Fishing Report – Page 8

Missouri River Montana Winter Fishing Report 1.7.16

February 13, 2019January 7, 2016 by Mark Raisler

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Still winter out here, out there, on the river. Cold as she goes.

As John stated yesterday we have cancelled our Saturday Trout Spey Clinic as it will be too damn cold for any good kind of learning. One of the first tenets of learning is putting the student in a comfortable situation. Therefor allowing the mind and body to be focused on the task at hand. 7F does not create the correct learning environment. Nope.

Wind Chill values falling below ZERO for the near future. Too cold to fish for sure.

So this a call for you to focus on tasks at home. Like getting your tax shit together. Sound like fun?

Doing tax work only sounds fun until you try to fish in below zero air temperatures.

Then it becomes fun…

So, what will you do? Watch playoff football? A good second option after you do some expense receipt fiddling.

Missouri River Montana Winter Fishing Report 1.7.16

Those who have been fishing have been cold. A theme is developing swiftly here. Shelf ice is a problem. The winter water is full of shelf ice. Out a ways too. Slush and large 10-30ft square ice plates are floating down the river too. Kinda dangerous folks.

The normal winter fishing report is as follows…Cold. Water temps in the low 30’s. Still warmer than the air temps for most of the week. Swing it if you choose. Dunk it if you like. But no floating flies around this week. Sorry. In a month or two we will get our dry fly rods out of storage.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][us_grid columns=”2″ post_type=”attachment” items_quantity=”” images=”16374,16373″ orderby=”post__in” items_gap=”4px” items_layout=”gallery_default” img_size=”us_600_600_crop” overriding_link=”popup_post_image” breakpoint_1_cols=”2″ breakpoint_2_width=”768px” breakpoint_3_width=”480px” breakpoint_2_cols=”4″ breakpoint_3_cols=”2″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Of course we would love for you to come out for a visit. But bring a bottle of Fireball and stay awhile. Inside the shop.

After you get those taxes in the bag plan out your fishing vacation for the summer. Call us up and we will get you on track.

The skiing in Montana has been pretty good so many Montanan’s are out recreating on the slopes. And why not. Good snow begs to be skied upon. And those snow machine families are enjoying it too.

Happy Weekend to all whatever you might find yourself doing!

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Missouri River New Years Fishing Report 1.1.16

January 1, 2016 by Mark Raisler

Missouri River New Years Fishing Report 1.1.16

New Years Day Missouri River Montana Fishing Report starts out with cold air temps.

The Umteenth (21st) Annual Craig Polar Bear Plunge is at High Noon today a the Craig Boatramp. Were you there? Do you wish you were? Do you feel that wading in the river in mid-July is nearly the same thing…except your toes don’t shrivel up?

Water temps are cold at 33.5F and flows at 3180cfs. The slush factor while this last week was nearing defcon 8 it has been reduced to a reasonable defcon level of 3. Looked fishable to Prewitt Creek as I traveled the river road yesterday. The shelf ice does continue to grow as the high temps for this last couple weeks do not reach much beyond the mid 30’s. Most of th time in the mid 20’s. Looks like more of the same for the week ahead.

We have been locked in this winter pattern for nearly a month. Hi’s in the 20’s and 30’s with light snow a couple days a week. Night time lows anywhere from barely above zero to the mid teens. Winter for sure.

The fish are in the true winter lanes. The softest and slowest moving water you can find. Lots of shelf ice on most of the great insides so be damn careful out there. Watch for the floating ice islands. They can level you, put you down, make your day turn a direction you do not want.

Fool around with a handful of pink flies for the bobber gang. Fool around with a bit of flash for the swingers. Both of you find the soft and soggy winter haunts and stay there. Find good road spots so you can warm yourself up after your feet become the shape of ice cubes. The car heat can thaw them of stop into Uncle Joe’s for something a bit stronger. Sometimes the heat needs to start in your belly!

Happy New Year to all the Headhunters out there. We are looking into the future and what do we see? Who knows? We are guessing that it will be filled with water, bugs, and big dry fly eating trout-skis.

All the best to you and yours as we greet the new year of 2016.

Shop open daily @ 8am and late til 6pm.

Happy New Year!

Headhunters Weekend Fishing Report 12.26.15

December 26, 2015 by Mark Raisler

Looks to be pretty cold this weekend. Not cold enough to keep you off of the wage though. Hi’s nearing 30F. Much warmer than Christmas. A hi of 10F yesterday. Awful cold!

The reports from vacationing winter anglers have been good. Great nymphing with your favorite holiday flavor of PINK. Scuds, sows, Pink Lightening Bugs, Ninch’s BubbleYum, Barbie Nymph, Tailwater Sow, SWJ, and many more can round out your winter fly selection.

Water temps are holding in the damn cold range at 35F. It has dipped below the 35F mark to 34.5F this week. The water level is 3180cfs.

The swingers are getting cold feet with the cooler water temps. But the rewards are worth the frozen toes. You gotta give the fly some action in these cooler water temps. Without some intriguing motion the fish may not eat the baitfish. You oughta make the bait appear tasty.

Want to start the new year off with a guide trip? $400 nymph or spey trips all winter long.

Another New Year idea is to attend our Free Spey Clinic on Saturday January 9th. Give us a hour and get on the list. The other winter Trout Spey Clinics are February 6th and March 5th.

Think about your summer trip to the Mo as well this holiday week. A good time to get your lodging and guide trips locked in. We are in the shop daily to answer your lodging questions. Craig Trout Camp has 4 options for you to choose from. The Craig House, Sutton House, Brown and Rainbow Cabins are the most popular rentals on the Missouri River. These properties book quickly so make your plans today.

Craig Trout Camp has lodging open for the week starting at $125/night. Sneak away from the holiday hub-bub and go fishing. Wander around the Missouri River with out pressure. Finish at Joe’s Bar for a winter night cap. Then get up and do it again.

Shop open daily at 8am offering shuttles, Adipose boat rentals and demos, flies, hot coffee, all the spey stuff you’ll need for the Mo, and warm respite from the river.

Holiday Week Fishing Report 12.21.15

December 21, 2015 by Mark Raisler

Monday morning here in Craig and we are adjusting nicely to the holiday week ahead. Most of you will be traveling to or from family and friends houses for the holiday. Any of you planning on doing some fishing?

We are open daily for the college kids that grace the river on their time off. Bozeman, Butte, Whitefish, Kalispell, Missoula, and certainly Great Falls and Helena anglers will be traipsing around the river for the next couple weeks. Be sure to stop in and se us for a hot cup of coffee or suggestions on fishing locales and definitely fly selection.

Montana Holiday Fishing Report — Some good Trout Spey patterns for Missouri River swingers

The boat ramps looked good yesterday all but the historically difficult winter boat ramp of Mountain Palace. No worries on the rest of them. Anglers are fishing all the way to Prewitt Creek with the most anglers of course up top. Not necessarily all the way up, but certainly above the lower reach.

Duck hunters are out in force too. So, look before you walk a mile into a swing run. You can find another perfectly good run elsewhere. After the new year the hunters will be cleaning their guns again counting the days til the next waterfowl season.

Winter Guide trips available for $400 if you are at all interested in a holiday guide trip. We generally do a few guide trips this week ahead. The day after Christmas is always a good time. Friends and family bugging the shit out of you? Send them on a trip with Headhunters. All inclusive winter trips with flies, hot soup, and education included. Swing and nymph trips are the way to go. Ben, Max, Brent, Kurt, Ryan, and Beth all available for winter fun.

Craig Trout Camp open during the holidays too. Rainbow and Brown Cabins @ $125 and the Craig House starts @ $250.

Missouri River Holiday Week Fishing Report

Pretty damn good for the most part. Anglers in the shop yesterday reported a good bite. Most of the time. Those who didi not get the hook-ups they wanted were found to be fishing water too much like summer water. The anglers in the slow and boring soft runs are having better consistent success. The most common way to not catch fish is always fishing the wrong kind of winter water.

Swingers getting them with Clousers, buggers, Zonkers, leeches, smolts, and the Shock and Awe! Kreelex is a perennial favorite. Check out the Just Add Vise Kits for many of the flies we list here on this very blog. A very popular winter time activity is sitting at the vise preparing for your summer 2016 Missouri River trip.

Those nymphers out there are getting it done with winter fare. Pink flies are best. Try Ninch’s Bubble Yum Scud in #10 or #12. The Barbie is back in stock too. A red beaded fruity devil. The Amex, Rainbow, Tailwater Sow, a plethora of fire beads in the sow, scud, or soft hackled versions are always in favor…

We love to lead the bobber downhill with our fly line this time of year therefor seeing the take when it happens. Too much slack line is a killer. Want help on this concept? ask anybody at the shop for technique hints.

Same goes for the swingers out there. Lots of Trout Spey anglers flooding the river during Montana’s long winter. Ninch was explaining his tight line swing technique the other day. Again, not too much slack out there adding to his hook-up rate. Jigging the fly in that tighter line manner has proved to be successful when those fish are not as aggressive. But the word is that the fish have been pretty grabby out there in the swung patterns.

Nicnh is fishing a Skagit line with a medium (T-11) iMOW tip and a weighted fly. Deep and slow water has been his ticket. On the inside or along the winter inside seams. Great water above Wolf Creek Bridge for winter swingers and nymphers alike. Remember that Headhunters is a perfect place to try out your next Trout Spey rod on the river. The only shop on the Mo with 2 handed demo rods. And demo rods we have. 20+ to choose from. Also, need to find that perfect line for your existing spey rod? We got those too. Form RIO, OPST, and Airflo. Headhunters is your Spey store for all of Montana.

Flows at 3300cfs and temps at 33.5F. Typical winter levels for both. Watch for ice not he shorelines, check boat ramps for safety, and get your shuttle from Headhunters. Open daily at 8am. Open Christmas Eve 8-12pm. We are open 364 days a year. Closed Christmas to rest…

A break in the weather

December 20, 2015 by Mark Raisler

Fishing weather has returned, albeit temporarily, for the weekend and front end of the week.

Although we have been loving the snow. A good feel of winter with snow falling most of the last week. And the week ahead looks like more of the same. More snow on the way.

More snow on the ground this winter means more water in the rivers this coming summer. The entire state, save for the Missouri River, was in really tough shape this last year. Not good at all. We squeaked by with average flows. Nothing high at all. Will we have the high water this coming year? Nobody knows. And if anybody tells you something…well you can believe whatever you want.

All we know is that we always prefer the more water option over the less water option every time. Big water beats the low water hand every time. We won’t know the outcome of the winter until later winter early spring period. Then we can get a handle on the winter precipitation and make some sort of random educated guess.

November and December here in our region, east of the Continental Divide, seem to be consistent in the early winter snows. The last several years we have flirted with real winter until we turn the last page of the calendar.

Then it seems as though winter vanishes. I want a real winter from Santa this year. I’m sure most of us embroiled in the fishing industry and those of you who love to fish Montana would wholeheartedly agree. Hands down.

Leave your note to Santa next to the milk and cookies.

So back to the Sunday Report here on the Headhunters Blog. Decent fishing out there. A break in the weather yesterday and today including Monday. Snow flurries could happen at any moment on any given day.

The boat ramps are pretty safe. Check the end destination before launching. Or check with us. We generally know the condition of the ramps.

The shelf ice is not and at all. There is some out there but not the terrible dangerous shelf ice that can make getting to the water on some occasions difficult.

Water temperatures are holding at 35.5F with water levels at 3330cfs. Cold for sure. Put on your wool socks before you wade into that ice bucket of a river. No slush in the river yet. The air temps have to get in the zero range for some time to make the upper river slushy or even ice-bergy.

Flies for nymphers? Pink. Flies for swingers? On the smaller side in both the natural colors or un-natural color ways. Both pretty effective. The patterns of the winter so far have been on the bugger side of life. Zonkers still on the radar. Leeches not a terrible choice.

See you on the water this week. Shop open daily @ 8am.

Missouri River Winter Fishing Report 11.8.15

December 8, 2015 by Mark Raisler

Missouri River Winter Fishing Report 11.8.15

One windy bitch here on the Mo. Truly windy.

Ninch above with a nice rainbow trout on swung Hot-Eye Kreelex at the Spey Clinic Saturday.

Fishable on Monday afternoon with some shores windless enough to cast. Up by the dam the fellows that endured the wind said it was good fishing. They also said that about an hour of punishment was ll they could take.

Down river there were some pockets that you could fish. If you are a renegade drive by bank angler you just cruse around the river until you find the right water.

Missouri River Nymphing Report

The nymphing is pretty damn good. Find those buckets and work through them. Some of the holding lies can be small. Break it down into small stream components and get techy. You may have to adjust your depth, your bobber, but probably not your fly. Pink and slutty is the program for winter nymphers.

Firebeads
Ray Charles
Tailwater Sows
Arnold’s Sili Scud
Rainbow Czech’s
Amex
Pink Lightening Bug
Any bug Ninch tells you to use.

Missouri River Streamer Report

Not too bad here either. Slower water has been the key. Although a few fish have been taken out in the middle around good center river structure. Fish off of both sides of the top of island runs and the bottom end too.

Seems like fish have been holding in different water on consecutive days. The streamer eaters have not totally set up in their full time winter lies. So, fish both until you find a pattern.

The swingers have been out there too. Smaller patterns that are lightly weighted or un-weighted have been the better flies. Those heavily weighted big and ugly Madison/Yellowstone type flies don’t really get too much traction here in the winter.

