Missouri River Report 5.17.16
It’s been an interesting spring. The weather has been yo-yoing from beautiful to downright nasty. 82 degrees and an epic caddis hatch followed by snow 12 hours later. Fishing success has been yo-yoing as well, from phenomenal to downright marginal. When people ask me how the Missouri is fishing, I like to say, "The Missouri is always good. You can always catch fish. You just can’t always catch as many as you want or catch them the way that you want." That’s fishing.
In order to have fun and maximize success, anglers need to be flexible. There are those days where you can catch them any way you want to and they seem to come easy. Streamers, Nymphs, Emergers, Dries, Spinners and Spent-everything is on the table. But not every day. If it was always lights out good, it would get boring. The Mo is not boring.
BWO’s and March Browns are still in the mix, but they are no longer consistent. Caddis are out there, but in the cool weather of late, the hatches and evening egg laying have been hit and miss. Don’t be surprised to see a flurry of BWO’s, a single March Brown, a smattering of Gray Drakes, some other Speckled Wing Mayfly, and a few Caddis on the water. Which one will the fish eat? I’d bet my drift on either a caddis emerger, spent caddis or general size 16 mayfly. Purple Haze? There are not enough bugs at times for the fish to get picky. That will change on any given day. As we warm up again, get ready for more caddis and soon, some new mayflies. The more bugs you see on the water, the more hatch matching you will need to do.
On the Nymphing side, I like to keep my little #18-#20 Baetis or Midge on the bottom and fish a larger #14-16 Mayfly nymph on top. You can also fish a scud or sow bug, but personally, I’ve found better success with bug on bug. If the bigger bug gets more action, then double up the big bugs or go Scud to bug. Or just fish "the worm".
On the streamer side, it’s been as inconsistent as the weather. Sometimes when hatches are strong, it makes sense that streamer fishing might stall a little. When no bugs are on the water, you’d think the streamer would pick up. Sometimes yes, sometimes no. The only way to get them is to keep casting and keep trying new flies and retrieves. You can always find a few players. Don’t forget to try crayfish in the next few weeks.
One thing is for certain, it’s really great out there this time of year. It’s not too hot yet. The hillsides are nice and green, the last bit of snow is melting off the peaks and the fish are getting stronger again.