Friday Foto Summer Dreams PMD trapped by the single thread spun from a spider. Tough luck. And if you don’t book your June trip soon, you may be left out. Don’t leave yourself hangin’. Happy Friday.
Missouri River Hot Summer Flies A quick survey of the guides and shop gang this am about what is working for them. And here it is this Humpday in late July. We have fallen off of the July cliff. Quiet on the weekdays as the anglers are out there having a ball! Max Mattioli. Ninch’s … Read more
Late July Missouri River Fishing Report 7.27.2020 Just the facts today on this Headhunters Fishing report right outta downtown Craig Montana from your fly fishing HQ @ Headhunters Fly Shop and Guide Service. PMD’s. Waning we think. But the best dry fly can be the PMD spinner. Rusty or blonde. Have a few of these … Read more
First Mo River Dry Fly Fish for Chris! Nice dry fly trout for Chris who recently moved to GF from the east coast. He came here for this kind of thing. Welcome Chris. He almost landed in Montana 25 years ago. But it’s funny how life takes turns that we could and cannot predict. So … Read more
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] PMD Forecast June 2020 Missouri River Montana Lots of folks in with questions about the Pale Morning Dun. Our answer? Yes, that can be a tough one out there. And then sometimes, easy. But mostly in the middle of those two answers. Drift is King The first thing I will mention is that if … Read more
Squeeky believes that we may see these bugs this week? Water temps in the mid 50’s range! Working their way upwards this week as well with the warmer and hot afternoons towards the weekend!
Historically PMD’s show around the 4th, 5th, or 6th of June. The first emergences. But we have in the past 5 years seen them as early as May 28th!
What will the week ahead bring for bugs on the surface? Don’t know. I do know that yesterday in the canyon produced no bugs. None. Today? Probably the same.
We can assume that the BWO’s have run their course. The March Browns? Probably gone as well. Mothers Day Caddis? I would guess that there are some more left in our system? How many? I don’t know that answer.
Working towards the weekend on this hump day. Warm again today. No wind though!
Nymphing red hot. The remainder of the disciplines not as good per above. Streamer anglers? Toss ’em if you want.
Enjoy your Hump Day! Tie up some spinners of the PMD variety for the next couple months. Last year was an epic PMD event for 10+ weeks. This year? Let’s hope it is similar.
Summer is coming to a river near year. The Mighty Mo. Look us up in Craig for all things Missouri River. Your entertainment, information, education, and customer service experts in Craig!
This highly popular Rusty Spinner pattern by the Harrop family is a killer when fishing June and July on our home water here in central Montana.
We fish it a ton. Biot bodied sparsely hackled almost floating fly that make brown trout move from their lane.
Yessir. That is the kind of move you want fish to make. Moving to take a fly is one way to make the fish behave aggressively. If you can get them to move, yes make them move, you got ’em.
This available in one of our Just Add Vise Tying Kits. Yep you get enough materials to tie 25 of these babies. All included int he kit. Plus this video with a QR code on the package and you can tie it in your tent if you wish! 25 hooks, boots, hackles, for you to get 25 ready for the coming season. Buy it online if you so desire. But not right now…We are getting these very popular tying kits put back together after the thinning of the herd this March and April!
A Rusty Spinner has long been the favorite fly amongst summer dry fly anglers. If you can’t get them on anything else, tie on a Rusty Spinner and fish it till you he eats it.
It’ll work. Honest.
