Montana Guided Fly Fishing Trip

Teaching Your Spouse How To Fly Fish

At the Missoulian Angler Fly Shop, we see this all the time. A customer walks into the fly shop and says, “My spouse wants to learn how to fly fish. Now what?” After teasing them about buying expensive tackle, a raft and a new truck to haul it, we get down to the things we’ve found important when couples start to fish together.

The biggest difficulty in getting a spouse to fly fish is teaching them how to cast.  We’re going out on a limb, and will make this statement. Most fisherman can make THEIR cast work, but few have studied fly casting, and fewer still know how to teach someone else to cast. The fly shop has seen this teaching technique way too often, which consists of someone saying, “No, that’s wrong. See, watch what I do. No, that’s wrong.” Not the best way to learn how to cast a fly rod. George says he always knew when his Mom and Dad played tennis together. They didn’t speak for two days after!

Ron may have had the best solution. Back when he was teaching his wife how to fly fish, so were many of his friends. So he and Bob Powell, Duncan Oswalt and others would switch up the fishing partners. Ron’s wife went with Bob, and down the line, so Ron was never teaching his wife. He was teaching someone else’s wife, and he said it was less fraught with tension. Might be any easy out! Though Ron was a fly fishing guide in Missoula and Alaska for 20 years, so he’s a pretty good casting instructor.

Unless you’re a well-studied caster, The Missoulian Angler Fly Shop recommends getting your spouse a fly fishing lesson. The Missoulian Angler offers one on one casting instruction, and our instructors have a combined 65 years of casting teaching experience. There are other avenues to find instruction as well.  The important thing may be to find an outside instructor to get the ball rolling with casting lessons. This will save a lot of relationship angst in the long run! But if you choose to teach your spouse, just remember this. You weren’t born with a fly rod in your hand, so don’t expect instantaneous perfection from your spouse. Remember to nurture, not criticize. Stay positive, and don’t practice too long. This is the hardest part of teaching fly fishing to a beginner. Letting the student flail is part of their learning- knowing when they need to be left alone is the most difficult lesson the teacher needs to learn!

Another thing to bear in mind is why your spouse is learning to fly fish. In all probability, their initial reason to learn to fly fish is to spend time with their partner. This means the fishing spouse needs to change their expectations on the water. Your time is no longer your own. No more walking a mile upstream to even start fishing. If you want your spouse to fish with you, you need to stay close until they become comfortable. At the beginning of this process, you’re less fisherman and more ghillie. Tough in the short run, but good in the long run.

Also keep in mind a new fisherman may not be ready to be on the river from 6:00 am to 9:00 pm, in the rain on a 52 degree day. They’re just learning to fly fish, and probably won’t have the stamina or interest to fish all day. Here’s a couple of solutions. You can curtail your fishing times to fit your spouse’s needs. But this is our favorite. Bring along their favorite beverage. Cheese and crackers. Ask them to bring a book or magazine. Spend a little more time in making up a real lunch, not the two Snickers bars you eat during the day.

This is subtle manipulation here, so pay attention!

You are trying to make this FUN for your spouse. They’re already going to be struggling with the fishing- make sure they DON’T struggle with anything else. So good food, good beverage, diversions when the fishing is slow or frustrating, and a willingness to be flexible on your end are critical. If your spouse isn’t having any fun because you’re on a fly fishing trip, and not a picnic with them, they’re not likely to go fishing as willingly the next time. It’s even more basic- if they’re not having fun, you’re not having fun. Continue to ignore their needs, and soon they’re not fishing. So make a fuss. Celebrate the fact that your spouse is fishing with you. Make the extra effort, make it fun, and they will come fishing again, even if it’s just for the food! And no, this isn’t going to last forever. As they learn to fish better, they will fish more, and soon you’ll have a fishing partner, but it’s not going to happen overnight.

Missoula Fly Fishing

It takes patience on both ends to make this work. As the fisherman, it’s your job to make the experience as positive as it can be for a new fisherman. For the newbie, remember that your spouse wants to fish as well as be with you. Sometimes you just have to give the space to let them go around the corner.

If we had to make a list of responsibilities for each partner, it would look like this. The fishing spouse should do everything to make the initial trips fun and special. Show massive amounts of patience. Remember you didn’t learn to fish in a day- your spouse won’t either. Be helpful but not obtrusive- know when to be there and when to be gone. To the spouse who’s learning, it starts with recognizing fly fishing isn’t always perfect. It means practicing things like knots and casting so when you get to the river, you can be a little self-sufficient. And having massive amounts of patience when you’re ready to be done and they’re just getting started.

You work on your relationship off the water. It’s going to take a little work to make the relationship on the water work as well. But it’s totally worth it! Fly fishing can provide another strong bonding experience. It’s fun, frustrating and interesting all the time! It can help form a stronger, closer bond in the long run. Beginnings are always so tricky. Work together, have some patience and you’ll soon find that fishing together is one more activity that you can enjoy together.

Often our guests will book a day fly fishing trip with one of our guides to help their significant other learning the basics of fly fishing. The guide will often put the less experienced angler in the front of the boat so they can focus on casting, drifting and mending. Give us a call or email and we would happy to set up a fly fishing trip for you and your spouse.

BWO Mayfly

Blue Winged Olive – Montana

For many anglers, the truest sign of Fall is the emergence of the Blue Wing Olives (BWO). Arriving after the first fall rains, the cold, cloudy days bring BWO’s out in big numbers. They continue hatching through October, and sometimes later. BWO’s hatch from late morning through mid- afternoon, bringing trout to the surface to gorge. With such a long hatch window, how do you time the emergence on the rivers? You look for the heat of the day. As the days get shorter and colder, the hatch begins to move from morning to afternoon.


