After our siesta at Holter Lake we checked out Holter Dam and the beginning of the best tail water and dry fly fishery in the world, the Missouri River.
At first little was happening on the surface so I pitched a few streamers. No luck. We stopped at another spot and I instantly spotted a pod of dolphin-sized trout feeding in a back eddy. I softly slid into the water and made my way within casting distance. My first cast with the trusty caddis was gently sipped from the surface by one of those old brutes, but as soon as I felt pressure he was gone. He snapped my 3.3 lb line like nothing! Excitedly shaking, I tied another caddis on and lobbed a few more casts toward the pod.
He splashed like crazy and dove for the weed line, but I acrobatically diverted his charge. He shifted to the main current seam and took off. My drag screaming, I managed to stifle his retreat. Only as I brought him to hand did I realize the beasts true size.
This is a 20+ inch Missouri River rainbow trout! My biggest trout on a dry fly to date!
After a short photo session he was released unharmed. At this point no hatch was really happening but that was soon to change.
The sound of millions upon millions of little wings filled the air accompanied by intermittent splashing. It was unlike anything I've ever experienced. Every breath filled your lungs with little winged trout snacks!
I ended up missing at least four good sized fish and lost twice that many flies to rigid hook setting. I ended the day satisfied with my catch but disappointed in my strike to catch ratio. It wasn't until the the drive home today that I realized I was using tippit that was left in the car during a week strait of 100 degree temperatures, which probably left it weakened and brittle.
After a long day of exploration we parked the Saturn Inn at our site, roasted some brats, drank some beer, and turned in for the night. We set the alarm for 6:30 with hopes of catching some kind of morning hatch.
Our hopes were fulfilled when we awoke to an enormous Pale Morning Dun hatch. Of course I had nothing in my fly box to match them, but as there were many spent caddis still floating by I was not worried. I tied on the trusty Elk Hair Caddis and we worked our way back north toward Great Falls.
We stopped at a few access sites and I tossed a few casts. Fish were still rising but not like the night before. I meandered along the bank on this stretch and searched for risers for a few minutes when I caught a glimpse of a biggun. After a few practice casts in the opposite direction I landed one a few feet upstream of him. Sure enough he poked his head up and chugged my fly from the surface. After a few expletives I tied on another Caddis and continued on, only to give up at the request of my appetite.
Overall I count my first trip to the Mighty Missouri as a great success. I caught a beast of a fish, explored two new rivers, and took in some beautiful scenery with my wife.
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