Now you are coming home from the Christmas trip. Did you think about your 2015 trip? The time is now. Do it while availability is strong. The months of June and July are nearly booked. The front end of June is still good and the back end of July. The center parts? Booked.
Snow on the ground here in Craig and the phones are ringing. A couple high speed Headhunters Sara, Julie, Braden, Dewey are manning the booking hotline daily. 406-235-3447 or 877-DRY-FLYS
A few of the events coming down the pike as we prepare for the season ahead. This is your gentle nudge to think about your Missouri River trip ahead this summer. Booking in advance guarantees certain things…like lodging and guides.
January
2 Handed Clinic Saturday January 10th. Admission FREE. Limited to 12 participants. Booked through every time. Book your slot today if you would like to attend this very popular clinic.
$400 Winter Guide Trips.
Craig Trout Camp Lodging starting at $125. We have several winter lodging options all with a winter discount. Call for availability.
Headhunters is your 2 Handed Rod Demo Center. We got the fly lines too, lots of ’em to try. Come in for a wide variety of rods from SAGE, Orivis, T & T, Echo.
February
Midges start late in the month.
February 7th Free 2 Handed Casting and Fishing Clinic. Limited to 12 students.
$400 Guide Trips, Craig Trout Camp Discounted Lodging too.
March
Midges hopefully daily. Historically at least. Watch for water temps and keep it tuned here for hatch updates as they occur.
Skwalas?
Saturday March 7th our last and final FREE 2 handed Casting and Fishing Clinic. Limited to 12 participants. Call for reservations.
Headhunters Spring Special begins March 15th. $300 Guide Trips thru April 30th. Call to get in on this wildly popular spring discount. Brush up on your skills for the coming summer.
Craig Trout Camp discounted lodging continues thru the end of April. These cabins book quickly. Plan accordingly.
April
Spring Special continues through the month of April. $300 Guide Trips and discounted lodging. Best deals of the year.
Midges. BWO’s show this month. When? A guarantee, or closer to reality would mean middle of the month. On a warm spring, first part of the month. Skwalas too.
May
May is most of the staff’s favorite Missouri River month. Fewer anglers than both April and June with lots of bug action.
Might be the best streamer month of the year.
Craig Caddis Festival and BBQ Cook-Off Saturday May 16th. Afternoon action with live music, BBQ eats, kids events, parade, live and silent auctions, and much more! We’ll see you at the 9th Annual Craig Caddis Festival.
Spring Stream Opener. The Dearborn opens the 3rd Saturday of May and we begin our Dearborn River Guiding Season. A great small stream in our own backyard. Check out the link for more info or call the shop. We love this short and sweet time frame to fish the Dearborn. Some years a month, some years less than a month. Call to get on board for this wilderness adventure.
Nymphing? Rock Star.
Sight fishing for late season Baetis and early lower river caddis. Midges too.
Lighter river pressure for sure.
June
Game Time. 1st or 2nd busiest month of the year. July is the other. Bookings for June and July begin in June or July, the previous year. Long time guests love the action in June high water or not.
River can be higher than you wish. Mother Nature is a hard one to read. Watch the site for our insight into what is happening for the water year ahead. Flows in the last 10 years have been extremely high, extremely low, and a couple of the years coming in at average. But average is not happen often in the last 25 years. So, a crap shoot. A risk that many, many anglers are willing to make.
Dry flies daily. Caddis, PMD’s arrive by the middle of the month. Good to great dry fly fishing depending on the water level. We are looking for under 8K for a very strong dry fly bite.
Book your Missouri River June trip soon!
We start fishing the Blackfoot River across the divide. A great day trip to break up your Missouri River week. A dry fly excursion that all who experience the Blackfoot are glad they did! Ask ay of the shop staff about booking a Blackfoot day or two.
July
Not a month for the fickle. Combat fishing. If you like solace it is not July. Why so many anglers? Dry fly all day. Honest.
Caddis, PMD’s, Trico’s, terrestrials. The most consistent dry fly bite of the entire year.
4th of July is one big ass party in Craig. Our favorite holiday of the year. Bar-None.
Book today if you want guides or lodging in the month of July, or June. Get it straightened out this week with your family and friends. Not a ton left on the table for lodging, and guides are dwindling fast. We have rental boats too.
Blackfoot River is in full swing. Our guides love to sneak across the divide for a day of Freestone Fishing on the Blackfoot.
August
Good in the front end of the month. Not as strong towards the latter part. Sometimes the water gets too warm for trout comfort and the perennial Missouri River weeds come into play.
Terrestrials, caddis, some PMD action but they are on the decline, Trico’s. Ants and hoppers rule the mid day with Trico’s on the plan every morning.
Get out early for the best fishing of the day.
The Blackfoot makes a lot of sense this month. Before dawn meet times to head over the hill to fish this fantastic river.
September
A very busy month. 4th busiest behind June, July, April. One of our best nymphing months.
Not a ton of dry fly action. Can do well on terrestrials and some Trico falls in the A.M.. Psuedo’s, small BWO’s, can get rolling in the afternoon. But don’t plan on coming to the Missouri to get your dry fly fix.
September is the sleeper month. It books earlier than you would think.
The last and final month of Blackfoot River fishing. Maybe the best of all 4 months. Not much pressure at all and the fall colors are just awesome.
Craig’s 1st Beer Festival Brews and Browns scheduled for the 2nd Saturday of the month. More info as we get closer.
October
Baetis, October Caddis, some midge, Psuedo’s. Good dry fly action. Historically great.
Nymphing is really freaking good.
Streamer fishing is dynamite.
One of the favorite months for long time Missouri River anglers, industry folks, out of work freestone guides, and you. There is a nice pace to October and we like it.
Lodging fills fast. At the time of this post October already has some ink on the calendar.
There is the entire year. Hatch periods are pretty consistent and our blog, this blog, has updates in regards to fishing, hatches, lodging, and guiding, and more! Not every event is listed like our impromptu Drift Boat Drive-Ins, Headhunters Free BBQ nights throughout the summer, live music, and all around hilarity on the grounds of Headhunters Fly Shop.
These are pretty strong outlines of the year but some of you may need even more information about types of lodging or setting up a group trip. We make it easy for you throughout the entire process. We are the Missouri River experts. If you need any additional information you can email us info@headhuntersflyshop.com or give us a shout on the Missouri River Hotline 406-235-3447 8-5 daily.
