“The early bird gets the trout.”
Weekend Preview Fishing Report for 7.28.23-7.30.23
Current Flows: 4,590 cfs
Weather Forecast: Saturday — Mostly sunny, 90s Sunday — Sunny and mid 90s
Hatch Report: PMDs, Pseudos, Caddis, and Tricos aplenty’
Mighty Mo’ Report
There are times I am so grateful someone took the time to teach me how to fly fish. The person who taught me was a guy named Matthew Thomas. It took some incredible patience and persistence to get me to even tie a proper knot. Eight years later, I can tie my own knot and every now and then I can bring in a fish or two. These past two weeks, I have also been overcome with gratitude for fly fishing. The Missouri River has been incredible. The hatches, the warm water, the beautiful scenery and bringing in trout left and right has been great. Experiencing this with some of my friends has made it even better. This week, I really sat back and thought about how fortunate I was to live within an hour of the Missouri. I hold the Mo’ in high regard, maybe too high. I should probably go fish another river or stream or creek. But when it’s summer time in Montana, like a fly drawn to the light, my vehicle automatically takes me to Craig Montana. It’s on auto pilot with the navigation pin pointed to the Missouri River. Now, this trip usually begins at about 4:30 AM. Folks, if you’re not willing to wake up early and get on the water, then you’re wasting your time. The high air and water temperatures have a tendency to shut off the bite around noon. The trico spinnerfall happens around 10 am and that will be your window for crushing fish. Look for fast water and shallow riffles. These stretches will be cooler and hold more oxygen. Perfect for Trout in the warm midsummer.
The trico clouds on the Missouri River have been so intense this year. Check out the bird in the picture. It looks out of focus but it’s not. The trico hatch is so thick, it distorts the flying bird’s image.
