Dry Fly Fishing Montana with Dixon Adventures
Monster rainbow caught on an ant pattern.
- Murray Bring with a monster brown that followed the hopper for 10 feet before eating it!
Date: Septmeber 25, 2011
Report: The Missouri is fishing pretty well. The cold snap last week created some excellent fishing and really kicked some of the fall hatches into gear. I found myself out there with cold feet in 59 degree weather working pods on pseudos, pmds, baetis, caddis and other mayflies that would require a masters in entomology to know what they were. With the fall temps around there will be some nice head hunting, primarily in the afternoon. There can be some nice head hunting early in the morning, but I have had some awesome evening fishing during the magic hour. The weeds are out but they are certainly not as bad as past years. I find that when there is a 10-15 mph wind, the hopper/attractor fishing is good and the weeds get cleaned out from lots of lanes. The weeds are always worse when the day is hot and there are little to no winds. My program is all dry flies, so if you are looking for nymphing advice, I am not the source of info for you. After fishing indicators for 3 months during a 40 year flood, I have burned all my indicators! I am catching some huge browns and rainbows searching the right water. Look for water that has some oxygenated currents and weedbeds. The trout are not all on the bank and I have been catching some big trout in middle river areas. The Missouri is a giant spring creek, so the trout can end up anywhere. I use 3x to big hoppers/attractors and with good anglers I will add an ant or beetle to about a 30 inch 4x dropper and fish double dries. Here is a little hint, I have been not just dead drifting and I have been doing a lot more than twitching. There are some predators out there looking for some dries on the move! There are some out-of-the-box tactics that are producing hits so play around with that a little. The evenings have good mayfly and caddis activity and I will match the hatch. These hot days may not have that magic start till real late and the magic hour can turn into the magic half hour. If you want to streamer fish I have talked to some anglers that are moving some nice trout every now and then, but again I am fishing dries exclusively. Good luck out there and the fishing should only get better when the real Autumn temps return! Feel free to call me for advice.
Date: August 9, 2011
Report: The Missouri is finally in its summer mode. It can be tough, but still some big trout to be caught on dries. The trick to fishing the Missouri right now is to make sure you understand that it functions like a giant spring creek. There are gravel bars and weed beds holding trout all over the river so don’t get to tied up fishing the banks. A lot of fisherman do not realize that hoppers actually make it out to the middle of the river and they don’t just get seen on the banks. The Mo is fishing well. The trout can be keyed in on spinners and spent caddis on the upper stretches and can be very educated. The drifts must be clean and drag free. If you do not see the picky risers then scanning with a hopper or ant pattern can produce. Make sure to look for boiling water that indicates weed beds and good dry fly fishing depth. I like using pink, yellow, and tan hoppers, sometimes in a large 4 or 6. I also love using ant patterns, sometimes both an ant and a hopper. If you want to nymph and the dry activity seems slow, drop off a small tungsten nymph about 32 inches from your hopper and run the same water. I like P-tails, purple or red copper johns, caddis, and many others. You can get away with 4X on the dropper. I like using 4X fluoro to the dry. Good luck out there and remember, it’s a huge spring creek. Call me if you have any questions.
- Big Missouri Bow on a Large Hopper Dry
Pam and Dana havin some fun in the sun!
Date: July 30, 2011
Report: The Mighty Mo is finally reaching magical levels. There are gravel bars, flats, and new features of sediment shift on the lower river. The fishing is still a little spotty for dry flies, but the level of the river means that there is some dry fly action for sure. Flies that work forcaddis patterns are tentwing low riding caddis, x caddis, bloom’s, cdc caddis, and the standard elk hair. When you see some trout rising they might also be keying in on PMDs and spent PMDs. Picky fish will eat a well presented PMD with a spent or spinner pattern as a trailer. The terrestrial bite has not started yet, but there are hoppers and ants and the heat will pick up the action on attractor fishing. You can definitely catch some fish on attractors, but there might be some long spells in between hits. Make sure you don’t just fish the banks and keep in mind the Missouri is like a giant spring creek and there are trout hanging out on gravel bars and weed beds in the middle of the river. Any day the fishing could blow up into awesome hopper/attractor fishing. The fishing down low has been moody and sometimes frustrating, but still some fun with all the gravel bars starting to show. There are some definite changes in the lower river with some gravel bars and shifts noticeable. The nymphing can still be good but make sure not to run more than 6 or 7 feet or you will be guess setting on the bottom all day. I like to have both set ups rigged in my boat so I am prepared for any scenario. If you have any other questions please call myself or Phil and Joan Camera at Prewett Creek. Here is the link to his site www.prewettcreekinn.com I have some open days so I can meet you over there and go after some big trout on dries if you want to try a Dixon Adventure! Good luck out there!
New "Fly Fishing The World" TV host, Conway Bowman, with a nice brown
DATE: July 16, 2011
REPORT: The flows are finally matching Toston flows at 13000 CFS and the dry fly fishing is getting better. There is some good dry fly fishing on the whole river, but the spots can be tricky in these flows. Look for shaded canyon walls and soft water or if you are adventurous and don’t mind the mosquito attack, stay out late and see if you can get some Brown Drake action! There are sallies and caddis and pmds and there are trout used to the big flows. Nymphing can yield your best numbers. I will not give the best advice on the hot nympn, I just put any old size 12-16 on and just make sure I am fishing the right water. The standard nymphs should work fine. I do like the red copper john, but make sure you bring them over because the shops don’t have any over there for some reason. I will post some more photos and give better info later this week because I will be over there for a week. I am looking forward to not floating in over 20000 CFS! Let me know if you have any questions, the Mo is a tough river to conquer or understand for the novice and experts!
Hatches: Brown Drakes at night and in storms, caddis, pmds, sallies, and much more with the water temps rising!
- My spiritual guidance counselour Andy Russetti with a dandy!
- Nice work Bob! Monster Brown!
