August 19th, 2022

The Missouri River is legendary even by Montana standards. With trout averaging 18 inches, and fish counts regularly exceeding 6,000 per mile, it’s easy to see why the Missouri is considered one of the greatest fisheries in the Western United States.
 

Fly Fishing Update:
What an incredible week we have had at the ranch. We were delighted to host the Montana Fly Fishing School. Their incredible guides gave our guests three days of top notch instruction and technical dry fly fishing on the Missouri. Flows have remained in the low 4,000 CFS range (just above 4,200 as of this report). Hopper fishing, and the morning Trico hatch, continues to be good. Summer advisory: Try to fish the mornings, use stronger tippet to land fish quickly, and minimize handling/air exposure. Wade fishing cooler tributaries or targeting warm water species like carp, is also an option. Speak with one of our fishing experts to figure out how to access these local gems!

Hoppers, Ants, Tricos & Caddis have all produced fish for our anglers this week. The morning Trico hatch (as well as dead drifting ant patterns) has produced quality fish for our guests. Captain Ben Cooley has also managed to bring multiple carp to hand on hopper patterns!
 
Nymphing & hopper-dropper continues to produce well. Anglers have been fooling fish on zirdles, zebra midges, frenchies, and sow bugs. 

Streamer fishing continues to be slow, but with the weather looking to cool off in the next few weeks, we may see an uptick in activity.

Drop us a line and we hope to see you soon! 

160 Acres on a Private Stretch of the Missouri River
Craig, Montana
www.missouririverranch.com