Missouri River Fly Fishing Journal

Fishing is Happening!

noreply@blogger.com (David Payne) — Tue, 21 Mar 2023 21:17:00 -0600

The weather is rolling into spring and there are decent fish to be had on warmer days. The water outlook for the summer looks positive with both the Missouri River Headwaters and the Missouri River Mainstem both running over 100% of average on the latest Snotel reports. Things are looking good!

Make it Hot....

noreply@blogger.com (David Payne) — Sun, 12 Mar 2017 10:29:00 -0600

Yes, it's that time on the Mo'....go pink, orange or florescent or go home.

As is the case in the winter months on the Missouri, the trout are locked in on the colored nymphs. Will they eat anything else? Sure, but bright pinks and orange seem to be preferred.

That's not to say that any pink nymphs chucked over the side of the boat anywhere from the Dam to St Louis will rake em' in.

It won't.

In fact, unless you find trout in their winter holds, nothing will work and you better enjoy the day and the occasional Whitey.

As is the usual case the winter fishing on the Missouri is very spot specific. Find your spots and you be into fish. Actually the days we float fish (usually we don't) we float spot to spot and get out and wade.

The good news is there are a bunch of spots and after you find one good one, it's fun to search for another.... Actually it's all fun....

Old Blue's Makeover is Complete

noreply@blogger.com (David Payne) — Wed, 4 Mar 2015 12:19:00 -0700

Makeovers are not just reserved for aging Hollywood starlets. Aging drift boats dig them too. Blue wasn't that old, but this boat saw a lot of hard use out in the bright sun, and the interior configuration
also outlived it's usefulness.

My original thought when I built this boat in 2008 was to create a stable boat with plenty of storage and limited area for anglers to roam. Roaming anglers with happy feet makes for a cranky guide so I thought if purposely limited the walking/standing area to the exact center of the boat, there would be no need to continuously tell folks to "stand in the center".

That worked well for a few years, but with my clients aging it became harder and harder for some of them to get in and out of this boat...not to mention their guide. It also became apparent that the on- board lockers were nothing more than storage units for useless junk I'd been hoarding for years.

So with the help a saw, chisel and a big hammer it was all gone and was replaced by a more basic center thwart and plenty of open space.

And after much ripping and tearing, sanding and grinding and a little paint, it's back and ready to rock.....Can't wait to get it out!

Going Netless....

noreply@blogger.com (David Payne) — Mon, 19 Jan 2015 13:13:00 -0700

An acceptable fish picker

I saw this subject on social media this morning and decided to chime in on it. It's been years since I've carried a landing net with me on the river except in the boat. My reasons for bagging the bag rose more out of inconvenience than any high-mined cause....I just didn't like a net dangling from my back or hip. It just seemed like no matter where I attached it, I was destined to snag it on something.....

So I ditched it.

I ditched the net I favor of just picking the landed fish by the hook and just lifting the fish while twisting the fly....and voila! fish gone..The fish swims back to home and my hands stay dry.

I imagine it also is easier on the fish. But, newsflash...this just in...fishing is hard on fish. Getting hooked in the beak and then drug against your will to a fate unknown pretty much would suck no matter how you spin it. Nothing in our sport is easy for fish other than outright failure. Accept it and and try and cope.

Does this work better than a net? Is it easier?Don't you stand to lose fish more often? No, no, and yes. I'm I telling you need to do this and bag the net in order to remain pure to the sport? Nah, There are plenty of others out there ready to lecture you on this and other issues of fly fishing morality.

I just didn't like carrying a net. Love to build them, just don't like to carry one...

Time to Break the Ice......

noreply@blogger.com (David Payne) — Fri, 16 Jan 2015 17:52:00 -0700

With the recent cold weather that has inundated Montana and most of the nation, I had wait awhile (16 days....but who's counting?) for the inaugural 2015 trout from the Missouri. Today was finally warm enough for me to venture out.

Nowadays "warm enough" in the winter months usually translates to over 40° F for me, but when I start to suffer from angling withdrawal and cabin fever, I'm more than willing to push that a bit.

