Mark Raisler 
Hump Day Winter Forecast A winter weather pattern has descended upon us here in central Montana. Finally. Snow a couple ties this past week spitting a couple inches each storm. Today up to 5″. Or 3″ or 2″. And the wind will distribute the snow as it sees fit. The snowpack in the greater scheme … Read more
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Snow on the ground.
Spey casters on the river.
A flood of summer bookings at the shop daily.
Lots of anglers Saturday, almost none on Sunday.
Martin Luther King Day. Do something good for your neighbor.
Like inviting them on a trip to the Missouri River 2019.
Quiet on the river today. Enjoy your Monday wherever you are.[/vc_column_text][vc_video link=”https://vimeo.com/113932956″ video_title=”1″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Sunday Snow Shot Sunday winter snow. Snow. Sun. Wind. Snow. Clouds. Wind. Snow. Sunday Hemingway.
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All is well in downtown Craig. Snow on the ground. Wind blowing. Anglers angling.
Can be Groundhog Day here in Craig. Fishing. Everyday. And Joe’s. That is the other outlet. And that’s it for the winter months.
Short mental breaks are good for your 4th season constitution. This vid will do it. Really cool.
Enjoy your weekend! If you find yourself in Craig, swing in for a cup of coffee.
Check out the vid below too. The first one I saw about a year or two ago was this one. 3:38 of super sick longboard DH action! Analogous to the rush I get rowing dudes around at the dam.[/vc_column_text][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkXzit3b348″ video_title=”1″][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SYv-HJ8NqE” video_title=”1″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Friday Winter Foto Winter visited us yesterday. A bit of sun followed by another spit of snow on Sunday. Should see anglers today and tomorrow. Fewer Sunday. Good to see a touch of winter. Have not had too much so far. IT’ll come. Some midges have been seen on the water this last week. Could … Read more
The Art of Giving a Fly Away by Scott Jolly Ed Note: A great bit written by Scott Jolly and sent to us this holiday season.  I found it, among other things, under the tree…when I took it down. This wonderful Thursday article needs to be read. Thanks Scott for writing this up. The “art and … Read more
Craig Caddis Festival Poster Art Contest Calling all artists! The Annual Craig Caddis Festival Poster Art Contest is Live! Get those paintbrushes out and create some art of the annual Caddis Fest ’19 Poster Art Contest. The 2018 Winner Janae Valle from Helena with her winning piece above! Thanks Janae! Can’t wait to see your submission … Read more
Tuesday Today warm, calm, 49F. The mid January blues. Mild. Tomorrow not as warm. Thursday snow. Light winds for the upcoming 10 days. Fishing time for sure. The winter that never was…and today, Tuesday.
We are the pink section in the map above. It may not be all that blue this summer if the mild and dry winter continues. We are so fortunate to be the recipient of major river above us like the Madison, Jefferson, and Gallatin. So even in the bad, Â lower water years, we seem to … Read more
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] January Spey Report from Richard Trout Spey Report 1.13.19 Fishing in January, what more can I say. While many across the country are drilling holes through hard water, the crew at Headhunters are chasing trout with a spey rod. In a month synonymous with the bitter cold, we have been enjoying some pretty favorable … Read more
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The Fly Fishing Film Tour in Helena February 5th Grand Street Theater Doors open at 6pm. Film to follow.In Great Falls January 25th at the Do Bar Doors open at 630 Film at 7pm.
Head out and enjoy a few fishing flicks. Then visit us @ Headhunters of Craig to get your jam on. We never stop fishing.
A comment about the trailer above…I think someone has already done that sort of film?