Most of the streamer strippers using a dry fly line. Some are tossing them on an intermediate tip. Others fishing a RIO VersiLeader off of their dry line. Lots of ways to skin a cat. Use what you are comfortable with or try something new today. A fresh look is a good idea…honest.

Baby Sculpzilla
Small Buggers in any flavor
Thin Mint
Simi Leech
Kreelex
Marabou Clousers
Foxy Clousers

Missouri River Weather Report

Windy. Here is the forecast for today…

A 20 percent chance of rain after 11am. Partly sunny, with a high near 52. Windy, with a south southwest wind 41 to 46 mph, with gusts as high as 70 mph.

For the week ahead? Windy. Really windy. Rainy. And maybe snowy.

So if you want to come out and fish, it will most likely be uncrowded. You can probably walk into your favorite run.

Missouri River Flows and Water Temps

Pretty stable. That is all that needs to be said. Get used to it.

Still falling somewhat. But it should stabilize soon. A warm winter temperature range is 36F. A cold winter temperature is 33F. We like the former. The fish like it better too. You can now see why the fish will get in their winter holes. Deep, slow, nearly stopped water will be the hot ticket for the next three months.

At 37.5F we have officially entered into the full winter realm. Not many changes from here on out. Probably not until February will anything change. The next bug change being the advent of the Midges. So now we patiently wait.

Summer Employment

Not too soon to be thinking about Headhunters seasonal employment. We will need shop staff beginning in March, April, May. We like to start the interview process in January. For you trout bums that want to be a part of the Headhunters Team begin putting together your resume. We will be accepting them beginning today. This is the professional outfit here in Craig. There is a reason that we have the longest standing shop staff on the Missouri. Think about it.

We live in a world of text messages, bad punctuation and spelling ~~seen here daily~~, and non-professional behavior…we urge to to put your best foot forward. Those with the best looking complete resume including references will get looked at first. Just like in real life. Get on board with the most recognizable fly shop in Craig. Headhunters.

Send your resume to both sara@headhuntersflyshop.com and mark@headhuntersflyshop.com w/ RESUME in the subject field.

We are accepting resumes for shop staff, not for guides.

Weekend Re-Cap here in Craig Montana

December 7, 2015 by Mark Raisler

Monday morning here in Craig Montana.

A fun weekend here on the Mighty MO. Our first of several Free Spey Clinics went off without a hitch on Saturday. A few cancellations left us with a smaller group of about 15. Ninch, Sara, Beth, Dewey, John and Mark instructed the enthusiastic spey gang as they cast away until the late afternoon.

Most had not cast a Spey Rod before Saturday. All could get by after completing their first spey casting session. A couple brought their own rods and the remainder of the class used Headhunters extensive selection of demo spey rods.

We have the Sage Accel in 6wt, the 6126 and 7126 Methods are popular, and the Trout Spey Sage rods from 2wt all the way through 5wt. The Orvis Clearwater is a fan favorite as well as the rods from Echo. We have the Echo Glass which is a great seller. The 12′ 4″ 6 wt, 12′ 9″ 7wt as well as the 10′ 8″ 4 wt and 11′ 6wt switch rods.The Echo 3 and Echo TR were enjoyed by the group. The T & T DNA rounds out rest of our demo stock.

This vast selection of spey and switch rods is not matched any where in Montana. I counted 26 demo spey rods in the rack at the shop. And, and we have all of the lines you may need in the demo fleet too. Lines from RIO in both Skagit and Scandinavian versions. Airflo and lines from OPST are both very popular as well. All to try out on your own rod if you wish. Finding the right line for you, for your type of water, and for your style is of utmost importance. Headhunters is here t oasis you in that battle.

Happy guests at the Spey Clinic this weekend. If you are interested in the three remaining clinics you might want to give us a call and get your name on the list. Check out more info about these always filled free spey clinics.

Chatted with a couple of fellers from Kalispell after they floated the river on Saturday. Nymphing wa their game and the flies of choice included many pink flies. A Caviar Scud, Rainbow Czech, Amex, FB Ray in grey or pink and a few eats on the Zebra too. They said they enjoyed the lack of traffic. They will be visiting a few times this winter to see not only the sun here in lonesome Craig and to catch a few. They enjoyed the Craig Trout Camp Brown Cabin for a mere $125/night. Dinner at Joe’s Bar with a few beers. A perfect winter weekend.

Gift Card for Fly Fishers — Get a HH Gift Card for any amount.

Not as many anglers on Sunday as the wind blew about 100mph. Not really that windy, but it sure seemed like it. Partly cloudy and windy. The week ahead looks warmer again which generally means more wind.

We got the Christmas lights up at the shop on Friday. It ’tis the season. We are into it too. We do love the holidays. Christmas boxes going out the door daily as on-line fly fishing shoppers are getting their family members and friends killer gifts from Headhunters Fly Shop.

A great gift for your favorite angler whether he of she be a Montana waters fan or not…is the benchmark of Gift Cards. The Headhunters Gift Card available in any amount. Why not get your sweetie a guide trip for 2016, a step in the positive direction for a fly rod, or a nice selection of flies for their upcoming ’16 Missouri River trip.

Having a ball in Craig Montana. Looking forward to the new year. Many returning guests booking their lodging and guide trips for next season. Open daily for any of your needs whether it be shopping, spey clinic booking, or getting your name on the books for the year ’16.

Happy Monday to you all!

Missouri River Montana Fishing Report 12.3.15

December 3, 2015 by Mark Raisler

Missouri River Montana Fishing Report 12.3.15

Water levels are remaining at 3030cfs along with water temps falling below the 40F mark @ 38.5F last evening. The water is on the low side of normal. Looks like it will ram in that way for the winter season. Get used to the shallow and skinny water.

The runs are just right for swinging. Some are. I know that I have been in spots that are too slow based on the lower water levels. Yet some runs are playing just perfectly for the winter game.

Most of the talk in the shop is about the swing. Those who have been floating are focussed on the nymphing technique. Wade fishers too. Finding the winter type buckets with some thought about the medium slow. The fish may not be in the slowest of the slow tanks, but they will be there soon.

Find those good looking inside lanes and fish it.

Split shot or not? Both ways work. Fishing the heavier tungsten lead flies will get it down with a smaller midge like second fly. Those fishing split shot can fish any combo. Ipersonally go back and forth between the split shot or not theory. Really depends on the day.

Finding the fish is the first part of the battle. Once you locate them remember that type of water and fish it again. Return to your favorite runs first and then go exploring.

Most anglers fishing the upper half of the Missouri. It should remain the same for the winter. Not as much traffic on the lower end. It will freeze in the next couple months.

Some of the boat ramps can be a pretty sketchy in the snow. Stop in the shop and ask us of rth latest slippery boat ramp report. Be safe out there.

Shop open daily @ 8am.

Welcome to the Missouri River December

December 1, 2015 by Mark Raisler

December 1st. All is well. Cold as it should be.

A common winter question at the shop is “Do you really fish during the winter? When the weather is like this? Really?

Oh yeah. And we are not the only ones. Lots of local and regional anglers visit the Missouri River during the off season. Great Falls and Helena residents including Butte, Bozeman, Whitefish, and even Spokane and Billings don’t blink about heading over for a day, or three.

A short drive for most. A large reward for all. As I stated yesterday we are into one of our slowest periods of the year. Not fishing wise. Although it is not red hot. More like Snow, White, Hot.

Missouri River December Weather

Cold. Mostly cold and somewhat windy. When the sun is high is does not mean slower fishing. But, but the fish do not mind the lower grayer skies either. I prefer the latter. It just feels fishier when the clouds obscure the sun.

Keep in mind while the mercury reads 24F, the high and bright sun will make it feel a balmy 37F.

The wind is the variable that really, truly, nobody is a fan of. If is blowing the fishing conditions can be questionable. Always give us a call before you head out for the current conditions in Craig.

Average daily December high temperature is 35F with the low being 15F. Average snowfall is 9 inches with the average precipitation coming in at 0.55 inches.

The upshot is cold weather and tough fishing conditions. Or for those who like the solace of the river in December…bring it.

Missouri River December (Non)Hatches

Kind of none. Some BWO’s around and some midges. More like the pink nymph fly hatch. Or a streamer Kreelex hatch. That is about it. Very little dry fly action. So, we go to the bobber and the Trout Spey Rod or a slowly stripped streamer on a single handed rod.

Welcome to Missouri River December — Lots of winter ahead of us!

So what do I do? Find that soft winter water. Most of the anglers that arrive at the shop in the morning get the same explanation about water types. We constantly hear bad reports from those trying to play the summer game. Meaning that they are fishing in good looking hopper type water. The faster, sexy type of water. Stay away from that stuff in the winter. It is no good. There are not any fish in that ind of water. The water temps are in the Hi 30’s for the remainder of the month and the fish do not hang out there. Period. So if you want some good winter nymphing action find the slow and soggy water.

It is more a question of where. That is what we are getting at here. Where. The slow pond like water is the right stuff. Where you would not fish in the spring, summer, or fall. The slower inside bends with some structure. Or no structure. Look for the most boring water you can find and fish it.

Trout Spey is King

We love to throw the 2 handed rod in the winter months. With the advent of smaller trout size spey/switch rods the Missouri River is a fantastic resource to learn a new game. And we have them all. We are the education location for all things trout spey. With well more than a dozen demo trout spey rods in stock we are Montana’s Trout Spey destination. Demo lines at Headhunters as well with the entire range of Skagit and Scandi lines.

The Missouri River has a ton of killer swing runs at your disposal. You will see fellers out there practicing, fishing, swinging. Landing fish too. Depending on the water depth and speed you can either attach a lightly weighted pattern, a heavily weighted pattern, or an unweighted fly to the end of your switch rod. The fish can be anywhere on the swing, or twitch, or jig. Fish it, change it, strip it, swing it.

Craig Trout Camp Open All Year!

Craig Trout Camp is open all year long. We never close the most popular properties on the Missouri River The good news is the discounted off season price. Rainbow and Brown Cabins rent for $125/night and the Craig House starts at $250/night. Why stay anywhere else? Come out for the weekend. Fish, stay, relax.

Missouri River Off Season is Killer!

Lots of reasons to fish the off season. Low population of anglers. That is all I need to hear. But some like to catch a few trout for their troubles. No problem there either. Good fishing for those over-sized Rainbows. Stop in any time for answers, questions, coffee, a ton of BS, Christmas gifts, sale times, conversations…any and all.

Headhunters Fly Shop is your only daily fly shop on the Missouri River. We are here for you, the all seasons angler. And we love December!

Missouri River Montana Monday Fishing Report 11.30.15

November 30, 2015 by Mark Raisler

Missouri River Montana Monday Fishing Report 11.30.15

Missouri River Montana Monday Fishing Report 11.30.15 is cold, but getting warmer.

The holiday weekend is over and we are back to work at the shop prepping for the upcoming weekend Trout Spey Clinic and shipping lots of cool gear on this Cyber Monday.

Lead HH Guide Ben Hardy and Mark were out guiding on Saturday afternoon in the bright blue skies. The air temps at the Craig boat ramp read a high of 24F. But the sun made it feel like it was in the low 30’s!

Missouri River Nymphing Report

Nymphing was the game of choice with quite a few fish in Ben’s boat on a Firebead, a Tailwater Sow, and a Rainbow Warrior. Mark had success, albeit less, with a Bloom’s FB Rainbow Weight Fly, a Barbie Nymph, and Little Green Machine.

Missouri River Trout Spey Report

Swingers for the weekend reported successes in damn skinny water with floating lines. Some are fishing an intermediate tip or a Skagit line with a MOW tip of some sort. Strippers are out there too. They are getting them on a slower retrieval rhythm than they were a couple weeks ago. The trout are certainly in slower paced water as we continue the downward temperature spiral to the mid 30’s. Still some time until we reach that benchmark.

Missouri River Dry Fly Report

Dry fly guys? A few BWO’s on the surface on Saturday. Did see some fish moving near the surface and taking the first of the winter midge flies. Already exhibiting the winter like sporadic non sequential totally frustrating style of rise form. Total bullshit is what it is. As the winter progresses that will make more sense. After staring at the bobber for the next few months we will become coaxed into tossing the dry fly out there and letting it sit in pond like back eddies hoping for a lucky strike.

Missouri River Water Levels & Temps

Water levels holding at 3210cfs. Seems like a common flow for us this early winter. The fall, for the last couple months, has shown us that the lower than average water levels still are producing higher catch rates. The great nymph bite this autumn was enjoyed by many. While it didi not produce the historically good streamer bite in the fall like we are accustomed to. So, how do you balance all of that? Boy, if you figure out that equation give us a shout and we will pass it on to the masses.

Damn close to the 40F mark. I have always though that we are truly into the winter realm when the wage temps fall below that 40F mark. So winter here we come. Are we ready for that kind of action? Well, bring it. A long way off from spring now. We will settle in for along winter ride.

The next couple weeks may be two of the softest angler pressure weeks of the entire year. The other two may be the first couple weeks of February. So if you like the pressure on the light to non-existent side of angling…you may like the next two week session.

Cyber Monday @ Headhunters Fly Shop

Order yourself up some kick ass Cyber Monday fly fishing gear today. Operators standing by if you want to call it in. Shop open daily 8am-6pm.

Happy Thanksgiving from Sub-Zero Craig Montana

Friday Foto w/ short fishing report.

November 27, 2015 by Mark Raisler

Friday Foto with the Forest Anderson Craig Bridge today.

Damn cold the last couple days with snow coverage statewide.

Warming to day with anglers bound to be on the water. Gotta get rid of some of that Turkey Fat.

