The Legendary Missouri in Montana

Legendary Missouri River Fly Fishing
The Missouri River, below Holter Dam, is one of the nation's premier tailwater fisheries. The next 40 miles that flow toward Great Falls are home to thousands of trout, averaging 2,500 - 3,000 per mile, and with an average size of 14-18". Here is photo of our campsite on an island that is home to an angry beaver.

While there is a lot of great wading water and of all types, there are also many areas where boats are preferred. Deep, quiet runs, pods of fish, and down across presentations are common scenarios.

See if you can spot the bird in the photo.

Slough Creek, Yellowstone

As Howard Back remarked in his splendid The Waters of Yellowstone with Rod and Fly (Dodd, Mead and Co., 1938), this stream is locally pronounced "Sloo." It is a cutthroat stream of rare beauty with an abundance of splendid fish, and a good insect population.

Anglers regard the river as being in four sections. The first mile above its juncture with the Lamar is a cascade-riffle stretch through a steep canyon. It is not much fished. The reason is that from the bench at the head of this canyon to the second canyon, a half-mile above Slough Creek Campground, are three miles of really excellent water much more easily reached. It is pools, runs and riffles, one after the other, through an open, meadow-laced basin, and the largest fish in the creek are to be found here. But they are very difficult to catch in the larger sizes (twenty inches and up). Unlike many Yellowstone Park streams, this one is not paralleled by roadways. It is approachable by automobile only at the trailhead.

Throwin Hoppers ! A Watched Pot Never Boils.

Most fly fishermen "Throwin Hoppers" choose to watch the drift with the "Take" often described as the most exciting part of this style of fishing. Kris however subscribes to the "Watched Pot Never Boils" philosophy which theorizes that trout avoid feeding on flies that are watched intently by the angler. Luck Rules.

Never the less, Kris Scores on a "Hopper" on the Missouri River in Montana !!!

Did you know that grasshoppers are one of the most familiar insect groups in the world and are widely distributed throughout North America. There is an estimated 600 species that have been identified in North America.