergency flood control pool to use to mitigate downstream flooding. Right now, Canyon Ferry Lake is 100% full and 21.6% of the emergency flood control pool has been utilized. In the past, we've seen as much as 50% of the emergency flood control pool utilized. Water is a commodity, but when it comes to safety, too much water is not a good thing.
Yesterday, we returned from Key West, Florida, from a tarpon fishing trip. Our birdseye view from the airplane revealed snow at only the very upper elevations of the highest mountains around. The local weatherman announced flash flood watches through Tuesday due to rain and melting snow. Fortunately, very little rain materialized. Without rain or snow, we expect inflows to drop quickly which will allow the Corps of Engineers to trim back the flows below Canyon Ferry Lake and all other downstream dams including Holter Dam where we operate. We are optimistic that this will be the case.
How fast will the incoming flows decline? We think quickly. When the snow is gone, incoming flows can drop like a rock. At the start of the day, flows going into Canyon Ferry were 21,600 cfs. At the end of the day, they were 20,000. Flows leaving Canyon Ferry are at 18,600 cfs. Given the rate of decline of flows, incoming flows will soon be less than outgoing flows. Flood concerns will diminish and water conservation and hydro electricity production will once again be a priority. We have seen significant cuts in flows below Holter Dam in the past even though Canyon Ferry's level was in the flood control pool. When the flood threat is gone, the Army Corps of Engineers hands over the management of Canyon Ferry Dam to the normal management team, the Bureau of Reclamation. Don't be surprised if the Bureau of Reclamation announces a cut in flows to relieve downstream flooding. When the Bureau of Reclamation says "downstream", they mean below Holter Dam. They can't cut flows too quickly because fish can become stranded in back channels and pools due to rapidly declining water flows. The Bureau of Reclamation isn't suppose to cut flows by more than 10% a day. We've seen this rule broken many times in our 21-year history. Remember, the Missouri's dams were created to produce electricity. Cutting flows will save more potential energy because there's more water stored in the reservoir. The threat of floods will yield to the desire to make money at some point in time. Right now, lots of potential electricity is being wasted because it's spilling through 10 gates rather than being diverted entirely through the dam's generators. The generators can efficiently use about 6,000 cfs so there's about 12,000 cfs being wasted.
Keep an eye on the Jefferson River because it controls the Missouri's Headwaters' flows. At 13,100 cfs, the Jefferson is 400% above it's historical average. The streams that feed the Jefferson are all declining quickly. The Gallatin and the Madison Rivers combine with the Jefferson to create the Missouri River. Both the Gallatin and the Madison are only slightly above their historical averages. If the Jefferson was only slightly above its average, you would arguably see flows heading into and out of Canyon Ferry Lake about 10,000 cfs less than they are. The Jefferson is notoriously sucked dry by irrigators. It's a sight to behold when the Jefferson is this high.
For now, expect Missouri River flows to remain historically high. All is not lost, however. Fishing is quite good. As you might suspect, deep nymphing will yield the most hook ups with the Missouri's fat trout. The worm and attractor nymphs (with lead) work the best. If the river wasn't high, you'd likely see PMD's and Caddis coming off. It won't hurt to try subsurface patterns mimicing both bugs along with your worms and your attractors.
Trivia:
Despite the 1-1/2 month deluge, the Missouri River Headwaters drainage system precipitation level is still 4% below normal.
The Yellowstone River is below its historical average flows.
Over the last 21 years, we have seen the Missouri River below Holter Dam reach its summertime levels by July 8. In 1997, it took until July 17. We're betting on July 8 or sooner.
Weather and Lunar Phases
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Missouri River - June 19th, 2010
supplied by: Big R Fly Shop
RECORDED:
65 °
FISHING: Fair
With the water this high, there are only a few fishing options on the rivers around here. The Mo being one of them. The Sun being the other close to town (although the lower sections will be very muddy, the upper section stays regular due to Gibson Dam). The Mo has been fishing okay to good for the amount of water in it, however, it can't be fished the same way we fish it when there is 3-4,000cfs. Deep nymphing with scuds, San Juan worms, disco worms, Eggs N Bacon, ray charles, Keller Goodnights, Tailwater Charlies and other like flies will be the ticket. Three to four split shots and the indicator all the way at the top of your leader will be necessary to get fish nymphing. Streamer fishing may be okay off the banks, although fish are sitting on the width of the river, when the water is up getting a streamer in front of the fish is the main concern, and fish on the banks are an easier target. Some new cool streamers in the shop include Keller's Sleezeburgers, and the new Ghostbuster Craw!
Weather and Lunar Phases
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Missouri River - June 17th, 2010
supplied by: The Trout Shop
RECORDED:
45 °
FISHING: Fair
Fishing is fair by Missouri standards. By all-other-rivers-in-the-state standards, the Missouri is fishing great. At 18,000 cfs, you can float from the Dam to Cascade in no time. Forget about wading. Stay in the boat and beeeeeeee careful. The river is still cold.
Don't worry about a flush this year, we already had it. Again, long live the Mighty Mo.
Despite the high flows, anglers are still pounding them on nymphs. Of course, the worm takes the prize.
When will the river drop? We've heard that question a time or two. When the weather and the flows cooperate, the river will drop. The flows we are seeing are due primarily to heavy rains. It takes time to push the water through the system. Give it time. The extended forecast is calling for a slight chance of rain most days.
When the river does drop, the Florida Keys won't seem so inviting. For now, poon baby. Waves of 10 to 100 are still coming in. And, they're eating.
Weather and Lunar Phases
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