Swingers Unite. There will be some swinging going on for sure. Stop in for a chat about the 2 hander if you wish. Try something new this weekend. It is what the Pilgrims would have done.

Nymphers are looking toward the softer water arena’s for their subsurface success. Scuds, sows, pink flavors of LB’s, shrimps, Amex’s, and such. Some action from the mayfly side of life for a short time longer.

Stippers are getting cold hands. The water temps are such that lots of splashing, sliding water up the line can freeze quickly making your guides oversized and not too slippery.

Swingers are getting cold feet. Water temps are such that an hour in the water can make a fella want to take a stroll up and down the bank. 44F and falling daily.

Dry fly fellers are tying flies at home. Although apish or two could be up anywhere. Those in the know are in the know?

The weather coming up for the weekend is not terrible. Hi’s in the upper 20’s. But the sun can make all the difference. Makes it feel 10 degrees warmer. Or more? Coffee helps that feeling. At least for awhile. Joe’s Bar open @ 8am.

Shop open at 8am. Black Friday. Stop in for deals, sales, and all things killer int eh trout fishing realm.

Shop Small Saturday tomorrow. Shop locally and show your support.

Missouri River Trout Spey Report 11.23.15

November 23, 2015 by Mark Raisler

Missouri River Trout Spey Report 11.23.15

It’s been pretty good.

The number of good runs for winter fishing here on the Missouri River is what makes us feel fortunate to be here during the several cold and snowy months.

Great runs for winter swinging. The Missouri is full of them. A a fun time to be here because you really get your choice of them. Left and right banks provide you so much water that you will not get tired of this river. We never tire of the MO.

But we are trapped here. All winter long. Hence the two handed rod. An effective tool.

While dreaming of warmer climates we simply return to the Mother Missouri.

The fish are moving into the winter trout lies. Slower and lower. Softer and shallower too. The boring water. They are moving that way.

The fish in this last week had changed location from the previous week. 2 weeks ago the fish would get on the bite early in the swing. In the faster riffle water. And they would take it hard.

I saw less of that behavior this last week. The fish have been eating it for me in the latter half of the swing. Towards the bottom. On the dangle. Twitching it or short strips enticed a few fish to eat.

The twitch or jig was working well. Most of the fish ate it not on the swing, but when I was imparting action to the streamer. Or just after the strip on the pause. But nevertheless becoming involved with your drift is important.

A local fish philosopher once said…

You can either let it happen, or make it happen.

Choose the latter.

The great thing about fishing is that you get to choose how you do it. Every angler is different and has different ideas of how to get that damn trout to bite the hook. You can dictate your destiny. You getta choose the outcome. You get a seat at the spey retrieval table. Check out the video by Scumliner Media McCune Retrieval Techniques blog that precedes this post for more on this topic.

Skagit or Scandi? Flies too.

Flies for the swinger the past couple weeks include some of the streamer all-stars for all river systems. Including the Missouri River in that equation the flies we love include smaller lighter buggers. Those tossing a Skagit line have been using an Intermediate tip or a MOW tip with an un-weighted bugger. Black and olive have been the favorites.

Have not heard of Skagit fellers adding the bigger deeper tips. But they may be. It is so skinny most everywhere that many Skagit anglers are using dry tips as well. Or the lighter set for the water level of 3300 cfs. No weeds to contend with. The not as weedy season has rewarded us with a not so weedy fall and early winter.

Those throwing the sleek Scandi lines have been using the beaded Bugger. Lighter floating tips encourage a bit of weight in the pattern.

Clousers, buggers, R2R, a couple flavors of the ever popular Kreelex, leeches of all kinds, sculpin patters, the slender Marabou Clousers, Skiddish Smolts in trad., brown, and olive..and more.

Trout Spey Rod & Line DEMO’s. Best Trout Spey selection in Montana.

Remember that Headhunters has demo spey lines for you to try before you buy. Also remember that we stock all things Skagit starting @ RIO Skagit Trout Max 200gr and OPST Skagit 175 gr. on up to the 6, 7 and 8weight spey rods. We have the Scandi selections that nobody else has in Montana. We have the lighter spey and switch lines from Airflo, RIO, OPST, and SA.

Backing, running lines of all types, leaders and tippets too. We are the Trout Spey HQ in Montana.

Rods from Orvis, SAGE, Echo, and more here available for DEMO daily.

November and December ahead…

We are just beginning our Swing Season. Pretty good so far. Much better than the not-so-great fall dry fly bite. The stripping streamer bite was hit and miss too. So as we move out of the unbelievable late fall/early winter nymph mania we are encouraged the the November swinging success stories.

December is traditionally a great Trout Spey month. Our clinics get under way, the river is devoid of any sane anglers, and the fish seem to be amenable to the twitchy trout swinging syndrome.

Come by and see us if you are interested, have any questions, want to sniff around a shop that digs the winter action, are lonely, need a pick me up, or got lost coming home from Bozeman and need to spend a long weekend in Craig MT.

The epicenter of winter angling in Montana.

With water temps falling, look toward winter water.

November 20, 2015 by Mark Raisler

Those water temps are falling fast. It is time to look towards winter water.

We’ll be talking about this winter type water all swing season long. And for you nymphers in the audience you too will be getting away from that faster bankside water and moving across the river into the slow moving pond-like water.

With water temps falling, look toward winter water.

The water temps have fallen into the 45F and will continue to drop as we near December. The low point for the Missouri River water temp is about 33F. Some winters we do not get to that low mark. Some winters we hover in the 36F range. The fish like that better. Humans like that better as well.

But we still have some time above the 40F mark. How long? Maye a couple weeks, but if that damn winter cold front rolls in this holiday week ahead of us we may see that 40F mark fall sooner than we would like.

We are getting into the winter pace here in Craig. Late morning or afternoon starts with wade fishing the primary game in town. You could get in the boat but many of us locally would rather wade than play the drift boat game. Just way easier.

The flows are holding at the 3.3K level making wade fishing a dream. You can really wade into a toni of runs. Cruise around on the frontage road and approach your favorite run on foot.

I was out swinging a streamer yesterday afternoon and noticed a real change in the location of trout. No longer were they hanging in the faster water. Not many in the medium pace either. But a few. Most were shaded toward the softer side.

Last week while nymphing from the boat the fish were starting to frequent the slower water. Not all the time. But you could feel the shift about to happen. The nymph fish were still int he medium speed center river runs. But not for much longer. We will be navigating the boat on the soft, inside, boring water for the next 4 months.

The flies will change too. More on that topic later.

So as you wander the river in the next week or two, think about looking toward winter type water. The time is near. Until then fish the medium speed medium depth stuff.

Also still good swinging and stripping and nymphing pretty much everywhere fishing the Missouri River. Some fishing soft hackles, some fishing short leash nymphs, some a bit deeper, some hunting heads, some chucking and ducking, and some have gone to the 2 handed Trout Spey Rod exclusively for the Missouri River Swing Season.

What are you gonna do this weekend? I’d be looking for a touch of fall water before it disappears.

And if you have looked into the weather future you will get yourself out of the house this weekend. It may get a touch western this holiday week.

Missouri River Montana Fishing Report 11.16.15

November 16, 2015 by Mark Raisler

Good to great November fishing here on the Missouri River. Fantastic nymhing and swinging and some out there swinging the little soft hackled ones too.

The best in the nymph game is to head down the sow and scud road. Choose a big one and a little one. Most are leading with a larger Firebead like the ubiquitous Rainbow Czech in a 10 or a 12. How about Bloom’s Weight Fly in the FB Rainbow coloring. If you like to add the split shot your options grow like weeds in the summer. Then you can toss any type of larger sow/scud combo. Yes, most are leading with a larger fly up top.

For the tail fly the sow/scud is good too. A smaller sized 14-18 pattern is a a good choice. Some are tossing the BWO nymph as well. Pretty hard to beat a Little Green Machine or some sort of skinny derivation thereof. Black, red, rusty, grey purple, and olive flavored midge patterns are finding some fish daily.

Dry fly anglers are finding fish on leeward shores in the afternoon. Some BWO’s, Pseudocloeon’s, and midges of a thousand varieties are out there. Not in any huge numbers though. Search and ye shall find.

The dry fly game has been really quite difficult. Longer leaders and smaller tippet sizes are most certainly required in most dry fly situations.

Streamer fishers are chucking daily. Lots of this enthusiastic crowd around this last weekend. Some nymphers, a few DFO’s, with boat and bank big fly guys making up the majority. The weeds are not an issue as we are following up a not too weedy summer with this lower water late fall. Dry lines and intermediate tips are the most common. Both unweighted and weighted streamer can work. Find your water type and address each fishing mystery accordingly.

Don’t forget about the swingers. Every day I see more than a few 2 handed fellers out there. It is pretty common to witness a number of anglers in the winter months casting in our great swing runs. Again the water is on the shallow side so the Scandi set is all over it. The Skagit gang is doing well with either a floating tip or an intermediate set-up with un-weighted or lightly weighted patterns respectively.

Headhunters is Montana’s choice for Trout Spey. We stock all of the lines, tips, leaders, reels and rods for your Trout Spey adventures. Give us a ring if you need any info in regards to this two-handed game.

Lots of folks around this last weekend specifically on Sunday for late fall fishing. We have rental units in Craig beginning at $125/night. A great way to spend your weekend here fishing the MO. Lots meaning a few boats on the river. Solace mid-week is a given.

Water flows in the low 3K range. Water temps dropping predictably now as we move into the latter half of November. Should remain normal for the time being. I think the water managers are holding water now for the anticipated lack of winter here in the Rocky Mountains. I think. I am no meteorologist or water planner. Just sayin.’

Shop open daily 8am-6pm. Winter rates start today with guided trips @$400 and Craig Trout Camp cabins beginning at $125.

P.S. The fish on the upper river are huge. The Rainbows are big. Honest.

Saturday Fishing Report

November 14, 2015 by Mark Raisler

Some damn breezy conditions yesterday and today. Not many folks fishing.

But Sunday the weather will be much more conducive to trout fishing Montana’s Missouri River.

Monday too.

The short leash nymphing is still on fire. It will be good through the holiday. Sows and scuds is all you need to know. Firebeads are coming on strong.

More and more good streamer reports. Leeches, smaller buggers, and generally smaller patterns have been the right stuff.

Some are using a dry line to toss the junk. Others are utilizing intermediate tips and yet others are swinging them up with Trout Spey rods.

Guide trips out this last week and this coming week. Taking advantage of the quiet waters and solace on the river.

2 handed season is in full swing and lots of folks around swinging them up. How about you?

Some dry fly action here and there. Where do you find them?

Great wildlife around on the river as of late. That Moose has been seen a few times. Mink, Muskrat, birds of prey, deer, an elk, and more. A really nice tome of year for all who fish the Mo.

Stop in for a visit if you are in the neighborhood. We love to chat about fishing.

Missouri River Montana Fishing Report 11.12.15

November 12, 2015 by Mark Raisler

If you love to nymph fish, November is your time. And if you love to fish near no-one, November is your Huckleberry.

Some fishing deep, some fishing medium depth, and most in the afternoons fishing in the skinny.

Sows and Scuds have been the keys to the nymph anglers success. If you must you can certainly toss a BWO pattern as well. The time for lots of fun fishing flies finding an opportunity to grace the terminal end of your line is coming to an end. Soon, you will be joining the Pink Parade.

Until then you can get by on Sows and Scuds. Rainbow Czechs, Tailwater Sows, Ray Charles, Rainbow Warriors, Two Tone Scuds, PLB’s, Barbie Nymphs.

The streamer fishers are getting along just fine. Not great number but some bigger rainbow to hand. The upper river is full of oversized piggy bows. Go try it. Full of ’em.

Not much for the dry fly bite again this week. A few BWO’s on the surface in the normal afternoon time period. You can get a few of the surface if you plan for your dry fly afternoon. Some successes for those on the search.

Stay true to the course if you wish to go this route. Stay true. There are not a ton of folks around so the opportunities that exist you can capitalize on.

The water flows are still lower than we like. But we do not have much control over that facet of the Mo. Or any of it for that matter. Flows are 3110cfs. Pretty dam low.

The entire river is fishing well. Top to bottom. Choose your reach and enjoy.

The wind has been bothering us a few days a week. But for the most part the November weather is acting more like fall than either September or October. It is the new fall. The month of November.

A long time Headhunters group has been out fishing this week. Year #8 for these boys from both costs. Why do they come in November? Good to great fishing with not many other boats around. They loike to have the place to themselves. We do too. A nice time of year for sure.

Days just move by at a slower pace. A nice pace. No rush to get on the water early. Wait till 10, 11, 12 or 1pm. Your choice. Fish til dusk. Perfect.

Water temps declining more rapidly than the previous week. We are currently at 48F. A degree every couple days.

Missouri River temps falling ... — Missouri River temps falling …

Will the baetis come? Boy I don’t know. They have not come in big numbers. Have been out a few days where the fishing was very good on top. Daily? No. This coming week? Maybe.

Looks like sun and wind for the weekend. Our two favorites. Will the fish care? No, they are all wet anyway.

We are in full swing mode here on the Mo. Lots of anglers stopping by and either lining up a 2 handed rod with our full compliment of RIO and OPST trout spey lines. We have full bevy of DEMO Rods as well. Stop by and try one this weekend.

Trout Spey clinics the first Saturday of every month beginning in December. Guided fishing trips all winter long @ $400. Get a full day with your spey rod with a 2 handed guide trip. Why not. Tie it in with one of our free trout spey clinics. How about a night at the Craig Trout Camp to bring it all together.

