![Missouri River Montana Missouri River Montana](/sites/default/files/uploads/2021-04/missouri_june_2016-18.jpg)
Current Conditions: The Missouri River near Helena and Craig, Montana is now in it summer gonzo mode but getting weedier by the day. Fish are still happy and feeding hard. Streamflows have stabilized around 4,000 CFS.
At these flows wading anglers will find plenty of accessible water and options for good fishing. Floating anglers and anglers on guided fly fishing trips will find it very nice to have a boat to help cover more water. Caddis have been king on the Missouri River this year with many local and long term guides saying this is one of the best caddis years in a very long time. PMDs are still around but not very active and waning the closer we get to August. The fish seem to keying on the PMD spinners more so than the adults, so be sure to have some spinner patterns in sizes 14-18. Tricos are around and hatching early with spinners on the water just before the brunching hour...so if you like to sleep in tricos are for you.
Reports of sporadic spruce moths in the sections below Craig, but a spruce moth is really a caddis so we kinda already said that caddis are king right now.
Favorite Flies for Fly Fishing the Missouri River Right Now:
Blooms Para caddis in size 16
Almost Dun in PMD is sizes 16-20
Trico adults and spinners in size 20
Para Adams in sizes 16-20
Little Green Machines in natural or olive in size 14 through 18
Zebra Midge in black, olive, or purple in sizes 14 through 18
Perdigons in fav color in size 14 through 18
Para PMXs in size 12 through 18....larger sizes for skwalas and smaller sizes for caddis
Scuds and sowbugs in various colors in size 10 to 18
Sculpzillas in black, olive, or purple in sizes 2 to 6
Home Invader in any contrasting color scheme in size 2 or 4
Sparkle Pupas (beadhead or not) in sizes 14 to 18
The Month Ahead:
The next month sees the Missouri River in high summer mode. That means hatches of PMDs, caddis, Yellow Sallies, and tricos. Some terrestrial fishing will begin soon on windy days....which we don't really want right now for obvious reason as there are plenty of hatches currently to keep the fish feeding. Tandem, subsurface nymphing will also continue to produce as well. Flows may drop into the 3,000 to 3,500 CFS range but probably not much lower than that. As water temps slowly climb expect the better fishing to be in the earlier hours of the day. However, because the Missouri River is a tailwater fishery even in hot weather water temperatures often remain in the good range for actively feeding fish.