Trust me, I’m a fishing guide…[/vc_column_text][vc_video link=”https://vimeo.com/121434150″]
Monday Morning Missouri River Fishing Report 7.22.19 Trico’s. Daily hatches grace us for the remainder of the month and the entirety of August, and some of September. PMD’s still a factor. Get some today! Spinners rule the day, during the spinner fall, mostly in the morning…per the Pale Morning Dun namesake. Caddis? Big Time. Spents, … Read more
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Friday Missouri River Fishing Forecast July 19th Fishing this weekend will be good. Trico’s in some sort of fashion, PMD’s, Caddis, Brown Drakes, occasional Pseudo’s, and Sally’s should keep you busy fielding dry fly opportunities. The upper river is great for the dry fly angler. If you like the flat dry fly sort of … Read more
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Friday July 5th Headhunters Fly Shop Fishing Report & Forecast Fishing is fantastic here on the Mo. The best water levels, water temps, hatch timing, dry fly opportunities, Craig Montana vibe, outdoor music, and fishing in some years for the July period. August is gonna rock too. So here we go into the month … Read more
Monday Morning July 1st Missouri River Fishing Report Hooray! July has arrived. All good here in downtown Craig Montana and the river is fishing well. PMD’s rule the day. And the night. Spinner falls can happen anytime during the day or evening. A great one the past couple evenings. Be on the lookout for the … Read more
Flag Day Missouri River Fishing Report 6.14.19 All is well here Flag Day Missouri River Fishing Report 6.14.19. Summer has descended upon us, finally. Warm daytime temps with warm nighttime temps leave us feeling warm! We love it. Today is Flag Day and what better way to celebrate America than fro fishing. So, we bring you … Read more
Friday Foto Weekend Missouri River Fishing Report 7.27.18 Flows dropping to 4800 cfs today as we Monto the last gasp of July. Wade fishers paradise. Daily events include the Trico spinner fall @ 845 am. Later in the morning you may see the PMD spinner fall. Move past noon and get the caddis out of … Read more
Missouri River Sunday Fishing Report Missouri River Sunday Fishing Report brought to you once again by Headhunters Fly Shop in Craig Montana. Lots of anglers stop in stating that they read the blog and fishing report daily. We love to see the readers and anglers of the Mighty Mo. Just met Dan from Ohio. Awesome. … Read more
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] BOGO 2FER TUESDAY Split Case PMD JULY 17TH Our weekly BOGO Fly Sale is live! Today, Tuesday July 17th save a bundle and two for the price of one! Th Split Case PMD is a big seller here at Headhunters Fly Shop and we want to pass on the awesomeness to you our fishy … Read more
Missouri River May Fly Fishing Forecast Here we go out of April running full speed into the jaws of May! Hooray. Maybe spring will greet us this Month of May. Things to look forward to in May include… More water. How much? Again we can only speculate, smartly. The answer is more. We are currently … Read more
Squeeky’s Fly Sort Update Maybe half way through of my annual fly sorting, configuring, culling process. Certainly making headway. I’m finished with the PMD box most recently. Trico’s done. Worms and such box. Done. Tiny mayfly nimps, done. Scuds and sows. Yep, finished. Caddis ahead of me. And much more. A combining of some boxes … Read more
Late July Missouri River Fly Fishing Forecast The best July we have had as far as dry fly fishing in some time. Honest. I have not den here as long as some, but longer than many and that is Squeeky’s personal opinion. John agrees as well. We were talking on the porch a couple days … Read more
Missouri River July Fly Fishing Forecast July Fly Fishing Forecast July 6th and all is well. We have made it through the busiest month of the year, June,a nd have emerged on the other side with the hop of continued summer hatches and sunshine. And sunshine we will have this week ahead. Looks like very … Read more
Not much to say today on the Headhunters Fly Fishing Blog.
Other than I Wish You Were Here. This cover from Alpha Blondy rules. First heard Alpha Blondy on Greg Stumps 1987 epic ski flick Blizzard of Aahhh’s. Check that out today if you wish.
PMD’s are good. Week 5. How many more weeks? 1, 2, 3? Not too much more than that. Then we will have to rely on the caddis and of course the Trico’s that are coming.
Tuesday, and all is well.
Last night a BBQ at Headhunters. Another one coming on the 4th of July. See you in Craig. Call if you have any questions, issues, or just want to chat about trout fishing. The water is coming down. The water managers say it will be 6200cfs tomorrow. Hooray!
Missouri River Summer Weekend Outlook Gonna be real busy here this weekend if last night was any indication of the near future. Streets of downtown Craig Montana clogged with RV’s, drift boats, aimlessly wandering fly fishing vagabonds, locals, non-locals, those just bellying up to Joe’s Bar for a quick one, or a full shift. Expect … Read more
Wednesday Missouri River Fishing Report 6.13.17 Water levels may be rising as we had a pretty wet Tuesday. It must have been wet towards the upper drainage as well as we are witnessing an increase in water flows. The Canyon Ferry lake levels are nearing that magic 97% level. When we he that fill quotient … Read more
Silly Sunday Scenery PMD Brown Trout Edition Kelley caught this on a PMD Spinner. Also successes on the PMD Cripple. And, the Buzzball. Flows good today. 1 to 2 inches of rain forecast for Tuesday. Will that change the flows? Ohhh, maybe. Good times on the Mo right now. Plan your trip for 2018. June … Read more
Saturday Water Flows 8410cfs. That is good. For fishing that is. Dry fly fishing. Should be much better at these lower flows. Will it get to 6K this month? Later maybe. July for sure. But the flushing flows that many have wished for, all of us really, may not happen. So that is upsetting. Flushing … Read more
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Wednesday Missouri River Montana Fishing Report Damn good dry fly fishing. Most of the anglers I saw on Tuesday were toying with the dry fly. Good on them. Wednesday should be the same, with less wind. The wind came up about noon yesterday scaring most of the anglers into an early departure. Saving up … Read more
Missouri River Monday Morning Fishing Report We are headlong into the one of the best months of the year. June brings lots of great fishing for those who like to nymph and dry fly fish. We love it because of the dry fly component. We at Headhunters lean towards the dry fly. Having said that … Read more
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]This weeks warm weather should get the Pale Morning Dun’s cranked up. Our very favorite Missouri River hatch. PMD’s epitomize downstream dry fly presentations on flat water. And the trout love them. That first week or 10 days is always significantly better than there following 4-6 weeks. The fish can be as “easy” as it gets. But we’re talking Missouri River easy.