Fly shop open daily 8am for all your winter trout fishing needs. Shuttles, flies, lines, rods, coffee, and the best in Mo River info.

Sunday Fishing Report

November 8, 2015 by Mark Raisler

If you are not watching the Sunday Football Spectacular on your couch or cleaning the garage you may be fishing. Or hunting. Or napping on that couch.

If you are near the Missouri River you may be fishing. If you are fishing, “Good Luck!”

While luck is a piece of the puzzle, it plays a small role in the overall fishing picture.

The first thing I should have learned about trout fishing is that the biggest piece of that large puzzle is…

Either they are biting, or they are not.

And sometimes the trout have their mouths taped shut.

Sunday Fishing Report

The fishing is getting better daily. As John wrote recently the Two Handed game is heating up too. Streamer fishing, stripping it, is pretty good as well.

The nymph bite? Great. Short with scuds, sows, BWO nimps, etc.

Dry fly anglers? Pretty good. Not many bugs at all. And certainly not with the advent of the sun and the high winds. Two variable that do not equate in the dry fly game. Midge patterns can be good when the trout are eating shit that you cannot identify. Junk flies should be included in this conversation. Midge clusters, CDC Hanging Midge, CDC Midge Emerger, Purple Phase, Buzzball, Grifftith’s Gnats, and the like will get some attention.

The weather for the week ahead is filled with cooler temperatures and more activity. Rain, then snow along with not much wind. Much better than the sunny windy conditions we endured yesterday and today.

$400 Guide trips start on the 16th. Cheaper lodging too.

Visit Craig this off-season for a quiet on-season fishing experience.

Two-Handed Report

December 18, 2018November 7, 2015 by John Arnold

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]above: Mark Raisler and Beth Hood readying the 2hand arsenal for a day on the Mo. FINALLY We’re finally getting the right conditions for both swing and boat streamer fishing to produce some fish. It’s been OK for the last month, but not great. Lots of little flies in skinny water. Slow retrieves. Not what most … Read more

When slumping, go back to the beginning.

November 5, 2015 by Mark Raisler

Been in a slump this last week. I’m done guiding daily and it is time to take myself fishing.

I like fishing for me. I like fishing with me too.

But I have been sucking. Slumping is really too tame a description.

Fishing badly. Poorly. Really just awful.

So today I went back to my roots. I wade fished a couple spots that I use to love. That I spent an inordinate amount of time fishing at 20-odd years ago. I went back home. Back to the beginning.

The last spot of the day is a great wade fish run with soft water. Perfect for my soft hackle.

I had fished the soft hackle for most of the last week with limited success. A few fish daily, but not really the bite I had expected or anticipated. Pretty poor overall.

Mostly smaller fish with a few ~~several~~ breakoff’s of larger fish that I totally farmed.

Maybe I was fishing water that was too fast. Wrong flies? Poor swinging technique? Probably the latter.

As I stepped into the run I saw a couple soft movements of trout in really skinny water. Would my soft hackle bring a trout to hand? I felt quite comfortable in this run. Like a homecoming.

Memories of hours spent wandering around this island set with fishing friends flooded my head. Warm memories. Fond memories. Fishy memories.

The 7th cast a solid tug. Fish on.

Your are never too old to go back to the beginning.

Missouri River November Fishing Forecast

Missouri River November Forecast

November 4, 2015 by Mark Raisler

Winter rates start on November 16th

Missouri River Winter Lodging

Craig Trout Camp is open for business with the Brown and Rainbow Cabins $125/night. Craig House which sleeps up to 6 anglers is also open all winter long. Full kitchen, killer living room with a big flat screen along with leather couches for afternoon napping.

Missouri River Winter Guided Trips

Trout Spey Guide Trips $400 . Get out on the water for the day with your favorite Headhunters Guide all winter long. Every guide trip is $400. Whether you use a single handed rod or a two handed rod. Your choice. The winter is a fantastic time to fish with not many, if any other boats, on the water.

Restaurants and Canyon Store

Fishing, Food, and Drink

Joe’s Bar is one daily 8am til 2am. Also closed on Christmas. The Frenchman and Me in Wolf Creek open daily until we here otherwise. The Wolf Creek Canyon Store is open for gas and convenience items. Beer too. We don’t know about the Oasis Bar. The bar is open for sure, but the food component? Call and ask for addt’l info on any and all of the above. We will point you in the right direction.

Craig Sewer Tax ends November 15th. Tax free purchases all the way through the winter months including all your Headhunters Fly Shop Christmas purchases.

Headhunters Fly Shop Upcoming Events

Wonen’s only Spey Clinic November 7th

Sold Out! This 6 student class is sold out. We are happy to offer a Women’s Clinic for the first time sponsored by Headhunters Fly Shop and with our two female leaders Sara Roholt and Beth Langell. Fun time this coming Saturday. Look on this site for any addt’l info in regards to Women’s Only events.

Headhunters Free Spey Clinics

Beginning in December. Sign up at the shop or on the phone for these 20 student limit 2 handed casting clinics. Swing Season is here. Get in on it. 406-235-3447 for more info.

Remember we have a ton of demo rods for the 2 handed enthusiast or the rank beginner. Rods from Sage, Echo, Orvis and more. We got all of the cool demo lines too. Skagit and Scandi spoken here.

Missouri River November Fishing Forecast

November brings lots of things. It does not bring people. Quiet waters. Fish tom Dam to Cascade with some nice peaceful lack of pressure.

BWO’s should last until Thanksgiving. Some midges around too. Hot flies? Parachutes, cripples, emerges, soft hackles, and spinners.

The streamer bite is picking up. That is good for the past several weeks, the streamer season, has not been all that terrific. The swing bite is picking up too. Both are worth doing for the next several months.

The nymphing is of course very good. Short leashing in the lower water levels, as we are below 3K, is outstanding. Find the deep green and toss it in. Still finding fish in the obvious sexy water spots. That will all end when the water temps dip below the 40F mark. But enjoy until then. We still have til about that TDAy for those temps to hold.

Headhunters Fly Shop and Guide Service Winter Hours

Open daily 8am-6pm. New Winter Hours. We will roll with these hours through March ’16. Open 7 days a week. Everyday but Christmas. Lodging available everyday, and night, including Christmas. Stop in for that winter time free coffee on your way through, for a chat, for those Christmas presents for all your fly fishing friends. Pick yourself up something nice too…you deserve it.

We love the late fall and early winter period. Quiet. Perfect. Slow. Snow. Overcast. Occasionally windy. More often calm.

November is good.

Check out this Spey Video here.

Missouri River Montana November 2nd Fishing Report

November 2, 2015 by Mark Raisler

Mark fishing with Zack Dalton on the annual RIO Products trip to the Mo last month. A fall day helped on this specific day. Zack claims that they will be moving the trip to November this coming year. Why? November is way more fall like. Overcast skies, more BWO’s, very few people.

Sound reasoning.

November is a good m0nth as we have entered the off season. Still lots happening so don’t get us confused with those trout fly shops that go to bed for 5 months. We have 5 months of Swing Season ahead. We have another month of good to great dry fly fishing staring us in the face. We are just about to settle in to our long winter run.

It’s really more like a slow walk. Just like the old bull young bull parable.

Some are nymphing out there but most are tossing the streamer until the dry flies present themselves. You could hunt for heads most of the day. But you do not have to go out all that early. At least I wouldn’t. Wait til 11 o’clock, which is the old before daylight savings switch deal 10 am. Make sense?

The dry fly bite is good enough. The wind has been blowing like a nasty bitch leaving many of the bugs up in the air soon after they emerge into our atmosphere. The wind dries off those BWO wings too fast for trout to get all that interested. We like the cold, damp, cam, and dark days. We do pray for them.

As mentioned previously the month is quiet. We like it. Call the shop for an up to the minute report. Open daily at 8am. Running late til 6pm. We have all the new 2 handed Trout Spey goodies on the shelf including the shit hot trout spey flies in the bins. Rods, lines, tips, leaders, flies and all the info you need to make your Trout Spey Day a success. Rods from Sage, Echo, Loomis, Orvis and more.

Tease: Some new, yet classic, glass rods coming soon. Sure to pull at your reminiscent heart.

Top 10 Missouri River November Flies

November 2, 2015 by Mark Raisler

Top 10 Missouri River November Flies

These will get you through the front end of the month. Plus your fall favorites too. Bring it all when you visit the Mo this coming week or two.

In your boat should be a quiver of fly rods. Or just your favorite will suffice. Like your new Sage PULSE, the everything fly rod. In a perfect world you may have a streamer rod, a two-hander, a nymph rod, and a kick ass dry fly rod. Just bring them all.

Rig the dry fly rod with a Nymen’s BWO Cripple. Rig the streamer rod with your favorite fall killer, like a Olive Bugger. Rig your nymph rod with a Rainbow Czech Nymph and a Little Green Machine. Done and done and done.

Flies that we love for the next week or two include…

The flies are (L to R, T to B):
Buzzball
Nymen’s DOA Cripple BWO
Harrop’s Captive Dun BWO
Quigley’s 1/2 Dun BWO
Schmidt’s UV2 Bugger Olive
Mozuri Minnow
Tungsten Zebra Midge Murdered Out
Little Green Machine
Allen’s Holla-Back Girl Pink
Rainbow Czech Nymph

Why not Soft Hackle today?

October 29, 2015October 29, 2015 by Mark Raisler

Been tossing the soft hackle for the last couple days.

More yesterday than the day before.

Got more on the softy-swing Wednesday.

Really enjoyed the Sage ONE Trout Spey 2109. The 10’9″ 2wt with a 175 grain Skagit Head. 9′ 4X leader with a couple beaded soft hackle Pheasant Tails.

Fun stuff. Good feel and an easy caster. Could really feel the ticks and tugs of the fish nibbling on the terminal end.

We have both the 2 and 3wt Sage ONE Trout Spey rods in stock and ready for demo as well. Headhunters has a pretty good soft hackle selection as well. Better than most. A CDC BWO emerger will produce some fish too.

Overcast and some windy rain shit today. Perfect.

See you on the river sipping Bailey’s and coffee swinging soft hackles.

Thanks to Simon Gosworth of RIO Products for letting me take a couple shots of one of his soft hackle boxes.

Missouri River Hump Day

October 28, 2015 by Mark Raisler

Tuesday. Just perfect.

Today Hump Day. Sunny.

Tomorrow? Perfect.

Lots of bugs up on the surface yesterday. A real honest showing. A mega hatch? No, not yet.

But certainly enough to get the upward looking trout doing push-ups.

Missouri River Hump Day — A Blue Heron stalking feral cats.

Some difficult fish out there. John and I bumped into quite a few that were damn tough. Too tough for me really. Crips, emergers, softies, duns, spinners. A fish on each one, but not as many as I would have guessed. John and I out filming a fall segment and I did not put many to the net. I whiffed on several fish.

I should really fish more.

Some easy fish must be somewhere. We did fish to some pretty obvious rising fish spots. Maybe find some fish that do not beat on often. Just a suggestion.

A bundle of weeds floating down the river. Lots. They are on the super release. Water temps slowly falling @ 1 degree/4days. Currently at 54F. Missouri River water flows are 3100cfs. We’d really like a little more water. 30% more would be welcomed.

Better streamer fishing with more flow. Better dry fly fishing with more flow. Better all the way around. Will we get our normal winter upswing? Only time will tell my fishy friends.

Ghost trout-town began Monday. Much quieter on the water Tuesday. Quite nice.

Let us know how we can help when in the fishy ‘burb of Craig Montana.

And many thanks to you the reader. We write the Missouri River daily blog for you the fanatical Missouri River angler. Thank you.

Headhunters Fly Shop. Your Missouri River information source.

Fall has arrived!

October 27, 2015 by Mark Raisler

Raining and cold this morning. 37F and calm.

As you know the weather tat we are looking for includes moisture, calm w/o wind and overcast.

That is today. And that is the rest of the week. Perfect.

Smiles on the few anglers that are currently residing in Craig. Smiles on the faces of trout too.

The bugs should come. There have been more and more BWO’s on the surface and today there may be more.

The true dry fly bite should stick around for awhile.

Get out your dry fly boxes and keep them close.

For those who like to toss the streamer this is good news as well.

Not much more to say on this subject really. I have said it all before. If you live locally you may be coming down with the flu. I know I am! The BWO Flu. It is common this time of year.

Gone are the high and bright sunny skies. Grey is the color of choice for us.

Good rain gear and warm clothing should be on your person with a couple bottles of GINK and Frog’s Fanny.

Not many guide trips out and not many other boats too. This is the quiet time on the Mo and you can take advantage of it if you so desire.

Fall has arrived and we could not be more happy.

Stop in for a vast selection of BWO’s, short leash nymphs, and the best in streamer flies on the river.

Why not get a new fly line for you dry fly habit. Slippery and slick and able to shoot to that long target.

Swing Season has arrived as well. Swingers Unite. Lots of interest and questions about how to target those big Rainbows on the swing. We have all of the tools for your Swing Game. Stop in for info, rigging techniques, and swinging flies.

Open daily at 7am for any Missouri River needs. Headhunters your Craig Montana fly shop.

Friday Foto along with BWO Report

October 23, 2015 by Mark Raisler

Shitty bright sun this week. Some overcast yesterday afternoon. More this weekend.

Thank the fishing gods for putting this sunny month to bed. Let’s finish the month with darker skies.

Having said that I feel better. No more t-shirt afternoons please.

Makes for great pictures. Not great dry fly fishing.

The BWO’s are around in the 18 size range. Not enough yet. Will this weekend break it wide open?

