It's good. I'm not just saying that. It really is as long as you are willing to do what it takes to catch fish. The last couple days I took my guys down the Lower Canyon and although it is weedy, it's not nearly as bad as I've seen it in years past and the fish are happy eating the big stuff. (I like it when they eat the big stuff. Your chances of landing them are way better.)
As for hoppers, we have gotten a few on various patterns. I personally, haven't had a great hopper day on any one pattern since about the middle of July. We got a few on the chubby two days ago and had a couple eats when we went straight Morrish but it wasn't great so we went back to going big and deep and lit them up. Yesterday I kept the same rig rolling and it was good enough that we never switched--never once changed flies and the "never-ever" in the boat landed a dozen. Having said that, every day on the hopper can be different so my usual program is to put as many fish to the net as we can in the morning and then throw every hopper I have at them in the afternoon because HOPPER EATS ARE COOL!
I know the conditions aren't great in August. It is true that traditional methods are not producing that well and the fishing has slowed down at the dam. The few fish that are rising can be tough and with pseudos coming, they might get even tougher. I've talked about that and it is unfortunate that the word is out that the fishing sucks right now. The great thing about this time of the year though, is that the fishing is still good if you can deal with the weeds and you get out early. The other thing is that you feel like you have the river to yourself. We literally saw one other guide boat yesterday and two private boats fishing but with some (admittedly) inexperienced anglers who worked hard and did what it took to catch fish, we threatened to break the 20 fish mark. Two days ago we absolutely smashed that mark.
Again, I HATE counting fish but I also want to portray an accurate account of the fishing because I know people have been scared off the Missouri for the next month. It is fishing and nobody can guarantee tomorrow will be as good as today or yesterday but it's still good so get on out there dangit. A lot of us still have openings so give us a call.
Keep 'em where they live...
Let's hope fishing picks up before it gets really cold. Hopefully you made sure that the weeds and other grub won't mess up your boat. It wouldn't be good if they jam your engine and cause it to stall. As for the actual fishing, did you guys break the 20-fish mark after that? Keep us posted!
ReplyDeleteKent Garner @ White's Marine Center
Hey Kent, I fortunately don't have to worry about jamming up my engines unless I'm cramping up. No motor here just my back and shoulders. I choose to row.
ReplyDeleteThe 20 fish mark is relative. We definitely are getting the numbers if you want to nymph-fish. We love seeing big hopper eats so we've been doing that with some success. There are also still a good number of tricos and you'll have targets all morning if that's what you're into.