Catching Big Trout on the Missouri
Monday was the last day with the Carson group and I took Andrew and Chuck up to Land of the Giants. It was still a little chilly, but a much nicer weather day with no wind and some good cloud cover.
We started off in the middle river and it was a little tough early. We hooked a fish or two on the first few passes but they came unbuttoned.
After searching around a little more the guys doubled up with a pair of smaller rainbows and we found one more little guy before deciding to head upriver. The upper river wasn’t much better. I changed flies and tried a few different drifts, and we did hook a couple fish but they got away.
There just wasn’t any pattern to the fishing. By late morning we were working our way downriver and Andrew came tight on a decent fish and put that one in the net. Just below that Check hooked up to a big fish that put up a good fight in some faster current.
That rainbow was 21″, but it was the fattest fish I have seen all year. After a couple good fish we took a break for lunch. In the afternoon I switched the flies and we tried some faster water.
Andrew hooked one in there but it got away so we dropped down to the lower river where two drifts yielded a small rainbow for Chuck. With the fishing in the river so spotty I decided to run out to the lake and give it a shot.
Just a couple minutes into fishing on the lake and Andrew was tight to a bright rainbow. When he stuck another just a few minutes after that I switched Chuck over to the same fly.
It wasn’t long before he was tight to a really big rainbow. She fought hard but Chuck did a good job with her and slid and awesome 23″ rainbow in the net.
Andrew hooked up to a slab after that but the hook pulled out during the battle. Then it went quiet. We moved a few times and changed flies but the activity definitely dropped off.
Chuck had a couple brief hook ups and Andrew had a few strikes but the fishing tapered off at the end of the day.
In general it was a tough day at LOG. The river was very spotty and the lake was good, but only for a brief window.
The guys fished hard, we had fun, and Chuck went home with photos of a couple of the biggest rainbows of the trip. The whole crew was a pleasure to fish and we certainly hope to see them back again next spring.
Catching Big Trout on the Missouri
Tuesday was the first of 3 days with Craig and Lew. Craig has been coming out to fish the Mo each spring for years and Lew has joined him a few times. The weather was finally warming up a touch and we had clouds so it was an easy choice to fish down in the canyon.
We started off with deep nymph rigs and it took a couple of spots to get in the rhythm, but Craig got us started with a decent rainbow. That same run produced several other hook ups and a couple more bows in the boat.
We pulled into an inside edge below that and Lew stuck a colorful rainbow. Then we grabbed the short leash rods and hooked a couple nice fish on the next bank.
Craig took another bow on a fast seam and when we went back to the deep rods for one more run. Lew picked off a rainbow immediately, Craig got a couple after that, and then we finished that spot with a double including a healthy brown trout.
After lunch we grabbed the short leash rods and didn’t look back. Craig netted 2 in the first spot and then Lew added a big bow at the end of that run. Then we experienced a little weather delay when a heavy rain/hail storm moved through for about 20 minutes.
We hunkered down to stay warm, but once the weather broke the fishing was even better. Every spot was producing quality trout and I couldn’t believe the number of brown trout we landed.
Craig had an exceptional day and likely pushed into double digits on just brown trout, and Lew picked off a stud 21″ brown that was holding tight to the bank.
The fishing remained steady all the way through and we pulled into the take out with another double on the line.
This time Lew had the brown and Craig had a bright rainbow. A handful of doubles, lots of healthy fish from 15-21″, and weather that was the best we’ve seen in a week.
Catching Big Trout on the Missouri
Wednesday I met Craig and Lew a little earlier and we headed up to Wolf Creek. It was a ghost town up there with nobody else at the ramp when we launched, and the trout were in a good mood.
Craig hooked a good rainbow in the first spot and the fishing snowballed from there. It was one of those days where the guys hooked them in every run, to the point that I started fishing different spots just to see if trout were there and we connected with fish in most every one of those spots too.
It was a steady stream of nice rainbows in the morning with a bunch of fish in the 17-20″ range. The most memorable moment of the morning was a hot rainbow that Craig hooked. As soon as it felt the hook it went leaping upriver and nearly crossed Lew’s line.
The fish was back underwater for a split second and then it jumped again right into our boat. It nearly hit me on the way in and I had to scramble to get it off the floor of the boat and back into the river.
Craig got the afternoon going with another rainbow in the first spot and then the next bank produced a brown trout double with Lew landing a pretty brown. A few minutes and several rainbows later, and Craig picked off a big brown on a fast bank.
There were a few more browns in the afternoon and several other doubles as Lew and Craig had their rods bent most of the way down the river. It was so good that in one spot I told the guys we would be fishing on the right.
Craig didn’t hear me and started fishing out the left. While I was explaining that he was fishing on the wrong side of the boat he stuck a hot rainbow and said, seems like it’s ok on this side too. The weather was nearly perfect too.
It was the warmest day in a week with a little bit of sun, but mostly clouds and the blue wing hatch came off heavy so we were able to short leash all afternoon.
Hardly any other boats on the water, great fishing from start to finish, and good weather. It just doesn’t get much better than today.