Missouri River BWO Fishing Report 10.21.15

October 21, 2015 by Mark Raisler

Baetis are here. BWO time fishing Montana’s Missouri River.

Light hatch yesterday and the day before. It should POP soon. We would love more of those clouds and drizzle and some fall like winter weather. Bring it.

The streamer bite is not as consistent as we think it should be but our trout are eating a few.

Flows somewhat stable at these lower fall time levels. Still at 3280cfs with water temps falling slowly currently @ 55.5F. Looking and feeling good.

Missouri River Canyon Stretch Fly Fishing — Sunny weather is sure pretty. We’ll take the clouds though please!

Cooler weather on the way with some sun and daytime highs this approaching weekend in the mid-40’s at best. Hopefully the weather guessers are wrong about the sun.

Nymphing is good. Better in the afternoon. The mornings have been quirky and odd. Not all that shit-hot until the bugs come off. Then it is damn good. Deep in the morning and short to finish the day.

Some good fishing to have if you stay out late. Not a bad idea at all. No need to go at the break of dawn. Unless you have Bailey’s in your coffee and then, by all means.

Some cool groups fish the Mo in October. the RIO Products along with SAGE Rods were just here for a week plus, Blake Merwin of Gig Harbor Fly Shop in Washington bought out some cool fellers, Doc Paul is bringing out a multi-boat trip next week and we have hosted a bundle of 2 and 3 boat trips this month. Why not come out with a gang of your favorite anglers in tow. Headhunters Fly Shop can accommodate your group for lodging, catering, and guiding. One stop fly shop in Craig MT.

It may be our favorite month of the year. October is always a good one. Fun folks, fun fishing, and the dry fly fishing to rising trout that make your knees shake.

Shop open daily at 7am…stop in for a cup of piping hot perked coffee, cell coverage, and free WiFi on our porch.

Missouri River Montana Fishing Report 10.19.15

October 19, 2015 by Mark Raisler

Fall weather arrived yesterday and more today. Overcast skies, Pseudo’s but not a really big true BWO hatch yet.

Are they coming? Yes. Today? Maybe.

All reaches of the river are fishing well. Anglers spread from the top to the bottom with happy faces appearing nightly. Izaak’s is closed for the season so your dinner choices include the Oasis and the Frenchman. Taco shack is open daily as well for breakfast. Shop open daily with free coffee at 7am and late til 8pm for your late afternoon BWO shuttles.

Pseudo’s hatch daily about 1pm and become stronger as the day progresses. Get out your small bugs and toss them at those finicky fish. Some days they eat well and others we find them quite difficult. Cripples and smaller flies are the key. Try Split Flags, Film Critic’s, Nymen’s, Smoke Jumers, RS2’s, Mercury Flashback PT’s, Grey glass beaded PT’s too.

Things we have seen this week that have worked include the dry-dropper rig with a tiny PT off the end. Or an emerger of some sort. Tiny. Dry-Dropper rig in the am until the sun gets too high is a good bet as well. Blind fish it with confidence and let’er ride!

The streamer bite has been so-so. Some days better than others and the overcast skies help here too. The common flies are always in play. R2R, leeches, Skiddish in traditional or brown, Flesh Eating Sculpins, Olive Black or Brown Buggers, and any of that articulated stuff that streamer junkies so love. Fish it to the bank or around and off of those common Missouri River center river bars. Intermediate tips are in favor with the dry line OK as well. Fish it deep in the center with a Type 6 if you want to fish to fish that do not get touched.

Nymphing? Good. Deep or shallow let them soak. All the regular fall flies apply. Scuds, Sows, Caddis Pupa’s, Weight flies, larger PT’s, and October Caddis can get it done.

The weather for the next few days looks promising. Do your fall weather dance and bring us some dark skies with a side of rain please!

Flows are low @ 3280cfrs and you will see that when you are here fishing. Some bank lines are skinny. But those Mo River fish like that environment so keep that in mind.

All the new fall gear is in stock including warm clothing from SIMMS, rods from SAGE including the PULSE and the MOD along with the two handed Trout Spey Rods, warm hats, gloves, and the best in flies.

Lodging available for the latter part of the month for your late season Missouri River trip. Call today and get in for this wonderful time of year.

And don’t forget that fall weather dance. Do it!

Missouri River Montana Fishing Report 10.12.15

October 12, 2015 by Mark Raisler

Good times on the Mo. The high and bright sun is bothering us. Does it bother the fish? I think so.

But we fish anyway. Why wouldn’t a feller. You are here or you are coming so why not get after it.

The sun has increased sales of sunscreen but diminished the streamers leaving the building.

What is the preferred method in the sun? Nymphing I guess.

If you could have cast in the wind yesterday good on you. Today for Columbus Day we seem somewhat calmer. Somewhat.

Cooler for the week ahead but without the clouds that we so dearly crave this time of year. Love the sticky bugs in the afternoons for extended dry fly action. Do your dry fly and cloud dances in your office this week so we can get on with it all.

The bug report is as follows:

No bugs on the lower. Not enough at all. Pretty vacant. But we should see some soon?!
Good numbers in the canyon and towards the lower end. Good enough dry fly action during the afternoon periods.
Good numbers on the upper as well. Below Craig for afternoon love is a good idea.

We are still waiting for the bigger BWO’s. They will come.

Bring everything with you this week ahead. Nymphs, streamers, and dry flies. Good dry-dropper action can be had whether you like the big October Caddis or Chubby with a Czech following it. Go small too with an Adams and a small BWO pattern.

October is a good month with all of the fun folks, fun angling, football, and Playoff Baseball to keep you going.

See you here in Craig with the shop opening at 7am daily.

Missouri River Montana Fishing Report 10.8.15

October 8, 2015 by Mark Raisler

Great weather to start the week with overcast and calm conditions. Sunny this morning with some clouds and light rain in the forecast.

The bugs and fish and anglers sure like the grey tones of the sky.

Will we get that again soon? Let’s hope so.

As for the fishing? Good. The dry fly bite in the afternoons is really good. Great? Bordering on great. Psuedo’s have kept lots of fishermen happy and occupied for the after lunch til dusk period. Tiny cripples and emerges are the key. Tie off behind a bigger fly if you are having trouble seeing it. Lately I have been living the Brook’s Sprout and others like the tiny cripple.

Streamer huskers love this weather too. Coffey’s Sparkle Minnow has been the king. And other flashy subjects. If all else fails tie on a black bugger and strip it.

Nymphers are enjoying the historically good bite all day long with it heating up again after lunch. Short or long or in the middle too. Weight flies both gold and purple, Czech’s, Worms, or a bugger up top with the smaller status quo nymphs behind. S&M’s, Purple LB’s Pink LB’s, Peep Show, Two Bit Hookers, and the like. Love a smaller PT as well. Cheesemen Emerger? Yep.

Good weekend ahead of us as we move into the middle of the month. Only getting better everyday. Not too late to plan a trip out or over to the Mo. We got lodging and guides well seasoned and ready to go. Cool sale stuff on the rack with a full compliment of HH T’s and Hats for your pleasure.

Shop open daily at 7am. And late too til 8pm for ay late afternoon shuttles or flies! See you on your favorite dry fly flat…

Missouri River Friday Fishing Report

October 2, 2015 by Mark Raisler

Missouri River Friday Fishing Report. Cold this weekend with seasonable weather arriving with teeth! A hard bite for you folks. Dress warmly and enjoy the streamer, dry fly, and nymphing all day long. The bite seems to get better as the day goes on. Tough in the early morning with noon-time being the front edge … Read more

Missouri River Montana Fishing Report 9.28.15

September 28, 2015 by Mark Raisler

The bulleted fishing report this Monday morning to get your engines running…

The weather is taking a turn for the better, meaning not as much sun, this week and the fish and fishermen will applaud this fall-like change.

Missouri River Montana Fishing Report 9.27.15 — Temps dipping…we need overcast!

The streamer anglers are arriving but they are not seeing the kind of inclement weather that they truly love. The two handers are getting revved up too and I think we will see some more about the newest in two-handed gear from John this week. Check out the OPST gear from a blog this last week.

Here is the Monday Morning Bulleted Fishing Report…

The high and bright sun is bullshit. Not good for those unprotected fishy eyes. Mornings and evenings prove to be good fishing times. We lean towards the evenings because of the baby baetis that can provide some good dry fly action.
Short leash the evening bite as well. The bugs can bring the fish nearer the surface and therefore the ‘shorty’ can be the key. A PT, GRHE, Rainbow Czech, Purple or Gold Weight Fly, WORM or something like that for the lead fly. We like a sow, small mayfly like the S&M, Micro May, Indigo Child, Red Headed Step Child, LGM, Pearl LB, Purple LB, Magic Fly, Ju-Ju BWO, and more. We got lots of Palsa Tabs in stock for your Short Leash pleasures.
The entire river fishing well. Your choice. Longer floats can let you skip some of the softer water. The faster paced water has been producing better than the pond like areas. Get ’em in and watch them for the soft takes we have seen in those faster lanes.
The traffic has picked up and Saturday was pretty busy. This week ahead? Don’t really know. We are moving out of September into a historically slower month of October. You coming?
A good time to get that new dry fly line on your rod. BWO’s on the horizon. Good presentations should be on your radar. We have the entire line of RIO Fly Lines along with Wulff, Airflo to compliment your favorite fly rod.
Missouri River flows are below 4K at 3760cfs and water temps hiving around the 60F mark. Water temps falling as we move into the real fall period.
Shop open open day @ 7am for shuttles, flies, fly lines, fall clothing, HH logo wear, gloves, demo two handed rods, the only spey line selection in the canyon, and SIMMS gear.

Late September Missouri River Flies

September 27, 2015 by Mark Raisler

Flies for the late September time frame.

Fishing the last couple days pretty tough. Inconsistent for sure. Guides and anglers alike soaking their sorrows at both Izaak’s and Joe’s Bar the last couple nights.

The water levels dropped a bit and the high and bright sun didi not help with the bite at all.

This week ahead is looking way better for fall like weather. Bring it.

Here are some of the favorites for the last week of September.

Left Top to bottom
Logan’s Big Secret Hopper
Never Sink Trude
Quigley’s Split Flag Adams
Shimazaki CDC Ant

Middle Top to Bottom
Murdered Out Tungsten Zebra Midge
Green Weenie
Little Green Machine
Juju Baetis Tungsten
Egan’s Frenchie

Right Top to Bottom
Purple Lightning Bug
Tungsten Brush Hog
UV Yum Yum Smokey
Ninch’s Bubble Yum
Jesse’s Jemstoner Red

Missouri River Montana Fishing Report 9.25.15

September 25, 2015 by Mark Raisler

Fishing well into the last week of September. Warmer temperatures have made for sleeveless afternoons and decent action towards dark.

Could you fish from 4 til dark? Oh yeah. The small dry fly action late in the day is pretty good.

The entire river is fishing top to bottom with most all disciplines providing good results.

5 Rigging Techniques for September Success

Deep Nymphing. The high and bright sun can push those fish towards the darker bottom environs and one way to get them is to rig deep. A split shot along with about 5′ from bobber to fly can keep you on some fish. Find the deepest runs, like in the center, and fish it hard. The downside is that you can be dueling with the weeds all day long.

Dry-Dropper. Baby Chubby and a small PT will do. A Parachute Adams representing a Callibaetis and a soft hackle. All good. What is your magic combo? Fish in skinny water for big brown trout. Good late in the day or early in the day for Trico feeders.

Hopper. These warmer days in late September will let the hoppers produce well. On any given day. You gotta throw it to know it. Why not toss the hopper after lunch. Put down the bobber rod and toss the dry fly. It’ll feel good.

Short Leashin’. Rig ’em short with Palsa Tabs in the 2′-3′ range. With a tungsten lead fly or not. Go super short and get all techy on their shit. So much fun for those who lie to throw the nymph but in dry fly like water. A good stepping stone for those moving from the security of the nymph into the unknown world of dry fly fishing. Do it. you might like it.

Streamer Searching. A fun time of the year to wear yourself out chucking and ducking all day long. Try that night float 4pm til dark. Could get a big one. Try the river after hours for those fish that the daytime anglers do not see. Try fishing the non-weed side for a lesser helping of weedy frustration.

The weather through the first part of the weekend is somewhat sunny and not too breezy. Then a change? Looks like Hi’s in the 60’s with some chance of showers.

This weekend enjoy the Missouri River without too much pressure and some damn good September trout fishing.

Shuttles, sale gear, new fall kick ass clothing, the spey stuff coming in, OPST, SAGE Trout Spey Rods, free coffee, cool Adipose rental boats, and the best in river info.

Have a great weekend in whatever pursuit you are involved in.

Missouri River Montana Fishing Report 9.21.15

September 21, 2015 by Mark Raisler

Headhunters are out there and finding some good fish to cast to. Still a good rise not he Trico’s and with these warmer afternoons the fish will get right on a properly presented grasshopper as well.

We had really good success tossing a Purple Morrish at those generally finicky Pseudo rising trout. About half of them ate the bigger fly! Strange? Yes.

Fun? Yes.

Missouri River Montana Fishing Report 9.21.15

Nymphing is better deep in the am’s unless you just like not throwing the splitshot. Most are throwing the splitshot. A B will suffice most of the time unless you like to string a whole bunch of tiny ones across your leader.

Short leashing in the afternoons is the key to Pseudo success. We like a Purple Weight fly or a Czech or a Tunghead PT or a Worm or something like that. A Hare’s Ear? Yes, that would be clutch, specifically in the Canyon.