Anytime you have a long lay off from stream, amnesia sets in when it comes to getting cold. One is more willing to go out and freeze one's ass off for the sake of sport after a bit of an absence from the river.

And you'll gladly do it for one day...

Will I voluntarily go out and do an icy "pleasure" float after a month straight on the river? Not a chance in Hell. I'm damn near 60. Gimme warmth man....

Today this drill wasn't necessary as we had a powerful Chinook roll in. The warm SW winds quickly pushed the air temperature over fifty and I was lucky enough to get a few hours in before the wind ran me off. Wind is another part of fly fishing neurosis, but that discussion is for another day.

Nothing is as cool as rainbows and ice

The usual suspects were in their usual spots eating the usual stuff, which translates to beefy rainbows eating midges and fire beads in the slow water.

In many ways, the winter months provide some of the best nymph fishing of the year on the Missouri. Winter nymph fishing is spot specific here on the Mo' and once you locate a few buckets, you can hook a bunch of fish in a short time. There also is little or no moss in the river, and it is basically void of boats and other anglers.

All you need

The fishing in the winter on the Missouri is a simple endeavor. You need a handful of nymphs and streamers that you can cram into one medium size fly box and that's it for flies. No need to drag your huge boat bag along.

You also can rig your rod up in the warmth of your kitchen before you hit the river, because there is little or no mystery where the fish are in the river or what they are eating. (hint: they're on the bottom eating nymphs)

Like anything good in life, winter fishing on the Missouri does have it's drawbacks and limitations. Even on warm days, the cold eventually will overtake you. With water temperatures hovering around 34 ° F, about two hours of wading without a warming break is about the comfort limit. Get out and head for the rig or the fire.

Along with the cold, wind, and being layered with 16 pounds of expensive clothing, winter fishing on the Missouri is pretty one dimensional. If you don't really care for nymphing and throwing streamers, it's probably not for you. Fish will surface feed in the winter on the Mo' but the activity is a short-lived and sporadic deal for the most part, and you need to be there when it occurs rigged up and ready.

An occasional brown is nice!

But for me the pros outweigh the cons, and getting out on the Missouri in winter is something I look forward to year after year. There are always just enough fish to make for an interesting day..........

Welcome 2015!

noreply@blogger.com (David Payne) — Sat, 3 Jan 2015 09:41:00 -0700

What a great fall it was!

Happy New Year to all of you in trout country and beyond! Busy is the word of the winter so far to start 2015.

With the fishing weather a little on the chilly side as of late, customer boat paint/repairs, oar refinish jobs have the dust rolling from the boatworks. The development of a new mobile-friendly website, fun new experiments with articulated streamer patterns, and summer bookings have things cooking in the fly-cave.

The red skiff shown above found a new home this and CrossCurrents Fly Shop staff member Eddie Freyn will styling in a new craft this year. With the departure of "Red" my old blue drifter is getting a makeover and will be the primary guide boat this season.

Easy in and out and room to roam and for Blue

I didn't have any particular issues with the skiff-it was a nice looking boat and worked well. But if one likes to build boats, one needs to part with them from time to time unless one aspires to commission a small navy.......Ya build 'em to sell 'em.

Blue should be done here in a couple of weeks and in plenty of time for the annual March bugger-hatch here on the Missouri which is also when the floating/guide season starts to heat up.

When the weather has been favorable, the fishing has been awesome with the typical winter nymph fare of hot beads and midges. Rainbows galore with an occasional brown mixed in to keep you from getting bored.

Bring your hot-beads!

There's nothing like an icy rainbow

Anyway, 2015 is here and rollin' Cheers to all!

Missouri River Montana July 2014

noreply@blogger.com (David Payne) — Sun, 27 Jul 2014 08:31:00 -0600

Fabulous fishing this July on the Big Mo!

Sometimes the best way to convey a message is just to watch. Here's a great video produced by our good friend Rob Nicholas of the Housatonic Angler and Angling in the Andes.

We just completed a wonderful week on the Mo with Rob and his family and guests. Great stuff.......

