Fly fishing on the Missouri River in Montana has gotten a lot better since our last report. The PMD’s have finally arrived. And caddis too. But the PMD hatches have been pretty good lately. They are heaviest from the canyon stretches on downstream. But they will continue working their way upstream in the coming days. Shouldn’t take long.

Our best dry fly fishing has been from 10am on. Even with the water up, there are plenty of fish feeding on the surface. This continues throughout the day and into the evening, if you do a little more hunting. They are still there, just a bit harder to find. Our best dry in the mornings has been a size 18 PMD Cripple. As the day goes on, and you stop seeing the bugs, a Rusty Spinner is our “go to” fly. Downstream further, nearer to Cascade, a caddis dry works well later in the day as well.

After remaining right around 8000 cfs for the better part of a week, they have begun messing with the flows again. Currently, we are inching our way back to 10,000 cfs. This hasn’t put a damper on the dry fly game… yet. Hopefully it won’t. But if it keeps increasing a bunch more, you can expect to see fewer bugs and rising fish. Something to keep an eye on for sure.

For now, the fishing is quite good. Nice to be able to hunt heads all day, for those who are willing. The nymphing has improved a bunch as well. PMD, caddis, crawfish and rubber legs are all taking fish… Lot’s of them! And nymphing the shallower fast water has started to work well also. There are some large fish laying in some pretty quick water out there.

But the Missouri River fishing report is certainly looking up… along with a few fish. Let’s hope this trend continues over the coming week. We have warmer days in the near future. Maybe even 90 degrees. So this should continue to warm the water and really get those PMD’s and caddis going. Hopefully the fish will do their part as well?!?

We are on the water all week. Check back as we continue to watch water levels, hatches and the weather. We will report back if and when things change again.

Contact Us with any questions, for an up to the minute report or to book your Missouri River fishing trip.

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Montana Fishing Reports by River:
Missouri River   Land of Giants   Dearborn River   Blackfoot River   Montana Pike Fishing

Texas Redfish Fishing Reports:
Fly Fish Rockport Report