“Water levels are down, Spirits are up!”
Weekend Preview Fishing Report for 6.17.23 – 6.18.23
Current Flows: 12,200 cfs
Weather Forecast: Saturday — mid 70s and rainy Sunday — mid 60s and rainy
Hatch Report: PMDs, Caddis, Midges, Scuds/Sowbugs
Mighty Mo’ Report
If I were to guess, the Missouri River peaked this week reaching upwards of 14,000 cfs. That’s good news for the entire fishery as it becomes easier to fish. The dry flyers are lickin’ their chops and biting the bit ready to get to the sweet spot of their summer primetime. Toston Dam has dropped like a rock so that’s good news as well. In the grand scheme of things, having a ton of water is good for everyone and now that it’s dropping the river is about right where it’s supposed to be. For the last two years at least, so all this water seems strange for some but in actuality the water levels are right where they’re supposed to be.
Nymphs: #1 Worms, #2 Sowbugs, Frenchies, Caviar Scud, Pill Popper, Green Machine, Psycho May
*** Make sure you’re fishing 6 to 10 feet from indicator to top fly. Ninety percent of the folks on the river are nymphing. Grab some heavy flies from our shop and some worms, sow bugs, and PMD nymphs as well and you should be good to go!
Dry Flies: 401K, Purple Haze, CDC Baetis Dun, Cripple BWO, Hi-Vis Spinner BWO, Purple Para-Wolff
*** Very little dry fly action out there right now but there is some. Dry fly fishing is hard due to higher water. You either have to find a windless and cloudy day or focus on the evenings. Our guides usually see risers and anchor up on them but with the high water it’s hard to safely anchor the boat.
Streamers: Kreelex, Sparkle Minnow, Sparkle Yummy, Skiddish Smolt, Doc’s Articulator, Lil Kim, Polar Minnow
*** People are throwing streamers and are doing well. We’ve been selling a lot of big streamers and you can really move big fish out of heavier water with the hog streamers.
Smith River Update
The river is coming down and it is in great shape. We have a lot of boats coming out and it’s our big week for the Smith. The water is still high so grab some rubber leg nymphs and worms. Big streamers. Still not a lot of dry fly activity YET.
SHOP NOTES:
We have openings June 21-23 for guide days that just came up. They’ll go quick so make sure you give us a call at (406) 235-3433 and grab one.
If you’re looking for a Father’s Day gift or just a sweet boat for the Missouri, we just got in the new NRS slipstream fishing rafts. They’re awesome on the river and really perform great. Get yours today at our Cross Currents Fly shop in downtown Craig!
