Missouri River Fishing Resources

I'd like to take a moment of your time and share some good information. I've been lucky to have fished the Missouri River two years in a row. I've met some great people and acquired some great memories. I'd like to say "Thanks" to those who made it possible.

Jo and Bobo!

Mark Raisler of Headhunters Fly Shop

Mark and his crew have been a big help. Besides Mark being an excellent guide and photographer he also helped us book accommodations and services. My wife Jo and I stayed at the Rainbow cabin in town that's just a short walk to everything. On our last day we opted to rent a drift boat. This could not have been easier. Just tell them where you want to launch and where you want to take out. Your truck will be shuttled and waiting for you at the take out. Secure the boat on shore and they come and get it. Could not have been easier. At the end of our stay we settled up our bill at Headhunters Fly Shop were we received an itemized receipt complete with cabin, guide, license, boat rental and shop purchases. Again, could not have been easier.
Contact www.headhuntersflyshop.com

Mike Kuhnert of Evolution Fly Fishing

Mike has many years guiding the Missouri under his belt and it shows in every possible way. He is passionate for the river and its inhabitants. He is attentive to your every need. Even after your trip is over he will gladly join you at the local watering hole for a toast to celebrate the days fishing. You would be hard pressed to find a more passionate guide and I don't think you could fish a day with Mike without leaving with some of his passion.
Contact www.evolutionflyfishing.com

The Trout Shop

The Trout shop is another great source of everything fly fishing. Friendly helpful staff are ready to assist. Inside the great looking flyshop is the Craig Mercantile Deli. Get your Starbucks coffee, fresh made bagged lunch and stop back in the evening for a 6-pack with many brews to choose from. Again just walking distance from anywhere in Craig, Montana.
Contact www.the troutshop.com

Jo (My Better half)

Hooked Up!

She's passionate for horses and I'm obviously passionate for fishing. We work together to help each other fill those dreams. I'm careful to pick the places I take her fishing and after my first experience fishing the Missouri I knew I could not go wrong with this location. Get her in her comfort zone and the lady luck will come out. I'm pretty sure she out-fished me everyday and that's alright with me. It's pretty clear after this trip the Missouri is at the top of her list of favorite places to fish and that's good for me because I now know I can easily persuade her back there again.

The RIO Team

When you get to know the guys at RIO Fly Lines you quickly understand why this company is so successful. All of them have big passion for fly fishing. Every year RIO invites a group of fly fishing retailers on this trip. Besides experiencing some great fishing your only responsibilities are to enjoy good food and drink, try out some new rods and lines and provide some feedback for what we would like to see from them. RIO takes this opportunity to listen to our ideas and explore future possibilities. There's no conference rooms or lavish hotels. Just a fishing cabin lodging and the primary attire is your waders.
RIO is responsible for my first Missouri River experience and Simon Gawesworth is responsible for for my newly formed passion of Two Hand Trout fishing. You can read more about that experience in article RIO Fishing Trip - Missouri River, Montana 

Isaak's Resturant

Isaak's is located right in downtown Craig and next to Headhunters Fly Shop. It's the perfect place to relive your days fishing adventure. Brews, cocktails, appetizers, great food and a fisherman's atmosphere all come together to complete a perfect gathering place after a great day of fishing.
Contact Izaak's Resturant

So if you like to catch good size Browns and Rainbows on dries, nymphs, streamers and of course my favorite swinging flies, take in great food, drink and atmosphere in a beautiful part of the country and enjoy the small fishing town life then I highly recommend you give Craig, Montana a try. I'll be back again for sure!

Greg Darling 

Gorge Fly Shop Internet Sales Manager | Product Specialist

"Fly Fish the World with Us"

Rio Fishing Trip - Missouri River, Montana

The Guys at Rio Fly Lines invited several guys up to Craig, Montana for three days of incredible Missouri River Trout fishing.

Montana Sunrise

Sunrise in the eastern sky lights the way to a most memorable trip. A trip that would include new experiences, new friends, beautiful landscape and Trout! Lots of Trout; Big Browns, Big Rainbows slamming streamers and sipping Baetis all day until darkness pulls the shade and leads to the tribute paid for the lifelong memories in the making!

Sasquatch? No! Just me trying to keep up with Simon

We arrived at the Helena, Montana airport on Thursday around noon. Collected our gear and headed on our way to Craig, Montana. Craig is only about 30-40 minutes from Helena airport. Immediately after unloading Simon asked "who wants to go wet a line?" So we grabbed our gear and took off down the dirt road and found a pull off. A short distance trek and we were in the water wetting our lines. Fish were rising everywhere! Simon eased into position for a quality cast and laid out a presentation this rainbow couldn't resist.

The hatch is on!

