Fly Fishing the Missouri River 2024
After a nice break for the holiday, Wednesday was the start of 3 days with the Switchback Navy crew. This group has been fishing together for over 30 years and we have had the pleasure of having them on the Missouri for the last several seasons.
There were 6 anglers total, and today I had Dan and Steve in my boat as we launched at Wolf Creek. We started off with deep nymph rigs and after Dan stuck a native whitefish in the first spot we were off to the races with hot rainbows after that.
The guys were averaging a hook up or two per spot early on, but the fishing improved throughout the morning and after the first mile it seemed like either Dan or Steve was hooked up everytime our flies were in the water. I noticed the first real PMD hatch of the season and Dan poked a few on PMD nymphs as well.
We capped off the morning with 4 fish hooked and 3 landed in the last run before lunch. In the afternoon I wanted to try to short leash PMD nymphs and Dan hooked a big fish that got off on the first bank and then he picked up a couple nice rainbows above Craig, but the wind started to howl in the afternoon and it was just too difficult to control the boat and get good drifts so we went back to the deep nymph rods.
That was the ticket as Dan picked up two more right away and then Steve doubled up with him. We tried a couple more short leash spots and Dan found a nice brown trout, but the deep game was the way to go and produced more consistent action. Despite the heavy winds it was a good day on the water.
Steve and Dan boated a bunch of healthy rainbows in the 16-19″ range and a couple good brown trout too.
Fly Fishing the Missouri River 2024
Thursday we were back out with the SBN again and decided to fish down in the canyon. I had Willy and Bob in the boat today and we started out with deep nymph rigs. Willy hooked up in the first run but the fish got off and the next couple of spots didn’t produce so we switched the flies around some.
After the fly change Bob picked up a rainbow right away and on our next pass he hooked a big brown that threw the fly on a jump. Once the flies were dialed in we started seeing more consistent fishing. Bob boated a nice 18″ bow and Willy followed that up with a 20″ brown as we started seeing a fish or two in each spot.
After lunch we stayed with the deep game and Bob had the hot hand early. He stuck 3 nice fish in our next 2 spots and then Willy got in on the action with a spunky rainbow. Later in the afternoon we started to see some bugs and made an attempt at short leash fishing.
Bob found two very small trout on foamy seams and then picked up a good rainbow in a back eddy, but the short game wasn’t really on so we went back deep and Willy finished up with a decent brown and one more nice rainbow.
It was windy again today and that made for challenging casting and boat handling. But despite the wind we still had pretty good fishing with plenty of nice rainbows and browns in the boat.
Fly Fishing the Missouri River 2024
Friday was the last day with the Switchback Navy crew and we went upriver to Wolf Creek for our last float. Today I had John and Al in the boat and we started with the deep nymph rods. The first couple of spots did not produce a single strike which was mildly concerning.
Then we slid over to the other side of the river and promptly caught 3 nice rainbows. Once we were on them, Al and John stayed on them. A hot fish broke John off just after that, but once I got him retied, the guys doubled up in the next spot. It was a steady stream of quality rainbows all morning with 3 at the 19″ mark. Al added one more jumping bow to the ledger as we pulled into lunch with the other boats. The deep game was consistent, but this crew is slightly competitive so we discussed options for the afternoon.
I told the guys that we might find bigger fish on a short leash rig, but maybe not as much action in the bright sun. They decided to give it a shot and the first hour after lunch it was lights out fishing. In the first 2 minutes the guys doubled up.
Then Alan boated 2 more solid bows on the bank before John added another one, and Alan found another one as I was trying to row the boat over to other bank. It was a frenzied pace of fishing and that continued for a few more spots before it started to taper off a little. A fast bank produced another 19″ bow for John before the bright sun and wind started to take a toll. When that dried up we went back to deep game and connected with a couple more.
To finish up we decided to swing for the fences with the short leash rig hoping for a big fish. It wasn’t meant to be as we came up empty in the last couple of spots. Overall it was a great day of fishing with consistent fishing in the morning, and epic session in the afternoon and lots of rainbows from 15-19″. This is such a great crew of guys and we love seeing them on the Missouri each season.
Fly Fishing the Missouri River 2024
Saturday was the first of 3 days with Jerome and Eldon on the Missouri. I’ve fished with Jerome around Missoula and he has been itching to do the Missouri. When I had a cancellation he grabbed the dates right away. We launched at Wolf Creek and started the day with deep nymph rigs.
Both guys had bent rods and hot rainbows on the line with the boat ramp still in sight. Since it was their first trip to the Missouri, there was a learning curve though as these big fish are hard to handle. Through the morning we hooked up in every run that we fished and learned some lessons on line management, rod angles, too much pressure.
These trout are super charged right now so it takes some getting used to. They will break you off in a split second with hard runs, or they will charge the boat and create slack, or they jump like crazy and throw the hook. We saw it all in the morning as Jerome and Eldon landed some quality trout and we had plenty of early releases.
Toward lunch we started to build momentum as the guys landed a nice double and then Jerome followed that up with a big rainbow in fast water. In the afternoon we started with short leash rods and only picked up one smaller rainbow in the first 2 spots so we went back deep and right away Jerome had another solid rainbow in the net.
The deep game remained fairly steady through the afternoon in most of the runs. We went super short in a big back eddy and Jerome had a long fight with a strong rainbow and then we finished up the day with short leash rods. Eldon doubled with Jerome on a good bank and then Jerome closed us out with a nice 17″ brown in our last spot.
We had good action from start to finish and the guys had a great time for their first day on the Mo.
Fly Fishing the Missouri River 2024
Sunday I took Jerome and Eldon up to Land of the Giants in the jet boat. We started off in the middle river with deep nymph rigs and Jerome didn’t waste anytime with a fat 20″ rainbow in the net and then an even bigger bow that jumped and threw the hook on our first pass.
From there Eldon took over with the next several fish including a massive 24″ rainbow. Once I got Jerome switched to the same set up he started connecting too. Mixed in with those big rainbows where a handful of 12-15″ fish that fought and jumped like crazy. After that great start we went to the upper river and made one long pass with no fish and a couple of maybe strikes.
We changed flies again and moved down to a different fast run. That spot was loaded and we stayed there the rest of the morning and made several more passes again after lunch. We hooked at least one fish on every pass and doubled a couple of times. After lunch Jerome had the hot hand with some great rainbows in the net, but Eldon hooked some absolute monsters that either broke us off or threw the hook. It is tricky water with fast currents and some big boulders to avoid. That can be difficult to do when you are attached to a freight train of a trout.
Eventually that fishing dried up and we started working our way downriver. We had some strikes in the lower runs and Jerome briefly had one on, but the bite in the river definitely faded late in the day so we motored out in the lake to fish chrionomids. When we got there it was the perfect light chop on the water and Eldon picked up a decent rainbow right away.
Then Jerome landed a bright 21″ bow that probably weighed 3 pounds. Eldon capped it off with another gorgeous 23″ rainbow. After that the wind started to blow harder and the bite was off so we made our way to the ramp. The guys did great for their first day at LOG. We landed some awesome trout and definitely have a few “big ones that got away” stories to tell.