Missouri Looking Good....

noreply@blogger.com (David Payne) — Thu, 5 Jun 2014 08:50:00 -0600

I headed out last evening for a quick float with Cross Current shop-slave Billy in hopes of finding acres of rising fish with the reduced flows. The risers and insects didn't materialize until late, but it didn't matter to much as the fish eat both short-leash nymphs and streamers pretty good.... much better now that the river is almost half the size it was three days ago at about 6000 cfs.

We did notice a fair number of fish slashing on caddis about dark including two trout trying to eat the orange Thingamabob, but the fish were eating streamers/nymphs pretty reliably in the low light conditions.

The weather forecast for the next few days calls for cooler weather but not cold. What will that do for the dry fly fishing possibilities? Who knows, but your chances are a lot better now with the river flows closer to the seasonal norms. June on the Missouri has historically been a great dry fly month when the river is flowing at it's seasonal norm or slightly below.........so go out and get after it!.

Four for Your Fly Box Right Now..........

noreply@blogger.com (David Payne) — Thu, 22 May 2014 11:12:00 -0600

As the Missouri warms with much-welcome spring and summer temperatures, the trout seem more willing to take more traditional, buggy looking nymphs. That's not to say it's time to throw the fire beads in the truck for the year, it just gives the angler and the trout a little more variety.

With warmer water temps, the trout get a big time case of the munchies. Are there more bugs out there now? Not really, though it seems like it. What nymphs are out there at 80 degrees were present when the temps were in the 30's. The nymphs may be more active now as our seasonal hatches develop making them more available as trout food. That condition coupled with hungrier fish equates to better overall fishing.

That's why on the Missouri we like late May and June so much for nymphing-high water or not.

Anyway, here's four patterns you shouldn't launch without right now:

Little Green Machine

Little Green Machine: size 16-20; I like the bigger sizes in the canyon and the smaller flies closer to the dam. Great overall may fly nymph

Flash-back Pheasant Tail

Flash-back PT: What can you say about this one that hasn't already been said? Just a great overall nymph pattern anytime of year. I use them as big as size 10 to as small as size 20

Tungsten Dart

Bloom's Tungsten Dart: Yet another great pattern from the guru himself, Dave Boom. Caddis time is here on the lower river and this fly will get them from now until October. Size 14-18

Crack-back May Fly

Crack-back May Fly: Although it's not time for the PMD's yet, the trout don't know that. This is a very good looking nymph pattern that, like the PT imitates other nymph species quite well. Size 16-18

Chasing the Big Stuff

noreply@blogger.com (David Payne) — Sat, 17 May 2014 09:04:00 -0600

Cross Currents Youngin' Taylor with a hog

The Missouri's big spring flows and unsettled spring weather provided an epic streamer day Friday. The day started off cool and the clouds rolled in to provide intermittent rain showers which really got the fish on the bite.

The action wasn't red-hot initially but as the day rolled on the streamer fishing just got better with the steady cloud cover. Black, olive and flashy silver were the hot colors although the fish probably would have taken just about any well presented streamer.

We switched off with my Winston 8-weight equipped with a floating line and a RIO 10' 7.0ips VersiLeader sink tip. We fished two streamers all day with the flashy bright pattern up front followed by the dark pattern about 30" behind.

We banged the banks all day and found fish in both in the deep and on the gravel bars with most bizarre take by the chunky brown pictured above. As Taylor dropped his fly to the water to start a cast the big brown rose and slammed the black bugger as it dangled about an inch above the water.

Following an act like that is pretty tough but that take pretty much told us just keep the dang thing wet and they're gonna eat it.

Great stuff when you get it............

May 14 on the Mo.........

noreply@blogger.com (David Payne) — Wed, 14 May 2014 22:13:00 -0600

Fishcop the pod-buster

The warm weather finally made it to the Missouri country and the ole' Fishcop and I took his new Sawyer Lites for spin today. The streamer bite was so-so early but really lit up with the afternoon warmth and cloud cover. Pods of hungry rainbows also made a showing and we found a few with short-leash PT's and zebra midges.

