Falling Water, Rising Fish: PMD Hatch
Our big flush of rain inspired run off has cycled through and waters all around us are dropping fast. The good news is that Canyon Ferry has filled and flows on the Missouri should be normal this season. Gibson has also filled, so the Sun River will have some water as well. Belt Creek, the Smith and the Dearborn have dropped and are in good fishing shape once again.
I got to experience a fine evening PMD hatch on the Missouri River last Saturday. Both caddis and PMDs were plentiful and fish were rising and catchable.  Catchable on my 5th fly choice that is. Picking the right fly for picky fish can be the key to unlocking success. All I can say is don’t go out there with only a couple choices and be caught without options. I’ve made that mistake. You need various stages of each bug in appropriate sizes. From my experiences and general fly shop talk with other anglers, the fish have been showing a preference for PMD’s over caddis. Callibaetis are also in the mix and an appropriately sized Adams has been successful for a few of the retro bug guys. Of course there is always that guy who will walk through the shop and say that he crushed them on an Elk Hair Caddis.
Have fun out there. Respect the fish and your fellow anglers. Let us know about your successes and if you are having any troubles, we’ll do our best to help you out.