Catching Big Trout on the Missouri
Thursday was my last day with Craig and Lew so we met early and went up to the dam to see some different water. It was sunny and chilly but we knew it would warm up into the 60’s today.
Lew got things going with a big rainbow in our first spot but I could tell things were a little different today when we didn’t get another strike in there on the next pass.
Around the corner Lew connected with another hot rainbow, but the trout were definitely not as grabby as normal and the whitefish bite was crazy.
Craig and Lew both came tight on big rainbows in the next run which was great, but the whitefish were coming at a 2 to 1 ratio which is something I’ve rarely seen on the Mo. I was changing flies and depths, but the fishing remained the same on the upper river.
Lew picked up a smaller rainbow at the mouth of Prickly Pear and then we grabbed the short leash rods since there were a few mayflies around. The next fast bank wasn’t as good as I expected. Craig poked a decent rainbow at the bottom of that run, but the fishing still felt a little off so we took a break for lunch.
For the afternoon I re-rigged both the deep nymph rods and the short leash rods. We started off deep and found a run that gave up three nice fish.
A fat rainbow for Craig, and a heavy bow and big brown for Lew. That was the start of more consistent fishing for us.
The deep nymphs continued to produce quality fish in the next few runs. Then we switched over to the short leash rods as some scattered clouds moved in and the bugs were really hatching.
Craig and Lew doubled with impressive 20 inch rainbows in the next spot. And the short leash continued to find hard fighting trout in every spot the rest of the day.
Craig had the last rainbow of the trip jumping on his line right above the Craig bridge. The bright sun or something had the trout in a grumpy mood this morning, but it came around for us in the afternoon.
We didn’t do quite the same numbers as the previous 2 days, but almost every fish today was big with a lot of awesome rainbows from 18-20″.
Craig and Lew are always fun to fish with and they’re already talking about next year’s trip.
Catching Big Trout on the Missouri
Friday I was out with long-time Missouri anglers, Bob and Frank. The guys love how pretty is it down in the canyon so we decided to float down there today under sunny skies and warm temps.
We started off with deep nymph rigs and picked up a couple of small bows and hooked a bigger one at the mouth of the Dearborn. Then it went quiet, real quiet. We floated a ways through some water that has been consistent and didn’t touch a fish today.
So we switched over to the short leash rods and Bob had a good eat right away and then connected with a big brown that broke us off.
At the bottom of that bank Bob stuck another nice brown trout and Frank got broken off by a fish in a foam hole.
Then Frank got a decent brown off a shelf and Bob picked off another quality brown in a back eddy. It was a little weird to see all those browns in a row in the bright sun.
Bob hooked one more bow on the short leash before we grabbed the deep rods for 2 runs. The first run produced a rainbow for Frank that took him down into some sticks and got away.
The next run gave up a few midsized rainbows before took a break for lunch. In the afternoon Bob found a hot rainbow on the first bank with the short leash rod and then Frank picked one up when we pulled into an inside riffle and worked it.
There were some blank spots on the river today and I could definitely tell the bright sun had an effect, but when we got the fly into the right spots on a good drift we could get some strikes.
Toward the end of the float we found a good run where the guys hooked 4 and landed 3 including a big, 19″ rainbow. Around the corner from that Bob tangled with another big brown that was sitting right on a seam.
That was the last fish in the net as we took out a little early due to the warm weather. We had to work a little harder in the sun today, but Bob and Frank kept at it and boated some great trout today including some nice browns. They have two more days on the Mo with David next week.
Catching Big Trout on the Missouri
Saturday was the first of 2 days with the Lindy crew. John has been bringing his son and grandsons to the Missouri for a few years now and they are a blast to fish with. We met a little later today to let the traffic clear out and launched at Wolf Creek.
I had John and his son Johnny, while fellow guide Tom and grandsons Zach and Alex. We started off with mid-depth mayfly rigs. John picked off a quick rainbow in our second spot and then further down the bank Johnny stuck a big, colorful bow that came unbuttoned right at the boat.
There were a couple other early releases and break offs while the guys worked out the kinks of being on the water for the first time. We settle in though and found a couple other healthy rainbows before the guys doubled up for the first time.
Johnny had a bright, jumping bow while John netted a colorful 20″ rainbow. From there the fishing just continued to improve with steady action and Johnny capped off the morning with a pristine 19″ rainbow.
He got things going in the afternoon too with a thick 21″ bow in the first spot. For the next hour or so it was pandemonium on the river. The guys were doubling up in almost every spot. We didn’t land all of them, but 3 or 4 fish were on the line in every run.
The bank below Craig produced a colorful brown for John and then the guys doubled toward the bottom of the bank and by the time I released those Johnny was already tight to another brown trout.
That fever pitch fishing eventually tapered some, but we continued to hook quality trout everywhere we fished. Johnny closed out the day with 2 on and one in the net as we coasted to the take out.
It was good fishing all day and insanely good at times with a lot of healthy fish from 16-20+”. Alex and Zach had banner fishing with Tom as well.