The best method for us turned out to be a double PT rig about 5 feet under and indicator fished tight to the moving banks and in the foam lines. The fish were really in there today in the afternoon.

This big fella ate the PT about 6 inches from the bank

Black articulated buggers (a Fishcop concoction) really attracted a lot of attention from the brown trout. Many , many whacks, but few fish were landed, so it's back to the drawing board for this pattern for now. We also found fish with the JJ Special; Coffey's Sparkle Minnow; Hickmans's Skiddish Smolt; and the black and grizzly bugger.

The Mo is starting to shift into it's seasonal form now and it will only get better with continued warming.....

Fish on the dry fly? The opportunities are there for those who are patient and scout and float carefully (you need a boat right now). Will you fill the boat full of fish on dries? Nope.

But if the hunt is part of what you enjoy about fishing the dry fly, it's there waiting for you....and your fly!

That's all folks!

Side Trip to LOG

noreply@blogger.com (David Payne) — Tue, 6 May 2014 20:18:00 -0600

Llama with a lunker

It's hard to believe that an exploding barbecue could lead to a great fishing day, but strange is the norm here in trout country. It seems the boys at the lodge attempted to turn the gas grille on the deck into a Molotov cocktail last night......or at least a leaky propane hose did. No injuries or damage to anything but the grille was the good news....

The better news was the boss had to go to town for parts and decided to make it a wading trip to the Land of the Giants on the Mo'.

The blind squirrel connects

Great fishing from the bank on a very windy day as a cold front moved through and dropped the temperature about 15 degrees, but the fish didn't seem to mind. The thing we learned quickly was hooking these toads was one thing and landing them from the bank in the swift current was an entirely different matter.
I managed to go 2 for 8 which wasn't bad.

All in all, busting off six big fish is a nice problem to have, considering the last 24 hour's excitement.

Nice hat chief.......

Missouri River Fishing Report...5-5-2014

noreply@blogger.com (David Payne) — Mon, 5 May 2014 21:07:00 -0600

Mark from Nashville with the slab-of -the-day rainbow style

The streamer bite was so so today in the canyon while nymphing to pods in the back-eddys proved to be pretty productive. We are starting to see a fair number of fish up in the foam and most will readily take a sunken midge or similar offering.

The bad boy pictured above took a 16 zebra midge on the first cast to the pod. For nymphs we also had success with the typical fire beads, PT's and Czechs fished deep with about 7' between the indicator ab the first weight.

For streamers we found fish with dark patterns like buggers in black and olive and also flashy patterns like the Skiddish Smolt and the JJ special.

We're expecting some weather the next few days which should kick the fishing up a notch or two if the wind doesn't get too carried away....Who knows, maybe we'll be fishing some dries? You just never know but there's a fish or two like this one still out there yet guaranteed to bring a grin...no matter how you hook 'em.

Buggers in the Driving Rain..........

noreply@blogger.com (David Payne) — Tue, 22 Apr 2014 21:13:00 -0600

Joe from Memphis hooked this fat brown and made up for leaving his rain coat at the lodge! The nymphing earlier today was tough as we were greeted with sunny skies. The warmth was welcome though after the cold spring we've had.

As the weather rolled in we switched to streamers and banged the shallower banks and gravel bars. Things picked up a bit.

The next few days look like streamer and hot chili days.....and a good rain coat!

Big Water Spring on the Mo!

noreply@blogger.com (David Payne) — Thu, 17 Apr 2014 08:12:00 -0600

Life is tough for Otto the trout hound...........Being boat-bound is not his idea of a good time, but with the flows on the Missouri at around 8300 cfs or so, there are fewer island breaks.

The fishing will be a little different for those of you who haven't been out for awhile. There are fewer wading spots available and a boat is real good idea.

Different does not equal bad, it just means you'll have to adjust. For those willing and able to adjust, the fishing is pretty good right now. I was finding fish on nymphs in the same places, they were just deeper and faster which required more length. My rigging of choice right now is 7' between indicator and 2 BB split-shot followed by two nymphs 8-12" below that.