As I mentioned above the blind fishing with bigger floaty flies is pretty good. Don’t be afraid to tie up a blind fishing rod in the morning and keep it in your boat or at the ready in your tight fishing ride. You may need it. Employ it when ready.

How about a streamer rod as well. Not much success from the streamer gang as of late but that will pass abed the bite will come back. Overcast and shitty weather bring out not only the big boys but the stinky streamer anglers too. Those freestone river guides are about out of work so they will be making their annual migration up to the MO and they love chucking the big flies at those brown trout.

Womens spey clinic — Beth Langell hooked up on a Spey Rod

We have the best in streamer flies at the shop. We are bulking up on winter and fall SIMMS gear too. We also have the SAGE ONE Trout Spey rods for demo at the shop. Try the 2wt or the 3wt for your fall fishing funtime. We have the OPST lines in stock and the new heads too. You gotta come in and get some. Their running line is clutch too. We have a bundle, your Montana Trout Spey Specialists, of RIO Spey lines too. A wall full to get your Spey Rod tuned in right! Headed out on a fall Steelhead trip? Get all lined up at Headhunters Fly Shop before you leave.

Missouri River Montana Fishing Report 9.21.15 is all good. The sun bothers us but does not bother the fish much. In fact it only bothers us because we like fall and let’s leave that sun behind for awhile.

Book Fall Trips Today

Want to come out in October or November? Get on those bookings as we are about 2/3 capacity for the October time frame. Really good opportunities in the last week of October and it is historically a great one. Call today and our crack shop staff will get you hooked up with lodging and a guide if you so desire. We have rental boats from Adipose too.

It is only gonna get better as the fall comes into full colors. Where will you be? Here?

Flows are holding at 3900 cfs and the water temps have fallen below the 60F mark @ 59.5F. Those are good trout temps!

Shop open daily 7am til 8pm for all your river needs.

September Saturdays on the Missouri River

September 19, 2015 by Mark Raisler

Looks like we are back into the late summer mode here on the Mo.

Last week shitty weather with good fishing and now after a couple days of warmer and that big ball of fire in the sky we have moved into a more difficult period. The cooler nights have been keeping the water temps lower but yesterday it ramped up a bit.The future is more of the same. High and bright. So what does that mean for the fishing? Decent at the very least.

The fun part of the summer bite it that it does include a few top water terrestrials. Got a few on a hopper Friday afternoon blind fishing in fishy water. Ants continue to be pretty hot as well. Blind fishing them or even tossing to rising fish.

The streamer fishing has gone south as of late due to the water mentioned above. But, still few fellers tossing the big fly. Some success with a few hours of work. Hot flies include more of the flashy fly stock.

Missouri River Montana Fishing Report 9.17.15 — John Tomlinson hooked up on the MO

Short leashing not as good int he sun. Without the welcomed baby BWO hatch the fish do not fill up the eddy lines or recyclers. So you gotta be more creative. The nymph fish are holding in that faster water. But, but the report from many guides and bank anglers is that the nymph bite was slow yesterday.

I had the same result. Go deeper is an option . Put on that splits shot and get ’em deeper. The weeds can be difficult but do not let them get ou down. Learn the Missouri River weed snap and keep on fishing away.

Stop by the shop and one of our crack staff will describe and diagram the rigging distances we like for this 4Kcfs flow. Shop open daily at 7am for all your river needs including SIMMS, RIO, SAGE, the best in flies, free perked coffee, honest information, the coolest logo wear on the river, and a pretty good sale bin including hats, shirts, T’s, demo rods and more!

Missouri River Montana Fishing Report 9.17.15

September 17, 2015 by Mark Raisler

I felt that was kind of a soft effort yesterday.

Liked the concept. Dis-liked the article.

My apologies to those of you who read it. Can’t get back that 7 minutes can you.

Missouri River Montana Fishing Report 9.17.15

Big September happening here on the Mo. A good bite this month.

Another quote from Headhunters Ben Hardy today: “When the weather acts like summer, it fishes like late August. When the weather acts like fall, it fishes like October. September is a funny month like that.

Which month do you want it to be? I vote for overcast and inclement.

Hump Day rained hard all morning and waned to overcast skies til 5 pm when the sun arrived. Good to great fishing with a dynamite Pseudo hatch in the afternoon.

Word on the street is the streamer bite was damn good too.

Fish rising to a good Trico hatch albeit in the pouring rain. The Trico’s are very small and hard to see. Tons of good fish bulging on the bugs including sunken Trico Spinners. Try soft hackles for some success as well. Try an Adams for some big fly fooling.

Some caddis around on the summer like days with some Callibaetis on any given day. Look for a few spinners on the water and toss that at ’em.

How about an October Caddis dry for blind fishing fun. Hoppers around on the sunny days.

Looks like fall like weather will grace us for the rest of the week ahead with more of the sun poking about towards the weekend. I really prefer the overcast skies and some drizzle falling on my head.

Worms, sows, scuds, tiny mayflies in the 18 and 20 sizing including all of our favorites like the S&M, LGM, baby PT, Two Bits, Micro Mays, Indigo Child, Red Headed Step Child, Ju-Ju Baetis, Magic Fly, Cheesemen Emerger, Military Mays, Little Green MO, Zebra’s and more.

Come on by daily at 7am. Free coffee on the porch.

Howard Schwander above with the famous Silver Fish. Wonder what they keep in that flask…

Missouri River Montana Fishing Report 9.13.15

September 13, 2015 by Mark Raisler

A fish caught by long time Headhunters client John Tomlinson outta Seattle WA.

Little Green Machine was the fly in skinny afternoon short leash water.

Is short leash the answer? Sometimes yes, and other times no.

Deep nymphing is still applicable on a daily basis too.

But not everybody is tossing the nymph rig. Hopper fishing is probably better than it was during the “hopper season”. Why? Could be the pressure. Certainly less now.

Trico hatches on the upper river have kept the techy small dry fellers are just awesome. The late season Trico action can kept you busy for a few hours. Find them in skinny water. Shaded areas? Fish ’em.

A few adult October Caddis in the skies. Quite a few Callibaetis in the Callibaetis areas.That September caddis is around on sunny days. Look for splashy rises and cast the dry at them.

So good to great, for this time period, dry fly action. I guess it is a return to the historical Septembers of years past. Not too much of this going in in the recent years. We warn folks about the lack of the dry fly opportunities when they are booking for that type of angling. But, but this month has turned out to be pretty damn good.

The streamer fishing is good too. Pray for overcast and get out the big stick. Check out the demo rods at Headhunters or come in and get a SAGE Accel 7wt. John called it the best streamer rod he has ever thrown. So, get in and get one today! IT is streamer season and it continues through the month of November.

Then we get to Missouri River Trout Spey season. Look for the Women’s Spey Clinic in November and then the FREE Trout Spey Clinics sponsored by Headhunters Fly Shop beginning in December.

Fishing this fall will be great. If September is any indication, and I think it is, then the October and November fishing will be stellar! Book today for the guide trips you want in October for the BWO hatch. We have guides and lodging for your late fall trip. A bundle of anglers are out hunting so you may have the place to yourself?

Look for an early start to that October fishing if we can get rid of this hot September weather. The water temps shot up with the 90F yesterday. But they will return to the 60F mark Monday.

Missouri River water flows are at the historic level of 4K. Look to see the flows stay stable throughout the extended fall fishing season.

Shop open daily at 7am with sale items, new fall clothing, the most extensive streamer fly collection in the canyon, demo rods for sale, the only SIMMS dealer on the river, fly lines, and honest free information all at Headhunters of Craig Montana.

Missouri River Montana Fishing Report 9.8.15

September 8, 2015 by Mark Raisler

Still inside of the slower weeks here on the Mo. The 10th is the line that we will cross and the anglers will be back here in force.

Why? Historically the rest of the Montana rivers fish well the month of August and primarily the last couple weeks of that hot month. Then the holiday. The kids are headed back to school, the parents are resting for a spell, and that is the way it shakes out.

Then, the fisherman have had enough of the freestone game and the folks are rested and ready for action.

Nymphing is the general style for the month but as of late we have had pretty good Trico hatches on the upper river with a spinner fall to get quite a few fish up top. Pods? Yep, some. Flies to fool those finicky trout? Quig’s Cluster, CDC Cluster, Griffith’s Gnat, Double Wing Trico Spinner, and the always productive Adams in larger and smaller sizes.

The nymphing game is good too. This is the month we also switch over to the short leash. This shorter nymph rig is great for fishing the shallower waters of the late summer where the elodea weed has grown toward the surface making let’s say a 4′ water column now appear like it is only 2′. Hence the shorter distance from bobber to fly.

How do we do that? No split shot and a heavy, or not, top fly followed by a smaller, sometimes, bottom fly. Caddis pupa and a pheasant tail? Yes. Rainbow Czech Nymph and a Zebra? Yep. Weight Fly and a Little Green Machine. Sure! We love the smaller Strike Foundry Li’l Nugget or the more traditional Palsa Pinch On type indicators. But whatever bobber you can see is a good bobber for you!

Light traffic from the top to the bottom. It will increase as mentioned above but for the time being it is quiet. You may only see a few boats on your stretch or some days none. Start times for most guide trips is about 730-800 am. Letting the water warm a bit, your bones warm a bit allowing the coffee to penetrate not only those sore muscles but that dead brain.

Izaak’s is open nightly save for Monday with Joe”s Bar open daily at 8am. The Taco Bus is open most of the time, sort of. The Frenchman and Me up in Wolf Creek is open daily for all three meals. The Canyon Store in Wolf Creek also open daily 7am til 8pm. The Oasis in WC? Variable hours I think but open about noon and serving their last meal about 8ish.

We love the fall time frame with the fun folks, the shorter days, the cooler weather, and the good bite.

See us here in Craig daily at 7am. Shuttles, SALE items, flies, the best in river info, warm fly fishing gear for cold weather, TROUT SPEY RODS, and the most fly lines hanging on the wall of any shop in our region.

See ou on the porch warming our hands on the percolator…

Weekly Hatch Schedule for Early September

September 7, 2015 by Mark Raisler

Things, meaning the bite, are looking up this early September and partly due to the number of bugs around.

Funny huh?

Still some damn good Trico fishing in some areas. A good spinner fall can bring the fish up top. Many have been seen aggressively feeding on those late generation micro insects. Mostly a morning gig but I have seen the fish contently fishing on dead Trico’s as late as 1 or 2pm. Keep your eyes peeled and find those hungry fish.

And in conjunction with the lighter traffic those fish have not been bumped off the shorelines or those shallower water lanes the fish will be holding in their favorite top water feeding zones.

After the white winged black’s leave the water the Callibaetis have been showing well. Spinners and duns can both produce good takes. We have a several patterns in stock for your bigger fly love.

Skittering caddis are around too. We get this late season smaller caddis, smaller than the giant October Caddis, that can bring some fish crashing and slashing the surface. Drop the hook and get out your caddis box when you see this kind of behavior exhibited by our wildly reproducing trout population. Tan and sized 16. All you need to know.

Can you skitter your fly?

The Pseudo show begins int he afternoon as well. In the rain this previous week they really got rolling. Inclement weather will bring the fish to the bug. They do not respond as well in high bright sunny conditions.

We are hoping for a cooler September than we have experienced in the last few years. Rainy, wet, and overcast for both September and October please.

Do your fall conditions dance before you head out to the Mo this season. Do it in your living room. In front of your family. The goofy-er the better. If you appear like you have fallen off your rocker your family may send you out of the house and you can then escape to the Mo.

We will welcome you here in Craig. We encourage dancing in the streets. On the river too.

The hot flies for the surface are outlined above. The subsurface game? Craw’s, Weight Flies, Sows, Scuds, Hare’s Ears of the larger variety, Peep Shows, Cheesemen emergers, LGM’s, Purple Lightening Bugs, Old School LB’s, and more.

Still some hopper bites out there as well. This week will be warmer than the last and we should have a few more weeks of the big fly staying int he realm of reality.

New fall hours for the Headhunters Fly Shop 7am-8pm. Open first and open last.

See you out here in Spetember. One of our fav months on the Missouri River.

But I will let you in on a secret…we like most!

Labor Day Sale, Browns and Brews Craft Beer Fest Success, and long weekends!

September 6, 2015 by Mark Raisler

Back in the shop this morning after a great Browns and Brews Craft Beer Festival here in Craig. Good attendance despite the inclement weather. Really good man.

The rain came in sheets for a wile then opened up into a wonderful Montana early fall evening.

A couple hundred folks tested, tasted and enjoyed beers from local Montana breweries including The Front, Bowser, The Mighty Mo, Bozeman Brewery, and Katabatic of Livingston. Awesome and thanks to the breweries for coming and supporting the downtown Craig business district!

Today we continue the Labor Day SALE here at the shop. 1/2 price fly sale and tons of cool sportswear on sale. Logo items from Headhunters, DEMO rods, rod tubes, hats, wading boots, waders…come and make a deal with us here at the shop!

Open daily now at 7am for all things Missouri River trout. Open late til 8pm for your late fishing fix!

SALE! Big sale today at Headhunters Fly Shop in Craig MT

Missouri River Montana Fishing Report 9.2.15

September 2, 2015 by Mark Raisler

Missouri River Montana Fishing Report 9.2.15

As John mentioned in yesterdays fishing report…all over the board.

But here are some facts about September.

