Great Montana Fishing
Monday I was back out with Jeff and Jim on Mo. It was a bright, sunny day so we headed up to Wolf Creek to start the day. Jim came tight on the first nice rainbow of the day just across from the put in. That was a fast start, but then it slowed down for a couple a spots.
When a great run didn’t produce we rowed back up and made some changes. Jeff hooked up on the next pass and we started to pick away at some fish. There was a nice rainbow in the net in every other run or so. Then it was like flipping a switch and the trout went on the feed.
The next run produced 6 hook ups and 3 trout in the net including a double and nice brown trout for Jim that jumped several times. From there the rest of the morning was fast fishing with quality rainbows in every run we floated through. At one point we doubled back to back and then Jeff caught two on two consecutive casts.
We fished deep most of the morning and switched to the short leash rods for the afternoon. Jim hooked a bright rainbow immediately. We weren’t even really fishing yet as I was trying to get Jeff’s rod out of the rod holder.
The next fast bank produced a couple hook ups for Jeff and a big bow at the bottom. In the early afternoon we played around with dry/dropper rigs and even threw at some rising fish. The risers were super sensitive and wouldn’t even really let us fish to them in the sun.
The sun also hampered the dry/dropper and short leash fishing so we went back to the deep nymph rods and that was the ticket. We hooked fish in every spot with the deep nymphs, and Jeff put on a clinic for the last hour of the day as he stuck at least one nice fish in every spot and had a few runs with multiple trout on the line.
We pulled into the takeout after releasing one more thick rainbow for Jeff. It was a beautiful day on the Missouri. We started early and managed to dodge just about all of the boat traffic through the day. Fishing was good throughout with plenty of big rainbows in the net.
Great Montana Fishing
Tuesday I went up to Land of the Giants in the jet boat with Jeff and Jim. We launched early and motored all the way up toward the dam to start. Jim got us going with 2 hook ups and one big rainbow that made a hard screaming run upstream on our first pass.
We stayed on the upper river for the first half of the morning and averaged one nice fish on each drift. That was decent fishing, but I’m always looking for more so we started working our way downstream. A long slow run produced a bright rainbow for Jeff and a good hook up for Jim.
Then the next run gave up a fat, tank rainbow for Jim out of a boulder garden. We finished the morning fishing the deeper water in the mid-river and Jeff was unstoppable. He hooked at least one fish on every pass including a thick, colorful 20+” rainbow.
The wind made it interesting as the morning progressed. It was blowing hard enough that it was difficult to row the boat and made casting a challenge too. We tucked out of the worst of the wind for lunch and then kept fishing a slightly less windy inside run in the middle river to start the afternoon.
Jeff still had the magic touch with at least one fish on every drift and Jim added a couple to the mix as well. The fish after lunch were almost all 16″ or smaller rainbows so we made a move to find bigger fish. I wanted to fish one more run in the river, but the wind was blowing white caps upstream so we headed out on the lake to fish chironomids.
Jeff’s hot streak continued as he hooked the first fish only a few feet away from the motor. After landing that one his rod was bent again less than a minute later. There was a flurry of activity when we first arrived and then it slowed down a little. We moved to a different spot in the lake and Jeff did it again.
He hooked up immediately and this was the fish of the day. It was a gorgeous rainbow that was 22″ and super thick. That spot gave up a couple more and then the wind started kicking up again and we had to tuck in against the shore. The pace of the fishing slowed down the last hour but we were still getting strikes and catching a few.
I switched the guys up to leeches and Jim tagged a couple more and we ended the day with a nice double. Despite the heavy winds today we caught fish from start to finish in just about every spot that we hit. It was a great 3 days with Jim and Jeff. I’ll be fishing with them in Missoula in a few weeks and they already have their Missouri dates for 2026.
Great Montana Fishing
Wednesday was the first of 3 days with the Rodmen crew who have been coming to fish the Missouri with us for years. We had a partly cloudy forecast with afternoon wind so we opted for the upper river and launched at Wolf Creek.
I had Bill and Dave in my boat, while fellow guide Nick fished with Hunter and Lev. It was a rocky start to the morning. There were some rod issues, broken off flies, and a pile of whitefish in the first few runs. Then Dave got us back on track with a couple of rainbows in the net.