Although there were a ton of midges out yesterday, the fish still seem to prefer the fire-beads. Czech nymph fire-beads, sow bugs and scuds, it didn't seem to matter as longs as it had a bright bead and weight.

This doesn't mean the fish aren't eating the midges-they are.....they are gobbling them. In fact I did find find fish in some the large foam eddys with a short-leash rig.

Some fish rising last night, but not enough to get the dry rod out yet. Give it few days, warmer weather is headed this way.

I also found some nice browns tucked against the bank out of the fast current. Although we guides talk about avoiding the hard, deep banks during the early spring time on the Missouri in favor of the slow, soft inside seams, banging the medium-depth banks right now might surprise you. With the flows up early, fish are moving in there.

Remember, fish don't read the calendar, the blogs or the fishing reports. They go where they go and they are where you find them. If the water looks fishy to you or you think they ought to be there, go with your hunch and give it go.

What could possibly go wrong?

Missouri River Fishing Report 4-10-2014

noreply@blogger.com (David Payne) — Thu, 10 Apr 2014 21:39:00 -0600

The trout-hound holds his point....

The bite was good in the canyon stretch today if you knew where to find trout.....not so good if you didn't. There were a few boats in the canyon stretch and it seemed like the fellas I knew were whacking 'em all day long.

The new faces weren't doing so hot.

The fishing on the Missouri tends to spot-specific in the winter months, especially in the canyon. As the water warms and the bugs proliferate the fish will start to spread out into the more typical lies. We've had a cold couple of months so the water temps are still running a little cool.

So if you find fish, stay put for a while and get a few casts in.

The fire-beads as in the FB Czech, FB sow bug and FB scud have been working well for me. I've been fishing them in the bigger sizes (10-12) with plenty of weight about 61/2 feet below the indicator. The flows are up a bit and so is the water speed so a little more weight is necessary to get the bugs down and keep them down.

For streamers I've been using olive/olive coneheads, JJ Specials, black/grizzly buggers......pretty much the same old stuff. I fish with a heavy sink-tip for the deep rip-rap and a floater or intermediate sink-tip in the shallower runs. The streamer bite has been so-so the last few days, but anglers that have stuck with it through thick and thin have managed to find some hefty browns.

Plenty of midges on top, but not much interest from the trout at mid to late afternoon. If we get a wind-free evening, or cloudy, warm and calm morning that interest level will change so have your Griffth's Gnats, Buzzballs, and Adams Parachutes ready if you venture out.

That's what I know for now..........

Long live the fire-bead!

A Decent Streamer Bite Continues........

noreply@blogger.com (David Payne) — Fri, 4 Apr 2014 13:37:00 -0600

Johnny-The-Local mugs it with a typical canyon brown

How's the streamer fishing on the Mo these days? Decent aptly describes it....not great but definitely not bad. We've had better springs as far as the bugger bite goes, but 2014 hasn't been a bust.... far from it.

One thing we've noticed is a variety of patterns, tactics and locations have been catching fish while none of them have been " knock-em-dead-write-a-book-about-it good." One day it's been black and grizzly buggers, the next day was the JJ Special, and the next day-olive and grizzly.

On Wednesday we boated 13 browns on 7 different patterns so it didn't seem the pattern didn't wasn't the deal breaker as much where and how one fished.

The dead slow, deep rip-rap banks the canyon is noted for were the most productive although not by much. We also found some cruising browns in 12" of moving water.

The best retrieve was slow and steady although a sharp, jig strip at a right angle to the boat worked as did a slow twisting retrieve. Sink tips and a straight floating line were both successful.

The common theme is proficient persistence as in fish whatever you like, wherever you like, just do it well and don't give up.

Kinda like the advise your grandfather gave you about life.........

Up Goes the Mo...........

noreply@blogger.com (David Payne) — Mon, 17 Mar 2014 17:04:00 -0600

USGS graph

It's not much of a bump, but these early season water levels are probably a glimpse of what is coming. Is it bad? No, just different.

At the end of the day more water is good especially in the spring. More water leads to better spawning recruitment of rainbow trout and ultimately more fish.