Earlier I advised anglers to be prepared for all stages of the PMD hatch. While I won’t take that back, I will say that if you’re here for those first few days, just about any cripple will work. And we like that.
Here’s a few of our favorites from (L to R) Silverman, Quigley, Hodek, Quigley and Nymen. For the first week I personally might just grab a dozen Nymens, but those others are just so tasty – and proven as well. When things get a little tougher after the first week, the name “Harrop” will be added to that list.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]We have entered the 6 month countdown until the PMD’s arrive.
And I for one am damn excited. We have snow on the ground, high temps sometimes exceeding 40F, w/ a side of a brisk and chewy breeze.
Historically the PMD’s emerge sometime around the beginning of the 3rd week in June. We could see a rogue bug or two in late May. But that is just the first Pale Morning Dun tease. A few more show in the 1st week. Again just flirting with us.
In a few days we also will enjoy the shortest day of the year. Conversely in six months we will enjoy the warm sunny days of summer. The longest day of year and the summer solstice. Did I mention the daily PMD hatches?
Todd Moen shows us SW Montana. We of course are here in central Montana on the Mighty Missouri River. IT is just like the video, but 50 times bigger.
Our large and long dry fly flats can have the feeling of an intimate environment just like the video. We truly love the summer time here fishing Montana’s Mega Hatch river.
While it has been kinda hit and miss today seems to be fishing quite well.
Reports in at lunch from the gang fishing WC to below Craig somewheres validate that the weather pattern has settled in and the fish are responding.
The hatch activity due to the sunny weather in the previous 3 days has keep the top water bite to a level below average. Unless you are a headhunter and are on the search…then you may find a few more than the average bear.
Today? Today and the remainder of the weekend will present overcast skies alone with positive hatch cycles.
Lots of fun folks in our region as a bachelor party, a few long time Headhunters fishing groups, and maybe you will round out the gang here for the holiday long weekend.
Missouri River Montana Holiday Fishing Report 5.23.15
Nymphing Report: Good to great today. This last week hit and miss. Tomorrow? Who knows. But as I eluded to above the weather pattern is falling into this, this drizzly overcast deal. Way better than the winds from the north and high bright sun.
Fish will congregate in skinnier waters as they feel more comfortable with the weather, the lack of predators from above, and the bug population moves into the secondary feeding lanes.
Deep has been the key but with the rain, look for the behavior above to come on strong.
Boats are dribbling in to the shop this afternoon as I write the second part of the fishing report for the holiday weekend and the reports as as strong as they were at noon time. A few HH boats were on the lower reaches and tell tales of hard rain, a good bite, but the dry flies were drowned or being sunken at the time of torrential rain departures from the river.
Good thing that Izaak’s and Joe’s Bar are open daily for the drenched indi’s needing to warm their bones.
March Brown nymphs, PMD nymphs, caddis nymphs, and the FB stuff still working fine. Rainbow Czech nymphs along with a Little Green Machine will still get the job done. Want to branch out and try some other mayfly nymph patterns? We got ’em here at Headhunters. The most expansive and creative fly bins in the canyon. Bar None. Ninch will show you some flies you have only dreamed about. The nice thing with new patterns coming out and being fished guinea pig is that the fish have not seen it all. New flavors of flies do not always work…or do they?
Flies- Size 14 Pheasant Tail, Tungsten Split Case PMD, Tungsten Redemption, BH Poxy Back PMD’s, Tungsten Reckoner, Electric Caddis, Grape Slushie, Blooms Tungstens Dark, and Little Green Machines.