Things started to happen with a mix of trout and whitefish, and then like the other day on that stretch a switch flipped and the trout started to eat well in the late morning. When that happened Dave hooked two and landed a nice rainbow at the top of a long run. Then Bill stuck a hot fish in shallow water that took a screaming run.
It turned out to be a gorgeous brown, and Dave doubled up with a solid rainbow. I had the brown in the net waiting for Dave’s bow and when I netted Dave’s fish, Bill’s brown jumped out of the net to freedom. That was mildly funny, and somewhat tragic for Bill.
Fortunately he followed that up with a big rainbow in the next run and we added one more before meeting up with the guys for lunch. In the afternoon we stayed with the deep nymph game. It was consistent early with quality trout coming out of all the spots. Bill was banging them in every run and Dave added a couple.
Then we tried to short leash a couple spots with no luck so it was back to the deep rods. At that point the wind kicked up really hard. It was a downstream wind which made casting and holding the boat difficult. We stuck it out and had fair fishing the rest of the afternoon.
Dave stuck another big bow that dragged us downriver a long way before hitting the net and Bill was picking up some feisty rainbows in most of the spots. We finished up with some redemption as Bill came tight in our last run. It was another big brown and this one stayed in the net until we were able to get a nice photo.
Great Montana Fishing
Thursday we ventured down in the canyon and I had Bill and Hunter in the boat. It didn’t take long for the first strike as Bill had a bite only a few casts into the day. There were a couple more volunteers in the next riffle before Hunter tagged a nice rainbow on a slow, deep shelf.
The action was consistent in the morning with hooked fish in all the runs we hit. It was mostly rainbows, but Bill fooled a thick pretty brown trout mid morning and then he added another nice brown just before lunch. The afternoon started fast with a couple of quick fish including a solid rainbow for Hunter.
Then we tried the dry/dropper game but only had one strike down a long bank. The deep rig was steady though and Bill was on a roll in the afternoon with fish in every run. Just above Prewett the fishing was really good with a nice double and several good rainbows.
When we got to the bottom of the canyon we went back to the short leash and Bill added a few more nice rainbows to the tally. I even picked off a brown trout on a fast seam while the guys were getting rain gear on. The action faded on us late in the day.
Bill stuck one more decent brown a half mile above the take out, but our dry/dropper efforts didn’t pan out so we called it a day. It was good day overall. The morning and most of the afternoon were consistent. The short leash and dry/dropper fishing was not as good as it has been recently so the very end of the day was a little slow.
Great Montana Fishing
Friday we went back to a different stretch of the canyon with the Rodmen. I had Bill and Lev in the boat and we started off with the deep nymph rigs. The trout were grabby right out of the gate as the guys hooked several in the first few spots but they proved tough to keep on the line.
We got into the grove a little better in a long run with a few smaller rainbows including a double. Just below we found a couple of big bows that put up good fights. The fishing was fairly steady the rest of the morning and just before lunch we fished a dry/dropper set up down a good bank.
That didn’t produce until the very end when Bill hooked a nice rainbow on the dropper that jumped and then broke us off. We stayed with the deep nymph rig for most of the afternoon and it was steady with a hook up or two in most all of the spots.
Lev had a couple of big browns that got away, but he also converted on some nice browns too. Otherwise it was a steady diet of mid-sized and a little bigger rainbows for Bill and Lev. We took one more shot at the dry/dropper game in the afternoon and Lev had a nice rainbow come up and eat his dry fly.
That was a great visual, but shortly after that we notice a big push of water coming through with lots of floating debris. That ended the dry/dropper fishing so it was back to the deep rig. Lev stuck another nice brown on a fast shelf and we finished up with one more rainbow for Bill as we came into the Mountain Palace channel.
It was steady fishing throughout today. Never really turned on like the Missouri can, but we were hooking nice fish on a regular basis and enjoyed the best weather day so far this week.
The Rodmen crew is always a lot of fun to get on the water with. We have been fishing together for decades at this point and I’m already looking forward to the next time.