More water also means previously dry side channels will become wet again and the insect life will re-establish. A bigger river is a more interesting river in my book.

Big water may cause temporary angling frustration for those who have grown use to the many walking/wading opportunities that low flows bring, but it's just that-temporary.

The good far outweighs the bad so if the snow pack is there when the time comes, I say "open the gates and let er buck"........

Missouri River Fishing Photo Blog..... 3/16/2014

noreply@blogger.com (David Payne) — Sun, 16 Mar 2014 21:48:00 -0600

Nice brown to start the day

Great fishing today with my darlin' and Otto the trout hound. Firebeads and midges were king today in the canyon despite the rippin' afternoon wind......

From the Boatworks.............MBB Skiff Makeover

noreply@blogger.com (David Payne) — Sun, 16 Mar 2014 21:09:00 -0600

Frank Carter's skiff is coming right along....Here are some dandy before/after shots......

"Trout Feeding Frenzy".....A Lesson from the Old Poop Guide

noreply@blogger.com (David Payne) — Fri, 28 Feb 2014 14:23:00 -0700

Rather than stare outside at the blizzard and wonder if my car would start, I found myself trolling on You Tube here a few minutes ago and came across this cool video.

It's a great video but not for the obvious reason suggested by the title. As I watched the video and angler make cast after cast, I found myself sitting on the edge of my chair yelling "throw a @#$#$%^ reach cast for god's sake!".

In fairness to the angler we've all done this. When blessed fish that are feeding with reckless abandon we resort to flailing and scatter casting hoping to hook the dunce of the bunch.

The bottom line is you can only catch a fish one at a time no matter how many are feeding at once so you just as well take a deep breath, chill out, and focus on making one a good presentation rather than 39 bad ones. (I counted a total of 39 casts made upstream, downstream, and across)

I would be willing to bet most folks would conclude that the feeding fish shown here in the video were being very fussy and the angler had the wrong fly. Again, in fairness to the angler I wasn't there to see what the trout were taking nor do I know what fly was being used, but from my point of view I didn't see but maybe one two casts good enough to fool the fish. (I actually thought he had a couple of eats) Virtually every presentation was either dragging or lining the fish fly almost immediately. So in this instance the pattern really wouldn't matter....the fish aren't going to eat it if it's dragging.

A simple forward mend on the up-stream casts and a reach cast on the down-stream and across-stream approaches is what I would have suggested if this chap were in my boat. If nothing else, a different cast/presentation is much faster and easier than re-tying a new fly.

I've always felt the wrong fly presented perfectly will beat the right fly presented sloppy 9 times out of ten...........

Winter Nymph Potpourri.............

noreply@blogger.com (David Payne) — Tue, 18 Feb 2014 20:26:00 -0700

Missouri River winter trout fare

The pink and hot orange drumbeat continues on the Missouri however for those of you wanting to throw something more naturally buggy, have at it.

Nice rainbow to wet the gloves

The Fishcop and I ventured out today with the purpose of seeing how many different nymph patterns we get to fool fish. I'll say that was the initial purpose but like most of our "river research" outings our scientific discipline left a lot to be desired and the experiment quickly melted into chaos as neither "scientist" was willing to cut off the successful fly after one fish as we discussed on the trip to the river.

Another for the hot-bead

While me and the old Fishcop may be useless to scientific community, we do have our fun and we did manage to catch fish on seven different nymph patterns today. The official list is as follows:

Tan Flashback Hot-Bead
Gray Flashback Hot-Bead
Rainbow Czech
Orange Scud
Amex
Pink Scud
Black Zebra Midge

Fat midge-eating rainbow

As is usually the case, a good drift in the right place was way more important than the pattern. Was it cold and windy? Yep, but it didn't seem to hurt the fishing. Multiple layers and 3 pairs of gloves was the rule for maximum comfort and after about 5 hours it was time to call it.

Fishcop and I found out what needed to find out. We both suck as researchers and the winter nymphing, although chilly is still some of the best fishing of the year.

