Headhunters Life

Check it. A nice one to get your fantasy started this morning. Calm, overcast, cool today. [forecast] Might be stalking some of these rising this afternoon. Headhunters Guide Brett Matula with this specimen.  

First smell of winter. The long winter ahead. We don’t freeze up here. The river I mean. Our brains get a little chilly.  So we have trout fishing for the white months ahead. Generally not so white, kinda gray and brown. Dirty tannish sometimes too. I wouldn’t consider it “beach like.” Pirate flags in Craig? … Read more

Some random yahoo’s are gonna say the Henry’s Fork, the Madison, the Delaware? How about the Missouri River. Yeah, it was first on my list too. Fishing here is like making it to the World Series. The World Series of Flyfishing. No? You disagree? You gotta be good to make it to the end, to enjoy … Read more

Finally. A change in the weather. Although it may be a little too much. Wind blowing hard right now. Just came up in the last few minutes and the weather is rapidly changing. Cold weather with wind and snow blowing in. Check us out in the morning for Monday morning images, info, reports, and the … Read more

Good colors this last week. This front coming in today may drop the rest of the red, orange, yellow leaves to the ground. Then cover them with snow? Keep it tuned here for photo updates, per usual. Happy Sunday and enjoy this weekly Silly Sunday Scenery image.     Baetis love snow.

Fall on the Missouri River. Just awesome. Let us know if you are coming and how we can help facilitate a perfect fall excursion. It’s really quite simple. Get in your car and drive til you arrive in Craig Montana. See, easy. Fall is our favorite season…

Missouri River Water Temps are in the right spot for a long term fly fishing session this October stretching well into the month of November. Yep, it looks real good. What are we waiting for? More cloud cover. That would help a ton. And, the hatches of late have been a touch on the light … Read more

Had a client mention to me a few weeks ago just this… Of all the seasons, I think fall smells the best.   I tend to agree. The colors, the fellowship, the trout. Valhalla is where we are. Lots of fun folks are around too. Non-local locals are here, Izaak’s and Joe’s are busy nightly … Read more

Do you ever fall into a rut? Fish the same water every trip. Fish it because you had success some time ago, some trip where you caught a bunch of beauties? Then, it just has no t been the same? Yah, we all fall into those patterns. The repeated behaviors that are not all that … Read more

The fall scenery is fall-tastic. Is that cliche? Somewhat. When you are speaking truth, it is not cliche. We are enjoying the shorter days, the nice afternoon dry fly sessions, and the overwhelming sense of the season change. Silly Sunday Scenery See you on the dry fly flats…smiling.

The Missouri River welcomes all… Come ply your trade here. Or not. We are enjoying a very nice fall. We are so fortunate to live and fish here. It’s pretty freaking awesome. Friday Foto Charlie from somewhere on the eastern seaboard. Out for a little fly fishing on Montana’s Missouri River. It’s his second year … Read more

Squeeky loves Eagle shots. Especially bloody trout accompanying the bird. Have a great Saturday. College ball, Baseball’s Championship series, and trout fishing on the Missouri River. You can do all three. See you at Izaak’s tonight! Of course swapping killer dry fly stories…   Silly Saturday Scenery brought to you by the information and education … Read more

We are as happy as pigs in shit. The fishing is fantastic and getting better daily. Bugs, bugs, and sometimes more bugs. Of the baetis variety. Streamers work too. Ha! Dry Fly Action. Cooler weather, more overcast skies, and swift Fly-Agra sales in the shop. October 2013. It’s Good.

You are invited to the first meeting of the Missouri River Foundation. Meeting at Missouri River Ranch Monday October 21st @ 5pm. Guest Speakers Richard Lessner of the Madison River Foundation and Brandon Hoffner of the Henry’s Fork Foundation will talk about the formation of their foundations and describe projects they’ve undertaken to benefit their … Read more

Having a ball @ Headhunters Fly Shop this morning and every morning. October is a good time in Craig Montana. Get after it.   P.S. The fishing is shit hot! Headhunters Fly Shop. The information source for all things fly fishing  Missouri River Montana

Getting the job done on the Mo. Psuedo pod action from this week. The colors are changing, the fishing is shit hot. Just a couple reasons we like fall on Montana’s Missouri River.  

Rumors have persisted for the last few days that Holter Dam and Boat ramp will be closing on Tues. due to the impending Government shut down. I made the call to the BLM office this morning to verify. “True that”, said the manager that I spoke to. Starting Tuesday – yes, tomorrow – both the … Read more

Get here now. Or next month. It is getting serious. Today, wind. Tomorrow, wind. Tuesday, psuedo’s again. BWO’s on the porch, and they are struggling to enter the fray. Yep. Sunday Scenery today on Headhunters Blog. Your information, education, customer service…and Entertainment Guru’s on Montana’s Missouri River. Thanks for watching.

PPL sell Montana dams to, forthcoming, Northwestern Energy. Big news in Montana, these parts for sure. Will this change the operation of said dams? No. “PPL clearly wants to get out of Montana,” Toole said. “So, good riddance to them. Too bad they took so much of our money, and I sure hope they’re not … Read more

All you need to get through your nymphing session on the Missouri is a pocketful of mayfly nymphs. And maybe a Scud or two. A sow, a worm…or another mayfly nymph like a giant P-Tail up top! Missouri River Mayfly Nymphs The nymphing in Zeptember is off the charts. Bot every September is this good. … Read more

Yes, this guy is a good angler. Fisher-bird Eagle. His nest is just around the corner, so the commute is not too far. Inclement weather brought us the best fishing this fall. Yet. More ahead? Foreshadowing the future? Yes, I, we, he, she…all believe so. You can either watch this blog and curse at yourself … Read more