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The upshot from Walleye’s Unlimited is this: They want more big walleye in the reservoirs and river systems. Catch rates and average size has decreased in the recent past. WU would like FWP to encourage walleye growth. The complaint is that trophy walleye fishing is not close enough for those who reside locally. Trout anglers … Read more
Curt McChesney Memorial Curt was a feller that liked everybody, and was liked by all. Fishing and guiding around Curt was always a pleasure. My day was always better when I saw and had interaction with Curt on the water. Always made my day better. Always. Curt was one of those guides that I always … Read more
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Tuesday January 8th Headhunters Fishing Report When the wind dies down, it’s pretty nice out there. More than one customer this past couple weeks has said that. And the wind did die recently. Yesterday quite blow-y. Today? Not as much but cooler. Saturday was really nice. 46F, calm. And it fished alright too. Reports … Read more
2019 Water Projection: Missouri River Charts you need to see The top image is telling. 103 days of potential water ahead of us. Mid April is the peak of the snow on the ground. The water that counts for the summer. Ground water content, moisture levels, that kind of stuff. Forecasting summer water April 20th … Read more
Silly Sunday Scenery September 25th 2009 Love this image. Or the feel of it. It looks like Autumn. It feels like Autumn. It feels like grasshopper fishing. 2018 August was as good as it gets. For anytime of the year. August 2019? Who knows. Only Mother Nature knows. Calm yesterday. Today not as calm. But … Read more
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Holiday in the Sun Sex Pistols Plan your Holiday in the Sun…in Craig Montana. Maybe the Sex Pistols will be punk’ng out on Izaak’s Log Jam. Going back a few years to my youth. As a teenager, the Sex Pistols had a big influence on me. Angst. Skateboards. Squeeky played bass guitar in a … Read more
Craig Montana and Missouri River Quiz! Winner! Answers! Not too many entries that could challenge Master of the Mo. Most of the entries came in the 11th hour. Erin Wombold was the early leader. And then many more piled into the email box…And we have a winner today. Tim Plaska is the winner! The winner … Read more
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] January 2nd Missouri River Fishing Report Cold. Water temps 35-ish. When it drops below 36 we consider that cold. Do the fish bite. Oh yeah. Gotta eat. Flows near 5000 cfs. A common and historical winter flow. Sometimes, commonly, t is higher that the 5K mark. The long cold spells have the DNRC raise … Read more
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Enjoy the New Year. Start fresh. Live peacefully. Fish more w/ Headhunters. Love more. Care more.
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Happy New Year!
Be safe. Nobody needs to start the year in the slammer.
Designated Drivers, and Uber.
See you at the Polar Bear Plunge New Years Day High Noon Craig Boat Ramp.
Check out last years best Party Scene ever from Breakfast at Tiffany’s.Â
Here is to a big 2019![/vc_column_text][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBShN8qT4lk” video_title=”1″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Summer Scenes I for one am looking towards summer. I do like winter. Sort of. I just like summer better. Not so wrong. Is it? Football today. Do something productive during the commercial breaks. Like pulling off those dirty lines and tossing them in the garbage. Or clean them. The fly line is the … Read more
Friday Foto Glorious Craig Montana Holiday week here in Craig Montana. Slow. Cold. Snowy. Kinda. A couple shuttles per day. Visit us if you need a cup of coffee. Or a spey rod. Or to book your summer trips. Enjoy your weekend. Enter the quiz from Wednesday. Somebody’s got to win!
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Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, and a very late Happy Hanukkah to you all.
Enjoy friends and family.
Think about the future.
Imagine.
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Merry Christmas Merry Christmas. Enjoy your day. I know we are. Open til noon today. Closed for Christmas. Open Wednesday. Good fishing on the river. Not much for population out there. More as the week progresses. 8-5 daily. Big Craig Montana Quiz coming up with lots of great prizes. So study up on your Craig … Read more
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Winter Solstice, Cold Moon, and Meteor Shower Friday 21 December. The shortest day of the year. We are crossing the line as we publish this daily blog. Friday Foto Summer Solstice Love! This is an image used as the banner for a month this summer. HH Head Guide Ben Hardy hooked up in late … Read more
Wolf Creek FAS Proposed Improvement Project Ed Note: Lots of conversation about the updated, paved, striped Wolf Creek Boat Ramp since completion late October. The WC FAS has been changed, to exactly the proposal below. It is identical to the superimposed image below. We’ve had several folks complain to us, here at Headhunters, that we … Read more
Upper Missouri River Management Plan Scoping Meeting Tonight in Helena Meeting tonight at Montana Wild in Helena at 6:30 pm. Your voice determines the future of our Cold Water fishery. This is the pan for the 3 reservoirs above Holter Dam and the river sections below the dams. Canyon Ferry, Toston, and Hauser are what … Read more
