August 1st Missouri River Fly Fishing Report

August in Montana on the Missouri River. What can you expect? Hot weather, smoky air and trico hatches so thick you need to wash your vehicle afterwards. Flows on the river are around 5000 cfs. Perfect for the anglers that are wading into the river. Be prepared for the occasional storm. Trico hatches are still huge in the morning and you can fish that hatch until midday. Look to use spinner or cripple variations, but our favorite since tricos are small bugs (size 18-24), is the cluster formation flys, i.e. Buzzball and Griffith's Gnat. Trout will rise more often for a group of these bugs as opposed to single ones. PMD's are still around and still a favorite for trout. Check the surface film for what is around and hatching. Afternoons and Evenings are still about the caddis fly on the surface, key in on them using spent caddis patterns. Another favorite to use in the afternoon is the hopper dropper setup. What exactly is the hopper dropper setup? It's where you use a hopper, ant, or beetle pattern for the surface and tie a tippet line to the bend of the hook at about 3-6 feet and tie on a trusty nymph pattern like a pheasant tail nymph. You are fishing two flies in one, one on the surface that a fish could choose or one below while using a hopper, ant, or beetle as a strike indicator. If you go with a rig of two nymphs patterns, use a larger nymph pattern first with your smaller nymph down low. One the big hits lately on the Mighty Mo has been the Zirdle nymph. Good luck out there and until next time, catch you on the fly!