We’re already getting questions about the free Two-Handed clinics we offered last winter. Hold on boys! We haven’t even had fall dry fly season yet! Blue-winged Olives are yet to come… Starting around Nov. 15th, however, the “Swinging” really starts to pick up. Floating lines, flashy fry flies and big fish. The Missouri is a … Read more

An interesting photo came to us through our Facebook page this morning. Alexandra Amundson sent us a few pictures for our “Girl’s Rule, Boy’s Drool” photo contest. Interesting, because one was of a Northern Pike. It was caught at one of our new rental properties, the “Jumping Rainbow” which is in the Canyon near exit … Read more

A shift in the weather has anglers thinking about tossing the big stuff and ripping it through the shallows. Floating lines are replaced with sink tips. The 4 and 5 weights will feel neglected. The 6’s and 7’s are getting all the love. Fall is for streamers in Montana. And we are in Montana. The … Read more

Awesome weather will greet you this morning if you’re planning on hitting the Missouri River. Cloudy, cool, and a touch of rain. No wind right now, and hopefully it will stay that way. Bring Pseudo’s. Our big sale continues through today. Sara was here bright and early making sure everything is organized for your shopping … Read more

Good Sunday. Warm fall weather, pleasant temps, and sunshine w/ a chance of showers today! Feels like fall. Happy Sunday today. Stop by the shop for deals on gear. Then go fish. You have to. It’s is a day of rest. Rest in the drift boat. Just don’t let the row boy rest too much!

Time to start thinking about staff for 2014. If you think you might want to work in a fly shop, you’re nuts. If your nuts, check out our job listing page. We also have one special job available immediately, but you gotta have some skills. Spread the word to any trout bums you know.

Going in the canyon in the next few weeks? Well, if you are…take a few of these patterns along for subsurface surprises. The October Caddis must be around because these have been producing deep in the mornings and shallow in the afternoons. Fish it as deep as you want. Buckets, eddies, and riffles will all … Read more

Cole and Rainbow rocking this stupendous rig on the Missouri this week. Met these cats this winter for their inaugural drift in their sweet Rivershed Boat. Perfect for the tow of themas they roam around Montana in search of freedom. These two do not look like they would be comfortable working a desk job. After … Read more

We are headlong into September and time for a nymph update. It is good. Great? No, we have not reached that stage yet. Definition of great is different for different folks and different rivers…when it is great here, your arm truly is sore from fighting Missouri River trout. I use great in the connotation of … Read more

Headhunters Fly Guru Ninch and Jake from Montana Fly Company hammering out a few specifics of flies for the coming year. Of course we have some fresh magic for in store for 2014. Ninch is masterminding the flies, fantasizing really, of your future. Just like a personal shopper @ Nordstroms, Ninch is your personal fly … Read more

Sunday Scenery from Headhunters Fly Shop. Enjoy your day. We will too. It’s overcast and calm this morning. The image above from Friday morning. Make your own scenic memories here on Montana’s finest trout fishery. We’ll reserve a spot for your boat too…

Storm Coming this weekend. Friday too. Saturday morning, still raining. Thunderstorms and lightening and all that comes with the mayhem here in Montana. Got some precipitation with these random and rolling storms. We could do without the lightening. Bring your raingear in the boat, on your back, or in the rig. You may just need … Read more

Cleaning up the wheat fields here on the Missouri River near Craig. Vacation time again for many anglers as the August heat has passed allowing for better dry fly fishing. The bite has not been bad, not at all. The dry fly blind bite. Hoppers, beetles, ants, Callibaties Spinners, down-winged caddis, even blind fishing a … Read more

Not for another month. Or sooner if the water temperature cools rapidly, which it may. First we must get rid of this fireball and cover it nicely with some clouds. Psuedo hell will ensue, before the big blue winged friends arrive. Hotter than hell for the remainder of the weekend. Then cooler? Successful BBQ last … Read more

Pictures today from Tom Segrave and Travis Griffith. Thanks a bunch fellows. We like seeing cool shots of the Missouri. And these certainly Qualify! Fun times had by all on the finest trout stream on Earth!

Insert you, here. Bring a friend if you want, there are two chairs. High and bright for the weekend with great holiday weather on tap. Light winds as well. BBQ tonight @ Headhunters, well this afternoon beginning about 1pm. Some cool shit on sale too. Labor Day Weekend in full effect. Get outside and do … Read more

Rocket to Uranus playing Mountain Surf Rock  @ Izaak’s Log Jam Saturday evening August 31st…fun times here in Craig Montana this weekend. Use it as a kick off to your Labor Day Weekend! Stop by for our Headhunters Every 2nd Saturday Free BBQ to get things rolling at about 1pm to lead into the nights … Read more

Do you use Sharpie, Pantone or Prismacolor markers to add some personalized color to your hopper patters? Lots of Missouri River guides do. So do some of the more particular local anglers. Their belief is that an “out of the box” hopper pattern will never fish as well as one with a custom paint job. … Read more

There’ s been a little talk about Carp around the shop lately. By a little, I mean a little too much. Anyone who knowsme , knows that any Carp talk is too much Carp talk. One of our employee’s – we’ll call him “Jake”- has been the source of the majority of Carp banter around … Read more

James Vasich is on a trout bum adventure. A big one. While passing through Craig this summer he shot these cool long exposure images of Craig “After Dark”. Very cool stuff you don’t see often around these parts. These were sent to us as submissions for our “Big Sky Photo Contest”. Who knows where is … Read more

Squeeky’s annual Seattle sports extravaganza is this week. He will not be blogging. He will be attending 5 Mariners games and 1 Sounders “match” (or whatever the hell they call a soccer game). I’ll bet if you keep tabs on our Facebook Page you will see some great shots from Quest Field. Have a good … Read more