This Is What I'm Into

It was brutally windy on Saturday; ditto on Sunday. It made finding surface feeding trout challenging. Then overnight into Monday morning it snowed. When I woke up the picnic table at the campground I was staying at was fully covered. I used my car snow brush to clean it off, fired up a propane burner and made a giant cup of hot tea. I had a half day of fishing left and then the five hour drive home, hopefully arriving before dusk to avoid deer on pavement. It was finally calm and the day looked so promising. I wish I had more time. I always wish I had more time.

leopard looking trout

There were some big RV's in the campground. Some were occupied by anglers with drift boats, most however, were hunters. At the campground entrance was a tent. When its occupant got up he walked over in my direction and said something from a distance which I couldn't hear. As he got closer I heard him ask me if I had been finding any rising trout. He said the last couple of days had been slow for him and he had to resort to throwing streamers. He had caught a lot of fish this way but said it was not why he drove all the way from the West Coast.

I shared that I had caught trout on dries but I had to hunt for them, that the conditions had been tough the past two days (wind) and that I wasn't finding a lot of risers. I told him that on this river if you keep moving around and checking different spots, often you could find surface feeders even when it seemed unlikely. I soon realised he knew this. As he talked it became clear he knew the river quite well. I told him that when it is blowing hard I walk island areas and hunt for fish on the lee side. I explained where I had spent the previous day and started to describe the location. He finished my description in great detail and clarity. I said, "Oh, you know the spot".  I described another place I had picked up fish on Saturday and also got to watch several large spawning Brown trout on redds. He knew it too.

shallow side channel with spawning browns

We talked about the river which we are both big fans of. He had been on it for a couple of weeks and clearly had fished it a lot in past seasons. I told him that in spite of it being the first weekend of November and cold, I had picked up some of my best trout by spotting them slowly circulating in shallow areas, and then casting a beetle near them...some takes, more rejections...but some nice ones. I also had some success with olives when a weak afternoon hatch developed. He shared information on how the river had been fishing down near the town of Cascade and explained how to access the water from the east side, something I had never done.

I found out he was from the Spokane, Washington area. I said, "Shouldn't you be chasing steelhead at this time of year"? He said, "I'm not into that" then looked out behind him toward the Missouri river and said, " This is what I'm into." I understood.

Missouri river near cascade



The Mighty Mo

"All water has a perfect memory and is forever trying to get back to where it was".
- Toni Morrison


Coffee in a take out cup simply tastes better on cold Autumn mornings. With the recent frost, leaves are dropping. Pumpkins are on porches as Halloween is just around the corner. My dog's outdoor water bowl has a layer of ice on it. My wading boots are semi frozen. After tugging them on I walk like Herman Munster. Hay bales are stacked high in the nearby fields. Waterfowl are passing overhead. The big Winter sleep is coming but not quite yet. Don't put away that fly rod. From all over people are converging on the Missouri river affectionately called the "Mighty Mo". It is Baetis time and they are throwing the small greenish-grey coloured flies at rising trout, or slinging streamers in search of big browns. As it is cooling down, things are really just heating up.

-Craig, Montana   October 11, 2013



the rise



morning frost on fly covered boat cooler



I just spent a week on the Missouri river....and it was heating up. I can't think of a better place for a dry fly angler to plant himself in mid Autumn, whether it be for a day, a week or a month. The larger Baetis (Olives) didn't really pop when I was there, so I fished Pseudos (tiny olives), size 22 and 24's. I've been back home for a couple of days now and my eyes are still aching. There were plenty of the small guys hatching from 2 to 4 pm. And the fish were up. Most were subsurface feeding but some poked their heads through the meniscus and munched on top. I sight fished and focused on the slow flat water sections of the river. It was challenging angling...picky trout in knee deep water. I did best with cripple and emerger patterns: flies lying flush or dangling through the surface. The impressions you tie and choose can make or break your day. Many fish (probably most) let my offerings pass overhead untouched...but I did connect. Trout in a quick feeding rhythm (gorging) meant a much better chance. A couple of afternoons I fished on my knees to feeding trout only a rod length or two away. Here I was on the broad "Mighty Mo" fishing it like I was casting to trout in a bathtub. Micro-flies in a microcosm. I grew up fishing small streams. Maybe, like water, I'm simply trying to get back to where I once was.

 

walk to river

 



clear water and weeds



flat water side channel

weed mats: fish often prowl the edges

the occasional brown trout, nice surprise

Easter Eggs, Starbucks and Missouri River Browns

missouri river brown

When my Retriever was younger she would spend a full day with me while I fished. Being a water dog she always hugged the river and stayed close by. If she wandered off I knew something was up. Once she found a goose nest, picked up an egg and proudly brought it to me. I guess she thought I'd be pleased. Instead I firmly said, "No". She reacted by immediately opening her soft mouth. The saliva covered egg rolled out and then I heard a "crack". Since then she has found other nests but has left the contents alone. Bird dogs are smart.

Migrating birds were all over the Missouri river this past weekend signalling Spring. Here is a picture of a riverside Goose nest with Easter eggs included.

The midge hatch this weekend was quite thin. Some fish did rise but not the numbers experienced two weeks ago. I was told many of the river's large Rainbows were in the tributaries spawning. I was hoping that with their absence some of the trout I spotted would be Browns. Some were, and I caught a couple early and late in the day when it was calm. Some Rainbows were also caught.

brown trout

All three fly shops in the town of Craig were open which is another indication that Spring is here. One serves up Starbucks coffee...a nice touch especially on a coldish late March morning or after wading in 38F water for several hours. Also a nice alternative to Interstate coffee with powdered creamer!

Once the river temperature rises to 40 or 42F the Blue Wing Olives will start to pop and large fish will be up all over the place, which is what this river is known for.

I almost didn't make the long drive south this weekend as the dry fly report wasn't promising. I'm glad I did as I spotted some risers, witnessed Spring returning along with majestic Canada geese, and remembered when my dog pranced out of the riverside brush with a big fat goose egg in her mouth. If I would have stayed at home inside, it would have all just passed me by. Carpe diem.







photo taken from missouri river island

morning calm