September is more consistent than August.
Hoppers still work in September. October Caddis too. And the thing about hoppers is that you gotta throw them to catch fish on them.
Streamer fishing can be really good. Or not, in September. It certainly has been good on the overcast days of which we are heading into this weekend.
Fewer forest fires in September.
Trico’s still round. They are near the end but this has been a long season. We are in week 10 of the Trico’s. Some say a poor year for the Trico fly. Maybe true. But catching fish on Trico spinners in the first week of September in week number 10 is remarkable. Fish to them if you dare.
The Adams is a good option in the 9th month. Callibaetis showing int he regular haunts.
Can be the best nymphing month of the fall. The short leash will make an appearance this month.
Don’t get rid of your deep rigs though. Rig two nymphing rods per the Boy Scout Mantra…
You don’t have to start before dawn in the latter months. But being out there first is never a bad plan man.
Water flows above average, historical average, if you look at the chart above. Several hundred cubic feet per second higher. Huh? We truly are fortunate to live and fish here on the Missouri River. We are blessed indeed.
A good time to replace your summer fly lines if you are a trout bum. New fresh fly lines are better than new socks. More expensive yes, but you get in what you put in, or on in this case. Cehck out Headhunters always updated and never dusty fly line selections. Time for that new streamer line to get you into fall fishing with a bang, and less frustration.
Water temps bouncing around as we make our way into September. Currently about 63F. It has dipped below the 60 mark this week though. Look for more of that to come as we flirt with fall daily.
Look for the first sign of snow from the skies above this month too. Pack appropriately on your trip from Helena, Great Falls, and beyond. Be prepared. Some of the past Septembers have been much warmer than average. Windy and warm. Will it be the year of the early fall? The colors are a changing’ man.
The latest above front he USBR. The Song Remains the Same.

September is a popular month not he Mo. You gonna make it out? Shop open daily from 630am. Lot sharpening this weekend here in Craig with the 1st Annual Browns and Brews Festival. Come have a few in the rain. Looks like Craig will erect the ever popular Circus Tent to house this event. Crazy weather ahead. We have the SIMMS Rain gear you need. Stay warm and dry this season with the best from Montana.

Missouri River Fishing Report 9.1.15

September 1, 2015 by John Arnold

[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]”All over the place” could be the best term to describe fishing conditions right now. Early starts for some (above image), hoppers for others. Streamers are working great. Some days. So are Callibaetis. Some days. Nymph fishing on the upper river has turned on for nearly everybody.

As the weather begins to cool – and it is – we will see an intensifying of our Pseudocleon and caddis hatches. Pseudo’s suck, but if you hit some of the first big days it can be easy pickings. Those days should be coming up shortly. Like this week?

Fall caddis. This hatch continues to get bigger and impress us more each season. These smaller, browner caddis love to cover the surface like Usain Bolt. Skittering works well. Mark and a few of our other guides have really adopted the skittering caddis program, and Ninch has some excellent patterns in the shop. The Outrigger caddis is my favorite.

Streamer fishing has been good to fantastic in the last couple of weeks. If you ask me, i will tell you that August can be the best streamer fishing of the year. No one ever believes me, but it’s true. I don’t really know why, but I’ve always suspected that there is an abundance of moving critters around (fry, crawdads, damsel and dragon nymphs, leeches, baby Burbot?). Stick to the typical late-season flash, but make sure to carry some drab olive and/or black patterns as well. Move those ones slower.

Hooper/ant/beetle fishing is still good, but you need to show them that one early. Before the sun crests the hill is often the best. Way down in front of the boat is a good presentation. Small Chubby’s, Bloom’s Ant, Longhorn Beetle, and possibly a large Purple Haze.

Afternoon Callibaetis fishing has been excellent, though somewhat inconsistent. The inconsistency often stems from the fact that Callibaetis hatch “locally” on the Missouri River. In other words, in certain areas. And in not enough numbers to drift elsewhere. If you need a clue, remember that Callibaetis are typically associated with Lake fishing. Look for slow water with a silty bottom. We like both of Harrop’s cripples, Purple Haze or Parachute Adams, and big gray stackers or Flag Duns.

LOG is also fishing well, and both of our USCG Capt’s Ryan McCourtney and Jeff Parker have been having some good fishing up there. Ryan has been spending a large part of the day chasing Walleye for those who are interested. If you are call the shop and request Ryan/LOG/Leech Trip. Bring your own batter.

The “calm” should stick around for another 10 days. By then, both hatches and pressure will start to increase.

BRAY GULCH FIRE

Remember that we have a wildfire burning near Holter Dam, and that crews are working in the area. Beartooth Road is closed (as of this post) so no Bullpen access. Good luck to the crews and we hope they stay safe.

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Monday Morning Missouri River Fishing Report

August 24, 2015 by Mark Raisler

The smoke comes and goes. Yesterday it returned. Saturday she was nice and clear. Today? I think the smoke will hang around. Check out the air quality report here.

The weather this week will be warm and smoky.

Hi’s near 90 will greet you in the afternoons. Why not get out in the mornings and enjoy the cooler weather. Plus the trout like it too.

The streamer fishing has been the buzz around Headhunters Fly Shop. Why? I think just to get out of the nymphing rut and the hopper fishing has not been all that good so why not try something different. That is why we have been so excited about something different., And, we are on the cusp of fall.

And fall means streamer fishing. And fall means two-handed fishing too. New SAGE Trout Spey Rods arriving soon.

What we do have in stock now is a few of the new SAGE single handed rods. The PULSE and the MOD are in stock now. Stop by for a casting session on the lawn or take one or both out to try out the Pulse with IIIe Graphite reminiscent of the all time best seller the SAGE XP. Yep, you may like it. And the MOD, which won best in show at the Tackle Dealer show this year in Orlando with Konnetic Technology. If you already have the ONE, the METHOD, then you may want to add the MOD to your quiver.

Both in stock and ready for play. We always have all of our rods for sale for use as demo rods. FREE. That is the right price. Why would you pay to try out a rod? Why?

The nymphing game is the same. Most are up towards the dam. But not all. Like we have been stating here on the blog and in the shop the fishing from the top to the bottom is good.

Flies include all the regular summer ’15 stars. Peep Show, Little Green Machine, Zebra’s, S & M, Indigo Child, Red Headed Step Child, Two Bit Hookers, Crawdad’s, Pat’s Rubber Legs and so forth.

Streamer flies? Skiddish, Buggers, R2R’s. Along with a RIO Streamer Tip and 5′ of 1X Flourocarbon will get you though the day.

We are in the last week of August and September is around the corner. September is one of our busier months with lots of folks out here nymphing. It is one of the top nymphing months. Good fishing for sure. Some October Caddis stuff on top too. The small BWO’s come out too. They can drive a guy to drink when they start rising.

Shop open 630am til 9pm 7 days a week. We are open long hours for late shuttles, early shuttles, tons of free information, the best in Missouri River flies, killer HH logo wear, the only SIMMS dealer on the Missouri River, SAGE fly rods, RIO fly lines, YETI and much, much more!

Montana Summer Fire False Overcast

August 20, 2015 by Mark Raisler

While we are not on fire here int he canyon the rest of the state is pretty hot. And smoky. We are smoky too. False overcast is what we call it. Not as bad as some of the summers past though. In the big fire years of 2000 and 2002 the smoke got so thick … Read more

Headhunters Fly Shop Missouri River Fishing Report 8.19.15

May 1, 2019August 19, 2015 by Mark Raisler

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Headhunters Fly Shop Missouri River Fishing Report 8.19.15

Mid Week fishing report comes with some bright spots. It’s not like fireworks are going off but the water temps and weather have been quite nice. The water temps are down in the lower end of the 60’s with 63F at press time.

Is that good? Yes it is. July is the hottest month and August is a bit cooler with the temps and fish behaving more like autumn.

USGS.06066500.15.00010..20150811.20150818..0. — Water temps dropping…

The hi daily temps will not pop much above 80F this week and then falling again to unseasonably cool conditions. So…what should a fella do?

Toss streamers is our answer. A few bugger huskers out this week in the overcast and drizzly mornings and have good stories follow their fishing session.

Sink tips and dry lines have been the key. Lots of weeds out there but the tipped lines will sink below the surface weeds to entice a few trout. 4000cfs leaves lots of water at streamer depth. We like the RIO Outbound series or the shorter and near perfect late summer line the RIO Streamer Tip. Clear tip, chucks well, and the right sink rate. Come in and see our river best streamer line selection. We really do have what you need. Honest.

And remember our Fly Line Guarantee. You don’t likey? Bring it back and we will make it right. Refund or replace. Come in and find the line you want.

Overcast skies always make the fish more comfortable. Broken surfaces due to wind and rain can make the fish quite comfortable. Take advantage of these uncommon mid summer conditions and stretch out your arm muscles preparing them for the fall streamer season forthcoming.

The fishing yesterday, via the streamer fly, was quite good. A good bite. Good on the flats, real good tossing towards the bank fishing it to any type of deeper slot with some pace. The water that is. The rhythm of the strip? Seemed to be OK with a faster summer time beat. Although did fool a few on the swing too.

Flies? Just the normal stuff for the time being. Try the good first, then move onto the goofy shit if that does not work. Kreelex, Skiddish in all three flavors, R2R, small black buggers, The Dali. Make sure to try different flies out there. If you pattern of choice does not turn one in 15 minutes, change it.

The nymphng game? Same as before. Normal mid to late summer fare. Small, slender, and weed free. The dam is the hot spot.

Hopper? Try it. You may like it. Don’t expect to set any records. But the eats are certainly cool! Ants can make your day too.

Saw some good rising fish Tuesday morning until about noon. Trico’s was the game. Small, smaller, and smallest. Try the smallest flies in your box. And then make it count. Spooky is not the word I am looking for. Way more bitchy than that. These fish are smart in late summer.

The river is nice and quiet. Come out and enjoy some space. She picks right up in September.

Give us a call for all thing Missouri. We got your back. Open daily at 6am and late til 9pm with helpful staff, ice, streamer fly lines, a ton of streamers, and great logo wear.

Don’t forget to come out September 5th for our 1st Annual Browns and Brews Fest.

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Missouri River Montana Fishing Report 8.15.15

August 15, 2015 by Mark Raisler

Cooler weather as we get into Saturday and we like that kind of day(s). Cooler is better!

Coming this weekend? More ahead this month as we are keepin’ on keepin’ on.

The generally anemic Missouri River hopper bite is on…kind of. Meaning? This has never been the best hopper river in Montana and will never be. If you like to catch fish on big fluffy flies fish the Madison, the Yellowstone, any Missoula river, most of the SW Montana streams…but not always the Mo.

Why not? Hey, I don’t know. We don’t have the hoppers in the river like those aforementioned rivers, although our trouts will eat a few. What one? Hey, I don’t know. Keep changing until you get a few to lean on it.

Some business up at the dam this last week. The dam show will continue through the month of August and bleed into September. Then the gang will spread out again. The rest of the river, save for the lower reach, are all but a ghost town.

Oh, it is quite nice. This weekend will bring out some splash and gigglers as the summer is winding down. Soon kids to school and the parents will attend classes not eh Mighty Mo. September is great month for nymphing. One of our best months, for nymphing.

The up top game is a small one. Once again, slender bodied may’s, Zebra’s, LGM, Cheesemen Emerger, Two Bit’s, S & M’s, Magic Fly’s…

Cray’s and sows the rest of the way. Try an October caddis subsurface for a good look too. Hare’s Ear’s, Big PT’s, Weight Fly, Grape Slushy, Pat’s, and so forth.

The small dry fly game? Yah, a few here and there. Not rock star stuff by any stretch.

Weeds. Yep.

Water flows at 3880cfs and the temps 64F morning and 67F afternoon.

It may be turning the corner? On any given day it may fish all the way through the day. But morning is the best shot. Fish the am and sleep the pm away. Or visit Joe’s Bar or Izaak’s.

Headhunters the only fly shop in Craig open at 6am. Come by for a morning fly chat, coffee, and your early shuttle.

We’ll be here with bells on.

Missouri River Montana Fishing Report 8.11.15

August 11, 2015 by Mark Raisler

Getting through the month ain’t easy all the time.

But this last week has been better than the previous, yet again, and we are encouraged with the bite…at least yesterday.

Understand that comment above? Me neither.

Some catching them and others not. Depends not he day for most. Hero to Zero real fast..and then back again.

Nice and quiet mornings have been fishing pretty good. Record setting? No. But I like me an early August cool morning with not too many boats around you. Quiet yes indeed.

The hot nymph is still the Little Green Machine. The Tailwater Tiny, Micro May, Two Bit Hooker in Red, Red Headed Step Child, Indigo Child, Zebra are all players too.

Fish a bigger top fly for some sort of success. Or just two tiny ones. That works too.

The hopper is a good bet and most are doing just that in the afternoons. Sometimes the same number of top water bites as subsurface takes later int he day…so choose wisely my fishy friends.

What would Yoda do?

Again a good early start can make your day. Warmer nights can bring the fish out earlier. Good late season Trico activity in the upper reaches. A short lived spinner fall but some days you can squeak out a couple hours of good head hunting.

Try ants, any Callibaetis pattern you like, low riding hopper patterns, skittering caddis, a spruce fly for blind fishing love.

Stop in and see us daily for free perked coffee at 6am. Anything you may need, we may have…just ask. Info is always exchanged not eh porch at Headhunters.

Izaak’s open Tuesday thru Sunday 3pm for cocktails, 4pm for dinner. Frenchman and Me open til about 9pm for dinner, about 7am for breakfast. Wolf Creek Store daily at 7am for an convenience needs you may have. Gas too.

Missouri River Montana Fishing Report 6.22.15

Missouri River August Tips

August 9, 2015 by Mark Raisler

A few tips to get you through this coming week. It’s gonna be hot and the fish don’t really care for the high and bright sun.