Even at this angle the smile on Simon’s face is quite identifiable. Not sure if it is due to being the first hookup of the trip or the sound of a Sage Click reel screaming its way to the backing on a beautiful 20 inch Rainbow!

First of many!

Launch

Day one greeted us with blue skies and sunshine and just a touch of morning fog. Immediately after launch we started the day chuckin’ Streamers. Blue skies made fishing a bit slow but still managed to get several grabs and land a couple chunkies. Later that day the Callibaetis started hatching and we started seeing heads rising. Wasn't long and we started hooking fish on dry flies and the bite carried on the rest of the day.

Mark Raisler of Headhunters Fly Shop guided Aaron Stiny (Rio) and me on day one. The only rules I heard mentioned went like this…

…And release fish of course!

Aaron Stiny (Rio) and Mark Raisler(Headhunters Fly Shop)

The Missouri is an amazing river. It’s loaded with fish and the Montana scenery is breathtaking, wildlife of all types make their living here. I watched everything from eagles soaring to deer getting a drink at water’s edge.

Mr.Buck

Lookout Lodge operated by www.thetroutshop.com

Accommodations was this cool lodge called Lookout Lodge operated by www.thetroutshop.com. It has a great view overlooking the river with river access also. You can rent the top or the bottom separately or rent the whole thing for larger parties. Its situated a couple miles from town down a dirt road with very little traffic.                                                              

Day two is Streamer Time! Sage One 691-4

The Sage One really is a sweet rod and handles average size streamers with ease. The Sage Method was my rod of choice for all day Rio StreamerTip line casting of the larger breed of streamers.

Large Streamers caught some large fish as seen here…

Day Two

This Beauty came on day two brought to hand by Steve Dally of Dally’s Ozark Fly Fisher. Steve Operates on the White River, AR… big Brown Trout waters. I hope to catch up with him soon for some of that Streamer action.

Scotch and Streamers

Rio Perception Fly line 

The line of choice for all the dry fly fishing. It floats high on the water for excellent drag free drifts and the long range hook sets are positive and secure due to the ConnectCore technology. I also want to note how well this line cast on a variety of rods. It loads great, shoots great and presents flawlessly. Without any doubt this is my new “go to” favorite dry line.

Clear and chilly = Extreme Headwear

Mike Kuhnert of Evolution Fly Fishing guiding John Harder (RIO R&D Manager) and Leo Siren of Fish First out of the bay area. It was a clear blue sky chilly day and I was a bit envious of Leo’s Simms Gore-Tex Extream Hat he was sportin’.

Bobo came on a Fish Skull Skulpin Bunny with a Sage Method 691-4 equipped with a Rio Streamertip Cleartip fly line.

Secret Sauce

Mike Schultz of Schultz Outfitters in Ypsilanti, Michigan has my attention with his knowledge of Streamer fishing. We also share the Steelhead affliction and swinging flies with two hands rods. Mike guides Steelhead Alley in the Midwest, the very place I connected with my first Steelhead which changed my view of fly fishing forever.

Mike and Steve putting together a game plan for the day.

Sage One 4116 Switch test swing

Simon brought his Sage One 4116 switch rod and I had to give it a swing. Equipped with a Scandi Short VersiTip using the intermediate tip and a tandem rig of soft hackles I managed to swing up my first Brown Trout. I went on to swing up several more Rainbows that day. I think swinging for Trout is becoming a new passion for me. I felt connected to this rod and could really feel the fly. As Simon put it “The tug is the drug” and he couldn't be more right! I've since added to my arsenal my own 4116 and plan on putting it to use on my Southwest home waters of the San Juan and Rio Grande rivers as well as the Northwest waters of the Deschutes River Redsides come next spring. Call it my homework for the winter. Stay tuned for updates on what I find.

Montana Sunset

Our trip ends with a fire in the sky shot as we round the last bend before the takeout. Not a minute was wasted as darkness overtook the light. We loaded boats in the dark and headed back to Craig, Montana. We celebrated our trip with a barley toast at the corner bar and relived our favorite moments of the past three days. Back to the lodge for incredible feast presented to us by Sherri Walls of Canyon Cooking Catering. Special thank you goes out to Sherri for keeping all of us healthy and well-nourished for our stay.

I’ll finish this up with this, There is something magical about a group that comes together all sharing the same passion for the sport. I have experienced it a few times before and can’t explain what it is but I can say that it is very real and I witnessed it again on this trip. All of us came from different areas and a couple even born and raised abroad but the bond of the sport ties us all together with a sense of total unselfish passion to teach and share the sport that has hooked us for life.

Thank you,

Greg Darling 

Gorge Fly Shop Internet Sales Manager | Product Specialist

"Fly Fish the World with Us"