A Headhunters Fly Shop Gift Card solves many problems Get this slender item in any dollar amount you choose. Get one for all your employees, your cousin, your husband or wife. Or you. It’s like money in the bank. Call today to speak with one of Santa’s helpers here @ Headhunters of Craig. We got … Read more
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Book your 2019 Missouri River Lodging and Guides Listening to the phone ring, the staff chat with guests about 2019 lodging and Guide Trips, along with the constant email correspondence leads me to this blog today. It is time to book your 2019 trip. Well, only if you want a specific property on the … Read more
Things Squeeky learned about teaching fly fishing this year I was fishing with an individual who was an upper level angler. An upper level angler in my boat is a feller, or gal, that fishes a bunch. For me that means upwards of 100 days a year. This feller fished quite a bit. His goal … Read more
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Missouri River December Fishing Report Cold this coming week. Maybe for a couple weeks. Historically the slowest time of the year on the Mo is this month. Save for the Christmas shoppers there is not too much movement in downtown Craig. Swingers are the most common angler on the Missouri for the next month … Read more
December Water Projection Here it is. Normal so far. The word on the street is we will have a warmer than normal winter. We will have a dryer than normal winter. But that is only conjecture, a projection. Enjoy the rest of your day. I think the guessers will be wrong. That is my guess. … Read more
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Tie this one up for winter water.
If this is not in your box for the winter and spring fishing here on the Mo, you must not fish here often!
The coming out of this specific pattern was in 2008. HH had it. High water was here. This was the bug that you had to have.
Now a winter staple as well as a spring time producer. Tie them up in a coulee different shades like pink, gray-pink, and gray. And tan is the sleeper!
Tie them up. If not, swing by the shop, or order online here!
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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Monday is for Smoking We have written nearly 5000 blog entries in the last 11 years. We are 13 short of that number. After this post, we are 1 closer. That is a quite a few. The reason I mention this is because some yahoo may yell at me for not writing about fishing … Read more
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] A couple Christmas ideas Flies are always a good idea for the angler in the family. Call the shop and we can get a box put together for your loved ones. This is a common thing for us here at Headhunters. We are good at this task! Just pick up the phone, chat with … Read more
December 1st. Snow. A passing storm dropped a couple inches on us here in Craig. Slow angling traffic. Just right. Beyond booking, sending Christmas gift items, talking to you folks on the phone about hatch timing, and lots of Trout Spey conversations…here is the up to the minute Headhunters gang update. Richard is putting up … Read more
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Weekend Trout Spey Report Shane and Mark stepped into the river yesterday afternoon for a couple hours of swing. Pretty good. Fished a couple different runs with fish kissing the fly in both. The first run either both anglers were fishing with their heads deeply buried in their asses, quite possible, or the fish … Read more
Ed Note: Today on the Headhunters Blog we have a guest writer. A good friend of ours Mark wrote this a month ago. I was keeping it in the vault for the right time. That day is today. Mark attended the Headhunters Advanced Fly Fishing School this past October. Mark is a great angler that … Read more
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Late November Missouri River Fishing Report Water temps falling while the air temps are holding for the week. Or sort of falling. The river is pretty quiet. A few guide trips out this week. Remember that we have Trout Spey Trips for a mere $400 running through the end of December. Book one day … Read more
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If you gotta shop might as well shop with us. Your favorite fly shop in central Montana.
If you need and yearn for a mental break check out the 2 summer inspired throwback skate music vids. Enjoy Deeper Shade of Soul vid from Urban Dance Squad. One that you will be singing all day long. And then watch INXS perform Kick littered with the old school pipe moves including the handplant on the cover of this very blog. Both tunes about 30 years old. When I still believed I could ride a skateboard without serious injury. Flyfishing is much safer for this aging wannna-be skate punk!
Take a mental break today. It’ll do your constitution good.
Think of Headhunters Fly Shop like your fly fishing life coach.
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Shop at your favorite local small businesses today.
And tomorrow.
I do some speaking in a few communities every off season. I often hear complaints from the guests that there is not a local fly shop. About how there once was, and that they have to travel lots of miles to visit a fly shop, and how great it would be to have the shop back in the community.
