2017 Masters Addition of the Montana Dream Cast



These guys are all over the lower stretch of the Missouri and have been for a couple week now but don't get your hopes up on chucking big dries anytime soon because fish ain't looking up. The flows have gone up significantly--9,080cfs now and when that happens, trout move off the flats and the banks and down to the tail-outs of islands. You can still get 'em if you do what you need to, which has been sow bugs, worms, and pupas but you can put your flyagra away for a little while.

Check out this week's podcast for more info on what's happening on local waters.
2017 Masters Addition of the Montana Dream Cast

So what are your options if you want dry fly fishing? Well, the window for floating the Dearborn opens this weekend and although this storm hitting us right now will muddy things up for a couple days, it should clear up again pretty soon and the flow is perfect at around 400cfs for floating and fishing it. I'm certainly looking forward to getting my raft out and doing some marathon floats.

Also, some of the little creeks on our side of the divide will also fish once they clear up from this rain and they can be a really fun and cool option for folks that want to wade fish. As for the West Side of the Divide, the Blackfoot is coming down too so maybe the early run-off will open things up sooner, which might mean it clears up just in time for salmon flies. That would be really cool. There's plenty of snowpack still so 80 degrees for a few days will definitely change things. Let's hope for a "slow burn" with cool nights and moderate temps during the day and this summer could be pretty good. This next week's weather forecast looks good so fishing could turn on.

As for what's going to happen with flows on the Missouri, we're at that point where anything coming into Canyon Ferry will have to leave Canyon Ferry and the other reservoirs feeding the Missouri below Holter so you can look on the USGS website and see where we're at. Right now, the river is coming down so flows on the lower river should reflect that. However, we still have plenty of snow in the Park and in the ranges that feed the Mo so we will be getting more run-off. I would like to see them open up the flood-gates for a few days and then drop it back down to around 6,000cfs. I don't pluck the chicken though. I just watch the feathers fly.

Keep 'em where they live...