By: Warren DeMark

We have had a busy month here at the lodge, and the last two weeks have been a whirlwind of good fishing, great people, and delicious food. With every new group that has come in, we’ve had a whole new weather system, from 90 degree days with 30 mph winds, to highs in the  60’s and an inch of rain in one storm. Conditions have varied greatly, which is normal for June, and our fishing approach changes daily.

By: Warren DeMark

Happy Memorial Day weekend from ODL! Hope everyone enjoyed their extended weekend and got some time to reflect on what is important. We are coming off a busy week with a full lodge and lots of interesting weather, which is common for May. We had tons of rain this last week (close to an inch over a 2 day stretch), plenty of cold days (40 degrees), and our fair share of wind (30 mph). The rain brought lots of mud from the tributaries: Prickly Pear has lots of water and color, Stickney Creek had tons of mud and debris for a couple days but had cleared up now, and the Dearborn has some color, which is normal for this time of year. With changing conditions brings challenging fishing, but we had some great days through the turbulent weather. Sun and rising temperatures are on the horizon, as we look forward to more summer-like conditions. End of May usually means the end of our Baetis action.

By: Warren DeMark

August. It’s like a dirty word among fly fisherman. A word draped in stereotypes of poor fishing. Sure, August in a lot of areas can be the dog days of the season with warm water temps and hoot owl closures. Montana has its fair share of warm water in August that leads to poor trout fishing. But the Missouri is different. We have three reservoirs full of water that feed into our river, and it stays pretty damn cold all year long. And in August, we have plenty of water, and plenty of fish that are eager to eat some bugs, making us the place to be in August.

By: Craig DeMark

Crazy, unsettled weather has been the pattern and it looks to continue this week. I’ve seen snow, hail, rain, and graupel (If you don’t know, google it. I had to), 40 mph winds and lightning (way too close for comfort). And that was Wednesday! Through all this the fishing has remained consistently outstanding. 

By: Craig DeMark

The baetis (aka BWO) hatch has arrived with a vengeance! We had some outstanding surface fishing throughout the day with clouds, snow and rain. It turns to more of a late afternoon thing on sunny days. Huge numbers of midges remain and are another reason the fish are looking up. The fish seem to prefer the baetis.

By: Warren DeMark

Birds are chirping and fluttering about. The sun is sitting higher in the sky and the days are longer. The weather is warmer, and the grass is greener. May is a time of change, and this can be seen in the fishing on the Missouri. Warming water temps and longer days inject new life into the river and the fish react accordingly. If you enjoy high quality fishing and using a variety of approaches without the heat of the summer, May is the time for you. 

By: Warren DeMark

It’s 9 pm in the middle of August. The sun just started setting and you haven't started dinner yet. You woke up at 5:30 am today to hit the Trico hatch and stayed on the water for way too long. You had the time of your life squinting at size 20 bugs all day and repairing 5x leaders. A couple of Missouri bruisers were fooled in the midst of the hatch, and lots of fly line was seen leaving your reel when they went on their screaming runs. It was a successful day, as is any day you can fool some trout into sticking their noses out of their aquatic home into our warmer, dryer domain. But you’re tired and dehydrated now, and if you wake up tomorrow at the break of dawn, there may not be enough coffee in the world to prevent you from taking a nap in the river. If only there was a way to wake up at noon and catch fish on size 4 dry flies. Enter Grasshoppers. 

Just wanted to give you a quick update. We've had some great winter weather in February. Great to see those snowpack numbers bumping up. The Missouri will be in great shape this year as Canyon Ferry is sitting at a little over 80% capacity right now with spring runoff on the way. 

Looking for great dry fly fishing (sometimes with unlimited targets) with light traffic? Then you are going to want to fish the Baetis (a.k.a. Blue Winged Olives) on Montana’s Missouri River. For this article we’re going to talk about the 35 or so miles of river between Holter Dam and the town of Cascade.

From April to October, the Missouri is a trout fishing mecca. Every month has something different to offer, and it is a head scratcher to figure out when to come. If you have any questions, give us a call. But rest assured, whenever you come, the fish will be here. 

As October opens we look towards true fall fishing. While we are still seeing the last of the Tricos, Pseudocleons, and Hopper fishing, the signs of fall fishing are in the air. That means Baetis AKA/BWO blanket hatches, October caddis and awesome streamer fishing. Right now we are hunting heads while we run shallow nymph rigs on sunny days and throwing the streamers on cloudy days. Fishing has truly been spectacular.

October is looking to be a truly special time to be on the Missouri. We still have some mid to late October dates available. It would be our pleasure to take you fishing.