Summer Foreshadowing
Just the 24th of January today. We have more than our toe dipped into the proverbial year, more like our ankle has entered the water. We are just beginning.
And having that ankle submerged made me think of wade fishing, which then made me think of flip-flops, and finally Missouri River summer PMD’s.
An informative summer foreshadowing post today on the Headhunters Blog and Fishing Report. Hatches, timing, lodging, guides. This also serves as one of those warnings clients are interested in.
“Hey let me know when I need to book for the peak season so I don’t miss the riverside lodging or our favorite guide.”
Today is that day my fishy friends.
Headhunters Loves May!
May: The HH staff favorite month. Fewer anglers than June or July. Great streamer fishing. Fantastic nymphing. Hatches include late BWO’s, March Browns, Ants, Mothers Day Caddis. Last year we saw the first PMD’s too. Which is rare. The others are not.
Afternoons are the best for the dry fly gang. Mornings nymphing/tugging streamers. A great month for swinging your Trout Spey Rod.
Not too busy lodging. 3rd Saturday is Spring Opener for lakes, some streams. Caddis Fest is also the 3rd Saturday 4-8pm. The busiest day of the year for shuttles. If that means anything to you.
Most Enjoy June!
June: PMD’s Caddis, late month may see a few Trico’s. Ants. Scattered caddis. Late month may see some Brown Drakes in a few runs. PMD’s start about the 3rd week, in earnest. The entire river fishes well.
Damn good dry fly afternoons. Early PMD’s get the trout pretty wound up. Nymphing mornings. A good month to blind dry fly fish, with a dropper or not. Streamer fishing hit and miss. Always fun though.
Lots of anglers around. Commonly our busiest month on the river. The locals may not be the largest contingent fishing the Mo in June. Book early for lodging. Book early for all facets of your trip.
The Missouri River may have some run-off in June. May too. But June is the month when the water comes through. Call us for our latest spring summer water guess. Hard to predict. Check out this website, our social sites, for up to the minute water conditions and our wild water speculations.
At least half of the anglers visiting the Missouri in June and July book a year in advance.
July on the Mo
July: Trico’s, Caddis, PMD’s, Ants, Hoppers. The best dry fly month. You could fish dawn til duck with a dry fly on the tip of your tippet.
Can be weedy for the nymphing crowd. Subsurface weeds can drive you to drink, or swear a lot. Lots of dry fly anglers in the area. Lots of wade fishers, bank anglers. June and July are full of DIY fellers. Campgrounds are full during the June/July rampage.
Dry fly early at daybreak. Dry fly during the heat of the day tossing spinners and hoppers. Leave the ant on all day long. Fish thru dusk into the milky black night skittering caddis. Streamer anglers need not apply for July.
Lodging very busy. Full. Similar to June the housing availability evaporates quickly in the winter booking months. By spring your options are few.
July is the slam dunk water month. It can be higher into the first weeks of July. By the middle of the month the water has, for the previous 30 years, receded enough to grant great wade fishing. Boat fishing is always fantastic on this blessed water resource. Again, call the shop asking questions and we will do our damnedest to predict the future.
Headhunters Open Daily for Q’s and A’s
There it is. The short version of the summer months ahead. We love summer here at Headhunters. We have a few surprises for you this year when you visit Craig. Our sewer project is finished and we thank all of those involved in making it happen. The construction crew was great to work with, always polite, the COP Construction gang. You may see a few other minor changes. Although…there is only one paved road in this dusty trot town. Bridge Street.
We are your Bridge Street Information Train helping you solve the mysteries of Mother Mo. Call us up anytime if you need deeper information, to book a guide trip, to talk about lodging, Craig Trout Camp or because you want to know if it is currently snowing.
Be well. Happy Winter. We’re doing the snow dance daily here in Downtown Craig Montana.
What about August?
Tougher than July. Nymphing tough due to higher water temps, weeds in the water column. Streamer fishing nope, too many weeds. Dry fly anglers need to not only bring the A game, but have an “A” game. IT can be tough. Or great. But generally tough.
Is it currently snowing?
A little bit Brad, no accumulation.