Missouri River August Tips

Get out early. We’ll see you at the shop before 7am. We open at 6am and amny guides on the water before the 7am bell. Fish until you get too hot and that should be enough for the trout too.
Long leaders on both the hopper rig and the techy dry fly rig. Start with a 12′ something or other and tippet it out another few feet. Too long you say? The trout make the ultimate decision.
Manage expectations. While late last summer we had unbelievable Trico emergences…this summer we do not. So a few fish to hand is really quite good. Enjoy the river for all it has to offer.
Pack a full cooler. Have a nice lunch on the banks of the Mo and walk around either picking up the seldom seen trash or skip rocks. Lots to do here beyond fishing.
Enjoy your family. The bottom line. Enjoy the entire experience.

Shop open early at 6am for all your river needs. Suncreen, flies, ice, shuttles, YETI products, logo wear and much more…

Missouri River Montana Fishing Report 8.7.15

August 7, 2015 by John Arnold

[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]The updated early August Fishing Report Bulleted Edition

Get out early and fish hard. Some days the fishing is strong in the afternoons with the past couple days proving to be better than the pervious several. The morning shot is the deal. Get some…

Nymphing at the dam is good. Better after the fish wake about 10am.

Nymphing elsewhere pretty good too. There are some seeds int he water column. Shake ’em.

Hopper fishing good day to day with the past few better than the previous bunch.

Trico fishing not too bad either. No giant pods abut some fish around and catchable. Approach quietly and don’t stone around too much. Remember the Headhunters Mantra…1st cast is the best cast.

All in all better fishing the past few days. Tough sledding the latter part of July as well as the front end of August. Very little pressure as we move into the 2nd week of August.

Good time on the Mo with the shop open daily at 6am. Open late til 9pm for any Missouri River needs. Late shuttles too![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Missouri River August Forecast

August 1, 2015 by Mark Raisler

Missouri River August Forecast

Let’s get right into it this first day of August.

Historically not a hot as July. August while only one degree in average cooler, the hours of daylight wane as we move into fall.

One thing that is happening as days get shorter some sections of the canyon become shaded and the evening bite can be good enough. Caddis are around and certainly more plentiful than the daytime activity.

Ben McNinch says …“We could use any and all of the rain days. A good soak once a week could help us out. On another note the weeds while difficult for those not familiar with Missouri river fishing they are not as bad as they can be. Will the gooey subsurface weeds present themselves this year? Maybe. The weather in August will dictate that occurrence.”

Looking at the chart and the table to your right we see that the rainfall in August is 1.57inches. Generally due to afternoon thunderstorms. But not always. Would not hurt to get some of those soakers as mentioned above.

As for the fishing? If July is any indication we will see hard, difficult, and challenging angling. August has historically been a slower pressure month as well as many of the freestone river around the state fish well. This year? Who knows about those other fabulous resources. Many are on hoot-owl restrictions. Have we seen the impact here on the Mo because of other river closures? No not really. We always see boats from other rivers here not eh Missouri and the 2015 numbers have been about average or slightly less.

Fly shop speak for difficult is “Inconsistent.” You can expect an eat a mile for the hopper fishing. Some days better and some days worse. Being first to the fish is a good card to hold. Can you watch that fly for an hour between takes? Only you can control that outcome. Slower strike rhythms help you on this long arduous journey. You can pull the fly from the fishy’s mouth.

Trico’s are good some days and not so good others. the upper river holds the best techy dry fly fishing but you can run into a botch of Trico’s about anywhere. If you know the river and the hatch patterns you can capitalize on that knowledge.

Caddis in the evenings for a while. How long? Only Mother Nature knows the answer.

I’ve seen some Callibaetis showing and that can prove to be a positive situation if you stop and fish to them immediately. Silt dwelling flies do not live everywhere. If you see some spinners, stop and cast. A cripple, spinner or even dun can bring confident takes. Expect to see them throughout the late summer and early fall. A good fly to have in your possession when you meet a few Callibaetis.

Not nearly as much overall pressure from anglers in August. Nightly rentals available even here in town at the Craig Trout Camp and elsewhere prove the drop in angling days. If it gets hot, like today as we will see temps near the century mark, you will bump into lots of floaty groups. Tubes, rafts, inflatables only seen/sold at Wal-Mart will inundate the waters. BE prepared.

Go out early regardless of the ancillary float pressure and you will get the best part of the day. While the hoot-owl does not regulate us directly here on the Mo, a good plan is to get out early and get off early. Dawn til noon should do it. You may be able to fool some fish after 2 pm, the best shot is clearly the morning show.

August can be a great fishing month. Only time will tell this current August. Let us know if we can help in any way as we are fully engaged with the shuttle business, guiding, lodging, dissemination of fly fishing information, trips to the Blackfoot, free coffee, A/C inside the pleasant confines of the shop, fly lines, rods, sungear, hats, gifts for the wife and kids…

See you in Craig this August. Shop open at 6am and late til 9pm. See us after of before your Izaak’s or Joe’s Bar foray for a little shopping and BS. Enjoy the shade on the front porch as you watch the afternoon angler wander parade up and down Bridge St.

Missouri River Montana Fishing Report 7.30.15

July 30, 2015 by Mark Raisler

Anglers spread from the top to the bottom. Some cloggage near the dam in the am, not tot bad in the pm.

Nymphing at the dam is the thing to do for some. Quiet at both the WC and Craig Bridges. Try it, you might like it.

The canyon is fishing some days and not others. Pretty much the August theme. It can get really tough out there, synonym hard, synonym slow. Will it turn the corner in August? Historically cooler weather coupled with afternoon thunderstorms.

Trico’s while anemic should last into the center of the month. Not too terrific on the hatches of late. Will it ramp back up? Maybe.

The hopper bite can be good and bad. Depends on the day and depends on the reach. Depends on the angler too. The key is…wait for it, wait for it, wait for it. It has been easy to snatch the fly right out of the mouth of that hungry trout. Refusals will be part of your day too. Low riding hoppers are the theme as of press time. Those super floaty type of flies are not really all that man.

Weeds not as bad as many make them out to be. The daily hatch quotient not all that terrific either. If you are coming to fill your day with rising trout you may want to call and get an update from someone at the store. This is not the strongest late July in recent years.

Some Spruce Moths around and saw some Callibaetis yesterday as well. Pseudo’s out there will make some fish rise in the afternoon period. Ants and beetles will see some action if you stay with it.

Shop open daily for rental boats, flies, info, free perked coffee, Headhunters Logo Wear, hats, the growing sale rack, sunscreen, sun hats and shirts, Fly Vines lanyards and bracelets, SAGE demo rods, the best in fly line selection on the river including all of your SPEY Line needs, the best in Fall SIMMS waders, boots, flips, wading shoes, and colder weather gear, and so much more!

Headhunters Fly Shop hours 6am til 9pm. Late shuttles for those afternoon anglers!

The rain cometh…

July 27, 2015 by Mark Raisler

The rain cometh…

And tomorrow? Sunny skies. Maybe. With a chance of thunderstorms. Wednesday? Sunny skies.

Soggy, super soggy this morning. Any cancelled guide trips? Nope. Any frowns in the shop? No. Any wet dogs? Yep.

As Lindsey Channel stated earlier this season on a similar rain day…“Good day to catch a big one!”

All good as we need this soaker of a storm to continue our cooler water temps. Currently the water temps are 62F. Will we get to the dreaded 70F? Probably not. But Mother Nature holds the keys to our future here on the Missouri River.

The fishing? Unpredictable. Pretty inconsistent as we usually have stellar fishing through July. The bugs come and some days they don’t. The weeds have not been an issue as they have been in previous years. Do we have weeds? Yep. But not the slimy shit that many do not like.

Get out early for the Trico hatch and fall. No PMD’s as they have run their course. Hopper fishing on any given day can be good but don’t bet your lunch on it.

The dam has been fishing well with nymphs. Purple lead and small tailwater mayflies and Zebra’s rule the day.

For those fishing the canyon the old classics have been getting it done. Hare’s Ear, Prince, rubber legs, Crawfish, Zonkers all good choices for the lead fly.

Some anemic caddis flies in the late morning and killer swarms in the late evenings for those who like to fish the golden hour.

August looks to be a quiet one as historically the fishing around the state is dyno-mite. No closures here as this unseasonably cool weather keeps the water temps reasonable. We have not exceeded the warning bell yet. Warmer air temps in the next week with temps reaching the higher 80’s.

Today a good streamer day as the bigger fish, and the junior set, will chase that streamer around and some may even bite it!

The rain continues to come as I write this report on the porch. Need rain gear? We have all the good SIMMS products in stock and that will keep you more comfortable than your ’93 L.L Bean outfit. Gore-Tex never falls out of style.

Average monthly total rainfall for Great Falls is 1.50 inches. The current total is 1.01 with the average total to date being 1.22 inches. We will exceed that with the rain falling hard today.

This is the Rocky Mountains and weather does change frequently and rapidly.

Give us a shout if you need any up to the minute rain or wind or sun or hatch reports. We are here daily 6am til 9pm.

Cover yourself up and enjoy this soggy day!

Trico Report

July 24, 2015 by Mark Raisler

Some days lots of Trico’s, others not too many.

Cool and a little unsettled for the most part yesterday. Some rising fish found.

Some days they just eat better than others.

How about today? Better? We will know about 6pm when the Peanut Gallery adjures from the porch at Headhunters.

Try Izaak’s 4-9pm daily for all your dinner needs or up top at the Frenchman.

Joe’s for late night libations and dancin’.

Headhunters for early morning starts and tons of Trico patterns.

We got some caddis flies and a huge hopper selection too…

Missouri River Montana Fishing Report plus 5 Late July Tips

July 21, 2015 by Mark Raisler

The fishing report is as follows today on the Headhunters Fly Fishing Blog and Fishing Report Page.

Missouri River Montana Fishing Report

The old adage again comes into play as we state to many that the fishing is..as good as you are.

Truth here at Headhunters.

If you don’t like crowds stay out of the upper river.

Honesty too here on this daily blog.

Lots of pressure up top and it bleeds into the canyon as well. Many say hat this last weekend was as busy as they had ever seen it. Well, probably true. As I stated in the past, this is the tipping point and we will see fewer folks everyday from here on out.

The wild card is the other resources. Will we see anglers from around the state visit our river as restrictions elsewhere are tightened? Maybe. Time will tell.

Trico’s are the morning game. Good stories of success with emergers and duns. Spinners continue to work well here as they always do. Try a Trico Cripple for sneaky shit. Not many roll that way. Cluster Midges as a Trico Cluster can work as well. Double wings, Harrop’s Hi-VIz, Harrops CDC Spinner, and may more. Not having success witht eh Trico pattern fishng over Trico feeding fish? Try a Caddis. Do it.

Scant amounts of PMD’s around and the spinner fall is the key for angling success and fly choice. Or a captive dun. Or a floating nymph.

Caddis in the evening are your best bet. The PED deal is going on occasionally too. Spents, emergers like the Translucent Emerger or Pupa and a soft hackle too. LaFontaine loved the evening hatch here on the Mo.

Hoppers are happening. Some greenish small fella’s on the shore. A Red Legger works. Headhunters is your hopper destination. We have the best selection in the canyon. By far. Ninch is formerly from the westside and cannot stand not having the appropriate amount of foam in the shop.

Ants? Beetles.? Yes to them as well. Spruce moths out there too. See the most in the early mornings. Fishing it blind can provide some action.

It is a morning game in the recent past. The dry fly fishing has been going into the tank about noon. Some days til 2 or 3, others if the bugs go North with the South wind can end before noon. Hope and look for perfect summer breeze-less days for spinner and junk feeding longevity. But, do not forget about the golden hour too!

5 Tips for Late July Success

First cast is the best cast. For the DFO Army. Always the best cast. Only if you want to fool them.
Nymphers find weedless water for sanity.
Fish live in the weeds. So do the bugs. Maybe you should too?
Prepare some conversation pieces for slow fishing. If the fishing is good, save them on 3″x5″ note cards for easy access at a later date. Or a long, long, long lunch.
Fish in the am, then sleep. Then fish in the pm, then sleep. Perfect. A cocktail squeezed in at Izaaks and a plate of Walleye and Chips! I like the Wings too. Delicious.
Clean your fly line a lot. But you already know this tip!

Shop open at 6am daily for any of your river needs. We have the new NRS Freestone Drifter in stock and for sale with the new updated drains. Just awesome. Come by and see it or take it out on the river for a spin. Rentals daily including our Adipose Fleet too.

July Craig Montana Sunday Morning Images and Micro Fishing Report

February 13, 2019July 19, 2015 by Mark Raisler

[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]Top notch morning in Craig.

July 19th.

Sunny and warm. The water had cooled to 60 two nights in a row and now hovers at 64F.

Tough fishing conditions for those who do not carry a fly rod in the back seat of their Corolla.

If you can get it done, it becomes easier.

Casting and dead drifting is vital to your success on the dry fly.

The fish are spooky and that initial contact with the trout should not include unpreparedness.

It should include having the right amount of line out before you present so you do not show the fish your fly in a bad light first off.

Those anglers who love finicky, tough, selective, difficult, time consuming, Henry’s Fork-esque type trout…you fellers love this time period on the Mo. It does box out some anglers from those locales.

Crowds are waning as we move into the latter parts of July.

August is on the horizon and we enjoy the cooler temps in August. July is the warmest month, usually, and cooling water temps generally accompany the change of month.

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