I don’t know the circumstances of those failed businesses. I don’t claim to know. But what I do know that if you spend your fishing dollars with big box stores, discounters, or online only businesses…you will not have a specialty retailer nearby.
Small businesses are important for your community. The dollars stay locally. The dollars support locals. That local is you. You have to make the call, it is your decision.
The only one it hurts is everybody. Those mega businesses will survive. What might not is your local fly shop.
Only 400 fly shops in America, 500 worldwide. Is it important to shop at them?
You have to make that decision. What’ll you decide?[/vc_column_text][vc_video link=”https://vimeo.com/248387067″ video_title=”1″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Headhunters is the Most Open Fly Shop in the World? I think other than LL Bean, which is open 24/7 365, Headhunters is the second most open fly shop in the world. But is Bean really a fly shop? It certainly is not in a dirty title fishing town like Craig. That’s for sure. … Read more
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Top Missouri River November Nymphs Nymphing pretty well out there. Mostly up at the dam and then on down to Craig. Although fishing well below Craig too. Water temps still holding above 40F. We have a couple more weeks of quite good nymphing throughout the canyon, and beyond. Then we will be mostly confined … Read more
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Craig Montana November 16th Yesterday morning in Craig. Today sunny. Cold. Tomorrow? Totally fishable. Lots of swingers on the river the past couple weeks. Headhunters Trout Spey trips out too. The week ahead looks good. Not too cold, not too warm. Looks good. See the college kids home for a break, a Mo River … Read more
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Fly Shop Small Hello out there. Snowing hard here in central Montana. But it’s only blowing about 31mph so far. We often make suggestions about fly fishing here on this transparent blog, fishing report, and entertainment site. Lots and lots of you read this daily. How about showing your support for our small fly … Read more
Trout Spey Flies Squeeky’s Trout Spey Fly selection has grown over the years. The more flies you have, the more fish you can catch. Right? But can a feller really have too many flies? No, is the answer if you are still wondering. Swinging daily out there. The single handed bite is good too! See … Read more
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] November 13th Missouri River Fishing Report Winter rules out there. Play by them and you will not freeze your ass off along with catching more fish. Early starts for those tossing the streamer. The fish can be pretty active in those wee early morning hours. Or not. Not a fan when it is bitter … Read more
$400 Guided Spey Trips Booked a couple more Trout Spey trips today at the shop. Sunday and snow. Swingers too. Many of the folks who we have had the fortunate opportunity to fish with this fall have forgone the Steelhead game and come to the Mo for some trout fishing. Two Handed. A great deal … Read more
Veterans Day 2018 We at Headhunters honor all that have served. Thank you. We support the Americans who serve.
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This purple guy catches trout.
Still in us this fall as we get through the month of November.
Fished this the other day with really good success late morning through dark. Successful.
Enjoy the video today. Snowing here in Craig. A good day for swinging or tying flies at the tying bench.
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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Friday Foto Dead Sunflowers Foreshadowing? No. Most everything is dead. Snow forecast for tomorrow, for the weekend. Fishing pretty good today. Good nymphing and good swinging. Did see a few fish rising too. If you can stand the weather, we’ll see you tomorrow. Friday! Hooray![/vc_column_text][us_grid columns=”4″ orderby=”title” order=”ASC” ids=”11102, 11108, 31476, 14608″ post_type=”ids” no_items_message=”” … Read more
November 8th Missouri River Fishing Report Water flows and temps are just right for active fish. The water level has come up a bit in the past couple weeks with the weeds on the downturn. Some days a few in the late column but not too many to upset you as you fish mid November … Read more
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This is how I am feeling this snowy Wednesday morning in Craig.
Guides out today at HH including me.
High temp today will top out at 21F. The good news is the and is coming from the North. In your face.
I’ll be singing this tune all day long.
Then taking a piping hot shower upon arrival home this evening.
Great live shot from Woodstock. Raw. Like the wind today.
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New Breed Chicks Rule Alison Edition Alison with this nice rainbow from the river yesterday. She and her beau Matt were supposed to be steel heading but thought that the conditions were not right so they headed out to the Mo. Good choice. Matt did get in some swinging and recognized the fantastic opportunities for … Read more
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A cool vid this morning from Scumliner Media.
Spey Specials on the Mo.
It’s time for you to play with a two hander.
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