The Cure for Cabin Fever.........

noreply@blogger.com (David Payne) — Sat, 15 Feb 2014 19:30:00 -0700

The Lawyer looking intensely clutch

We've been having winter here in Montana this year. It's not a winter with an impact on day to day living as pronounced as it has been for folks in Atlanta, Georgia, where all the news-faces are grim as they warn of yet another polar ice bath for the land of cotton. No it's been cold here, but about all we've had to complain about is being house-bound for two weeks.

I think that up north we are totally prepared to cry uncle when Mother Nature sticks her icy boot up our backside. When it's cold and nasty outside, with the exception of the cops, ER docs, and postal employees, most of us don't HAVE to be anywhere. It's just a given. When it's below zero with a white-out, nothing short of life and death is essential.

Folks stay home and that in turn considerably lightens the traffic for those prepared individuals who do venture out.

It's a great system.

It's a great system but you can only tolerate tying so many flies and reading so many blogs before you just HAVE TO GET OUT. That's why when you get a Valentines weekend like this one with the no wind and temps in the 40's you and every other bug-slinger you know makes a dash to the river.

Thank God for suicidal trout

The Lawyer and I did just that and while the weather certainly wasn't balmy, it was good enough for a couple hours on the water and a few fish. The trip doesn't have to be an all day affair-just long enough to get out, get a few good yanks, and get back to car and enjoy something hot. That's long enough to get a few swings in and let the dog run.....which is important too for the tail-wagers. Because being cooped up with two humans for a couple weeks has really got to blow.

No, there is no sense in pounding yourself and the river into submission this early in the year. It's a long season and plenty of fish ahead.

This is just a pleasant taste.......

We'll be seeing you again, Amigo.....

The Hotbead Flashback Scud: What's Been Working.........

noreply@blogger.com (David Payne) — Sun, 26 Jan 2014 22:22:00 -0700

size 12 shown here

Montana's Missouri River below Holter Dam is a classic tail-water trout fishery chuck full of sow bugs, a fresh water crustacean that trout love. That would begin to explain the success of scud/sow bug nymph patterns on the Missouri and their popularity with anglers.

Here is one more of many similar patterns developed for the Missouri that is working particularly well for me right now. I call it the Hotbead Flashback Scud for lack of a more formal name. In the spirit of full disclosure my idea for the pattern is not unique or original, and it is nothing more than a simplified knock-off the popular Caviar Scud. The glob on the hook in the vice that resulted after omitting various steps out of laziness/boredom and substituting materials.....well, that is my creation.

And in this case it happened to work quite well.

another rainbow bites the scud!

Scud/sow bug patterns in bright pink and orange have killer nymph patterns on the Missouri for years during the winter and spring, and this one is one more.

The recipe:
Hook: Tiemco 2457 size 12-16
Weight: Hareline Plummeting Tungsten Bead; Flame Orange
Body: 244 Tan Rainbow Sow-Scud dubbing
Rib: fine gold wire
Shell back: UTC medium Mirage Tinsel
Thorax: Tan Rainbow Sow-Scud picked out

Twist up a few, add water and enjoy!

From the Boatworks....MBB Skiff Makeover: Chapter 2

noreply@blogger.com (David Payne) — Fri, 24 Jan 2014 14:27:00 -0700

adding edge comings for the new pedestals

The 2014 Montana Boat Builders Skiff makeover is winding ahead on schedule. The demolition and removal is just about done and fabrication and construction of the new parts has begun.

For the most part the original builder did an admiral job in constructing the hull. This boat was home-built from plans purchased from MBB, and the finished product from home-builds very a lot in quality. This one wasn't bad on the hull, but once the time consuming finish work began, my guess is the builder lost patience with the project and just wanted it on the water.

That is easy to do.....

Sometimes I think the real challenge in creating or building anything is maintaining one's focus to pay attention to detail. If the process is sound, construction is simply following the steps. Thoroughly completing each step is where the wheels sometime start to come off the track.

taking time for precision saves time in the end

Right now the old shell pretty much looks like an accident down at the lumber yard. In a couple more weeks it start to look pretty sharp!