Big Trout – Missouri River Fishing
Big Trout – Missouri River Fishing. Tuesday was the first of 3 days on the Missouri River with long-time angler, Dick, and this year we were joined by his friend Joseph. With cloudy weather on tap I decided to float the canyon. We rowed upstream to the first run and Dick wasted no time as he connected with a rainbow trout on his first cast.
We fished that run again and Dick added two more to the net on that pass. Joseph got into the mix just downstream in some faster seams with a nice rainbow trout and Dick continued his hot streak with a couple more strong bows.
Not far below that Dick connected with a heavy fish that made a couple big runs upstream. After a good fight we had a fat 20+” brown trout in the boat. The fishing only improved from there. The guys doubled up in the next spot and then we switched to a shorter nymph rig as the blue-wings were starting to hatch.
All of the foamy back eddies were loaded and the guys played with multiple fish in each of those spots. The banks produced well too. The action was even better in the afternoon as I seemed to be occupied with releasing fish in every spot down the river.
The guys had a great double with a pair of big rainbow trouts off a rock formation and then Joseph found a nice brown trout of his own. Dick got his “big one that got away” story with a really big rainbow trout that hammered the fly before making a huge run upstream.
He fought it all the way back to the boat and we got a good look at that monster bow before it buried itself in some big boulders and broke off. We were able to finish the day the same we started as Joseph fought one final rainbow trout all the way to the boat ramp.
Lots of action from start to finish with a pile of nice 16-18″ rainbow trouts and a few browns mixed in.
Big Trout – Missouri River Fishing
After the fishing yesterday and the spotty fishing reports from the upper river I decided to do a little different stretch through the canyon again today. Joseph picked up a bright rainbow trout in the first run but our morning was definitely different than yesterday.
We had to work for our chances early. I switched flies several times and we worked the good runs over hard and scratched out a fish here and there. No matter what I tried, Dick couldn’t hardly buy a strike in the morning.
Joseph was hooking up every couple of runs and the action improved when we switched to a shorter nymph rig and he boated 4 in two runs, but by lunch Dick had only been briefly connected to one fish. Judging by the afternoon, Dick was merely saving his strength for the big fish.
In the very first spot after lunch Dick blasted a gorgeous 20″ bow. He connected with the next two after that and it was game on for the rest of the day. We doubled up a few times in a big back eddy and then the river started to yield nice fish in most of the likely spots.
The big rock walls at the end of the canyon were especially good with some quality rainbow trouts. Then we found a back eddy that was absolutely loaded with small rainbow trouts and browns. I think we had 3 doubles in there and the guys had strikes on nearly every cast from 10-13″ trout.
It was fun to bend the rods non-stop but then we moved on to find some bigger specimens. We had a couple of big browns get away from us and after that it was a steady diet of nice rainbow trouts the rest of the way.
Dick finished up with a super fat 19″ rainbow trout and Joseph stuck a solid 18″ bow and a dark colored 17″ bow in the last run of the day. It was a slower start in the morning, but the river came to life and we had another great day in the canyon with a good mix of rainbow trouts and browns.
Big Trout – Missouri River Fishing
Thursday was my last day with Dick and Joseph. After 2 great days in the canyon, and bright sunshine on tap we decided to move upriver for a long float starting at Wolf Creek. Dick picked up a small rainbow trout on his first cast and another fish in that run before tagging a good rainbow trout a few runs downstream.
The action was a little spotty early and completely the opposite of yesterday. Dick was sticking nice fish in about every other spot while Joseph could hardly buy a strike at all. That started to turn around when the guys doubled up and landed a pair of healthy rainbow trouts.
It was good to get Joseph on the board even though Dick closed out the morning with a fat brown trout and one more rainbow trout. The afternoon started fast as Joseph hooked a big rainbow trout that went cartwheeling all over the river and eventually popped off.
Dick landed a solid 18″ bow right after that and the next couple of casts produced a bright 19″ rainbow trout for Joseph. Then the guys doubled up in a back eddy and Joseph was fighting a massive rainbow trout.
We saw it jump a couple times and it was well over 20″, but it eventually broke him off on a jump. The rest of the day continued at a similar pace. The guys were hooking at least a couple fish in every run and the average size was incredible.
It seemed like every fish in the net was 18-20″ in the afternoon. We had a few doubles and Dick boated the best fish of the day on a rocky bank. It was a big 22″ male rainbow trout that ate a tiny blue-wing olive nymph.
When the Missouri River is fishing well it can truly spoil you, and today the guys were spoiled for sure. We capped off the day with one last rainbow trout for Joseph right above the take out.
3 solid days on the Missouri River where the guys boated fish in the very first run and last run each day, and a whole pile of quality fish in between. I always look forward to seeing Dick each year, and after 3 days with Joseph he is welcome in my boat anytime.
Big Trout – Missouri River Fishing
Sunday we had a two boat trip with the Dawson clan. Bryan and Karen fished with my guide, David, last summer on the Blackfoot and decided to squeeze in a Missouri River day while on a road trip to the east coast.
They were joined by their son, Nick, and friend Scott. It was cold and rainy in the morning when we launched in the canyon. I was paired with Bryan and Scott. Scott had never fly fished before so I gave him a quick lesson on the basics before we set off fishing short nymph rigs.
The first couple of runs I was mainly focused on coaching Scott up and he was doing well. Then Bryan came tight on the first nice rainbow trout of the day. He picked up another in the next spot before he and Scott doubled up on nice rainbow trouts in the next run.
Scott did a great job playing his first trout on a fly rod and before long he had a bright 17″ bow in the boat. We added a few more nice fish to the tally before pulling in for lunch together. Fortunately the rain let up in the afternoon and the mayflies started hatching everywhere.
No rising fish, but they were more than happy to eat our short leashed nymphs. Scott got into a little more of a rhythm in the afternoon and connected with several quality rainbow trouts. The best was a fish that jumped at least 5 times during the fight.
Bryan proved to be a steady hand as he stuck fish in nearly every likely spot the rest of the day. He picked off one more brown trout that added to a bunch of nice rainbow trouts. He landed the last fish of the day as we were anchored at the take out.
Karen and Nick had a fantastic day with David. They had a couple quality browns and lots of rainbow trouts in the net as well. The weather was a little rough early, but it ended up being another stellar day on the Missouri River.
Big Trout – Missouri River Fishing
Stong nymph fishing this week on the Missouri River with both deep and short rigs. The March Brown hatch has started and we hope to see some rising fish any day now.
There is no better fishing in Montana right now than the Missouri River River and we are lucky to be back out there next week! Check out current Montana river flows here