Dry Fly Report: Good if you dig that sort of thing. Epic? No, not really. Maybe tomorrow and the following day Monday. Maybe next week will bring back the daily dry fly bite?
March Browns still in the house as we move deeper to the latter parts of May. Later than normal? No. The water temps dictate the entire hatch cycle. And angle of sun, and water temps, and angle of sun…etc. So as we see the stabilizing of the temps we see a longer BWO and MB hatch cycle. The water temps have slowed the progress of our spring caddis but we can keep that on the back burner for another few days. It will return, they certainly will.
Remember that the dry flies do not need to be seen for the subsurface stages including the larval and pupal to be effective.
Conversation with a feller at the bar…Feller: “Huh? I did not see any PMD’s today. How did you know to fish the nymph? Me: Well, they gotta be under the surface moving about before they emerge into our atmosphere. If the hatch begins in a couple weeks, don’t you think that they are partying in their watery environs? Feller: Huh? Guess I never thought of that.
John Arnold reminds me of his favorite time to fish the Caddis Pupa. It is now, before the main hatch starts. He stated that he loves fishing the pupa in May. The best time to fish it really.
Back to the Dry Fly Report in progress: The regular spots, the usual suspects for the dry fly lanes are producing. The subtle soft spots are even more intriguing. Look hard at likely locals and ye shall find a few. Watch and learn. Understand the feeding pattern and make a few practice drifts before setting out after the trout prey. Those who approach quietly and drift with purpose, not hope like some, usually fare better.
March Brown cripples, BWO Spinners, Buzzballs, Harrops CDC Emergers, Purple Craze, Cluster Midge, Stockingwing Caddis, Outrigger Caddis, Dancing Caddis
Streamer Report: Sink tips are back in style. Th higher water levels and off color water have made it a better game than the past few days. Overcast and muddy. A story made for your streamer chucking successes. Those who get after it and strip until their arms are tired and sore have good catch reports.
Here again the normal flash will kill it. With the Black Bugger, Krafts Kreelex, Clouser Minnow, Rabbit Zonkers, Skittish Smolt, Coffeys Sparkle Minnow, Dolly Lama
Missouri River Flow Predictions…
Who really knows other than Mother Nature. But, but the inflows are stronger with the recent rainfalls around the state including our massive drainage. Will they affect the summer flows? Maybe. A long shot really. The Canyon Ferry reservoir is up to 87.2% Creeping upwards. Need 10% ion the next month. Boy, it could really happen. Then we may expect mid summer flows to be closer to the 4K mark than the mid 3K predictions. We of course will keep you abreast of the water situation here on the Headhunters Info Super Site.
Inflows at Toston below. You can see the orange or red triangle for the median daily flows and you can also see we are below that historical quotient.
Inflows at Toston. USGS Toston Missouri River
Remember that the flows mimicked this in the early, mid, into the latter part of the last decade. We made it through then, we will again. I’m rooting for Mother Nature to guide us along.
How about this weekend with the recent deluge of rain in Craig? Little Prickly Pear currently 123cfs but she will jump back upwards as will the Dearborn with this spit today. Dearborn is muddy this afternoon with flows currently at 675cfs and climbing again. Check us out for the up to the minute Dearborn flows and coloration. We do guide the Dearborn River if you are so inclined. Call us @ 406-235-3447 for additional info and inquiries about guided trips on this small stream jewel in our back yard.
May is one off our favorite months. Most of the shop staff love this month. Fewer folks, great overall fishing, some real good dry fly action along with streamer action as a side note…
Fly Shop open daily from 7am-8pm. Shuttles, flies, killer logo wear, SIMMS, SAGE, RIO, Abel, Nautilus, and much much more!
[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]Local “shop kid” Adair has a new hobby. Quickly freezing mayflies is the latest in 9 year old entertainment around here. Never tried it myself, but I have quickly discovered that frozen Mayflies are much easier to photograph than “hot” bugs. Here’s a couple of detailed shots of our favorite Missouri River Mayfly for those who have never looked close, or those who can’t because the eyesight ain’t so good no more.
