April:
If you are after big browns, this is the time of year. After a long hard winter the water temperatures start to warm up into the 50's, the rainbows are getting ready to spawn, and the brown trout become extremely aggressive. Be prepared for unpredictable weather - rain, sleet, snow, and sunshine, but the midges and blue winged olives will be hatching, offering the first good dry fly fishing of the year. The browns spawn in the fall and go all winter without eating much. These fish love to fill their stomachs with anything, and streamers are deadly.
May:
In May the weather can still be a little on the cool side. Spring is in the air and the midges and BWO’s are in full force. Most of the rainbows are spawning in the tributaries, but the ones still in the Missouri are eating anything in sight. The streamer fishing is still great for the big browns. What more could anyone ask for but uneducated fish, no crowds and more than willing fish.
June:
June is a very good month to catch a lot of fish. The rainbows are post spawn and trying to fatten back up. June is when water levels will vary the most and the spring run-off will make fishing a challenge. The fish hold tight to the banks and in the back eddies. Nymphing and streamers produce a lot of trout while we wait for the bugs to start coming off so we can fish dry flies. Midges, BWO’s, and caddis will begin hatching at some point in this month.
July:
Weather in July is usually very warm, waders are replaced with shorts or wading pants, and wading boots with wading sandals. Caddis and PMD's will emerge all day long. Fish rise throughout the day, and provide some of the best dry fly fishing we see all season.
August:
The peak of summer in central Montana; expect warm air temps and water temperatures in the 60's. This is when the Tricos come out. Every morning, funnel clouds of these tiny mayflies look like smoke lining the banks of the Missouri River. The grasshoppers are out in full force and the fishing is hard to beat.
September:
Schools are reopening and the summer crowds are dwindling down. You can fish many different patterns in September - Tricos, midges, BWO’s, caddis, hoppers, and October caddis. The fish are fat and strong from a summer of gorging, but still eager to eat well fished bugs. As autumn colors start to appear the days get shorter and night-time temperatures drop, and fish know they have to put on the feedbag for another Montana winter. That translates into aggressive and great fishing opportunities. It’s one of our favorite times of the season.
October:
Fall is here and the browns are staging to begin their annual spawning routine. What’s more gorgeous than a summer-fat brown trout in its full spawning colors? These fish will destroy streamers as well as eat the occasional dry fly. The rainbows are eating the last of the heavy bug hatches before winter sets in. BWO’s, caddis, and midges will be on the water most of the day. The weather in October is much like April - cool and unpredictable. But the rewards of hooking big browns on streamers and fat and sassy rainbows on dry flies is why October is so popular with the guides and clients alike.