To learn more than you need to know about Ephemerella Infrequens, here it is at Troutnut.[/vc_column_text][us_separator show_line=”1″ line_width=”default”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/1″][us_image image=”5750″ size=”full” link=”” onclick=”lightbox”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row]
[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]Ninch and I were going through the fly bins the other day and pointing out a few of our favorite PMD patterns for the Missouri River. Right now. Cripples and spinners, mostly. There are others. Here are some macro shots of a few of them.
click on the images to bring them up in a lightbox.[/vc_column_text][us_separator icon=”fas|star” show_line=”1″ line_width=”default”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/1″][us_grid type=”masonry” post_type=”attachment” items_quantity=”” images=”5609,5610,5611,5612,5613,5614,5615″ orderby=”post__in” items_gap=”” columns=”6″ items_layout=”gallery_default” img_size=”us_350_350_crop” overriding_link=”popup_post_image” breakpoint_1_cols=”6″ breakpoint_2_width=”768px” breakpoint_3_width=”480px” breakpoint_2_cols=”4″ breakpoint_3_cols=”2″][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Great fishing man. Dry fly opportunities for those who like that sort of thing.
The PMD image above shot by our good friend David from Calgary. He got this with a point and shoot, some luck, and a shit ton of talent. Thanks David for the kick ass PMD Image!
Still a bundle of nymphers around but the dry fly bite and what, how, why, and when seem to be the topic of conversation on most Craig porches.
June is upon us. The days are long, the solstice is near, the dry flies are popping,a dn we are headlong into the heart of the season. Still a touch soft this weekend, but Monday, today, it starts. We are in the peak of the peak. June, the last week, is damn busy. The next month will be nutso. Good fishing from dawn til dusk daily. The shop is open early for those early birds. Remember:Early bird does get the worm.
Still some availability in the last two weeks of July. Strange real. Seems that the slide towards June has happened. We see that trend until the 2nd high water year in a row. Then back to July they run. Then the transitions starts all over again.
June is damn good, that is why the slide to June. The fish are not as educated, the fish are fresh, the water temps are cooler, the pressure is less.
Missouri River Montana Fishing Report
The bugs, yes. PMD’s of both kinds are coming off. Not in the huge numbers we would like, but the afternoons at this point hold some hope. Lots of fish rising and not as many noticeable bugs. Remember:This is a film feeding type of river. You may not see the fish eating pretty little duns like they do in your trout fishing dry fly dreams.
So it appears as if the fish are eating nothing. They are eating something near the surface, but not on the surface a lot of the time. They can eat off the top, but as I state here and will for the next 2 months…not all the time. It amy appear as though they are feeding on the top, but they are not. Near the top, near the surface.
Cripples, emergers, spinners. Nuff said.
Flows are holding flat at 4440cfs and the water temps are @ 58F. All good for the dry fly fish. The volume and the depth that most trout are lying in 18″ to 36″ of water. But sometimes much shallower. Keep your eyes open.
The Dearborn is still floatable at 400ish cfs and somewhat stable. Water temps in the upper 50’s too. Just right! The Blackfoot is at 5K and on the slow down slope. We will be there shortly. Keep it here for updates on the Blackfoot River as we will be heading over the divide all summer long!
The weather for th week ahead is cooler than normal. Where will it lead us? It will slow the afternoon bite, until the afternoon. Slower temp increases of the water will keep the insect emergence at bay until later in the day. The sun has to get a little higher.
Remember: Friday Night June 20th we have the Montana Fly Fishing Film Festival here on the grounds of Headhunters with the 2nd Annual Drift Boat Drive-In. BBQ, get a cocktail at Izaak’s or Joe’s Bar, swag, prizes, contests, etc…Bring your Pick up and back it up with lawn chits and enjoy the show at DUSK here in Craig!
Planning a trip and concerned about the summer flows? Well don’t be. We are heading, and already engaged in, a great flow regime for the remainder of said summer. Should be in this range, the 4K plus range for the whole run. Through the end of October. Sound good? Well it should. It feels good. Our fish love this level and the wade fishing is awesome. The boat fishing? Awesome too!
Headhunters Fly Shop and Guide Service in Craig is your information source for all things Missouri River. We are the education leaders and we can help you rig your rod, point you in a dry fly direction, help with fly selection…You know the shops you go into and hardly get a “Hello” from the staff? That is not Headhunters in Craig. We greet you and look forward to meeting you. Let us know how we can help from lodging to guiding, to wade fishing to boat rentals to rod and line matching to just a conversation about emergence behaviors over a cup of coffee.
Headhunters Fly Shop open daily @ 630am for shuttles, flies, info, coffee, boat rentals, lodging, Wi-Fi, cell service with our cell booster, boat washing for invasive species, rental waders, demo reels with killer fly lines, and much, much more!