The Clark Fork River and Bitterroot River have phenomenal BWO hatches, and these insects can be found along the length of those rivers. Rock Creek will get good BWO hatches, but you’ll need to find the slower, quieter water where fish are feeding. The BWO is not an important hatch on the Blackfoot River. As Missoula’s highest elevation and most northern river, the Blackfoot isn’t known for it’s fall hatches. It IS known for its fall streamer fishing!


The BWO’s in Western Montana vary in size from 16 to 22. Why such a large size range? Because the “BWO” hatch is not a single species, but a complex mixture of multiple species. While the species, mostly baetis, are taxonomically different, they’re all basically the same size and color. Which means the same fly will be the correct imitation for any species that is hatching.


When many people think of late-season fishing, they think of a lovely day under the autumn sun, enjoying the crisp fall weather. For the BWO’s, change your thinking! Some of the best Blue Wing Olive fishing comes on the worst days of the season. 45 degrees, cold rain mixed with a little snow, maybe some wind, and the BWO’s will come off in droves. The fish respond to the cloud cover, and the fishing can be epic. If any hatch defines the value of cloud cover, it’s the Blue Wing Olives.


With so many different species in the rivers, it’s tough to find a place where some species of BWO nymph isn’t present. Most of the Baetis nymphs are very strong swimmers, capable of moving in 3-6 inch bursts. With this type of swimming strength, baetis nymphs are very active on the bottom, and very much a part of the trout’s diet. Frank Sawyer’s Pheasant tail nymph was designed to imitate the BWO’s found in his native British waters, and the pheasant tail works wonders in Missoula as well. Even better, Once in a while a moving pheasant tail can be effective. A slight jigging action on a slowly swung pheasant tail ban be a strong tactic in the fall.

Film Critic Fly pattern.

The BWO can be a blanket hatch, and with all blanket hatches, you have fish focusing on various stages of the insects emergence. The Missoulian Angle Fly Shop carries flies for all stages of the BWO emergence, including the Last Chance Cripple, Hi-Vis Spinner, Silhouette Dun and the TiltWing Dun. With the largest fly selection in town, we’ll have the hot BWO pattern. When buying flies, make sure you vary the size and shape of your purchase. Make sure to have cripples, spinners, emergers and duns to make sure you have the needed stage on the water. Nothing worse than watching fish rise without the right fly!

Tungsten Jig Pheasant Tail. One of Missoula’s most popular fly patterns from March-Novemeber.


The BWO will also emerge in the Spring. Once again, the species are completely different, but the same flies will work. This also explains why a small Pheasant Tail nymph always works in our area. With two separate life cycles, there will always be a size 16-18 little brown mayfly nymph swimming in 3-6 inch bursts. While the BWO might define fall for many anglers, it’s just as effective in the spring. Still loves the cold, still loves the clouds. The only difference is now it’s Spring!

Additional Blue Winged Olive Resources

The Euro Nymph Game

Trout eat constantly. If they’re not surface feeding, they’re sub-surface feeding. It’s a well-known fact that nymphs live in the rocks. It’s a more well-known fact that rocks live on the river bottom! So if you want to get your fly to where the fish are, you need to get your nymph on the bottom. Which is why Euro Nymphing is so effective.

Euro nymphing has been around for 100’s of years. Historic records have anglers fishing deep flies on tight lines in central Europe in the 1600’s. Fast forward to the 60’s, and you find anglers across the United States high stick nymphing, which is also Euro Nymphing. And of course, the competitive anglers across the world have dominated the river portion of the World Fly Fishing Championships with Euro nymphing techniques.


Euro nymphing traditionally uses a long rod (10-11.5 ft.), a FIPS (Fédération Internationale de Peche Sportive Mouche) Euro Nymphing line and a long, monofilament or fluorocarbon leader. The variations from that are endless, but that is the basic setup. The long rod allows for better line control on the water, while the line and leader are chosen for their ability to sink rapidly. You can definitely use a Euro nymph set-up on your 9 ft rod, however the shorter rod will not give you the coverage a longer rod provides, nor will you get the length of drift. But tightliners have been nymphing with 9 ft rods for years with great success.

Perdigon Fly Pattern is one of our most effective Euro Nymphs we carry. Also a very popular dropper off of a dry fly.


The flies are also different than many of the traditional nymphs used in Missoula. The Euro nymphs, like the Perdigon, are designed to sink rapidly. Many feature Tungsten beads on jig style hooks. The jig style hook rides point up, so they hang up less on the bottom of the river. The Missoulian Angler has the largest jig nymph selection in Missoula, and it’s expanding on a yearly basis. These nymphs sink rapidly, snag less and take trout.

The Euro nymph fisherman is running a relatively a relatively short line (10-25 ft) with 1-2 flies and maybe some weight, depending on depth. The FIPS line is quite thin, and not utilized as a classic fly casting line. The cast is accomplished using the weight of the flies and the flexibility of the long rod to cast the nymphs. The design of the Euro nymphs takes them to the bottom quickly, and the long rod allows the angler to control their depth and speed with incredible precision. The graphite rod translates every bump and tick back to the angler’s hand. As the flies ride close to the bottom, where the fish are, the tight line instantaneously allows the angler to set the hook upon take.


Working at such a close distance, euro nymphing is more suited to faster moving water. You can definitely Euro nymph in slower water, but your wading game had better be in top form! Euro nymphing does not work well from a boat. You need to have a bit more control over your flies depth than is achievable from a boat. Additionally, it often takes a couple of passes through a viable lie before the proper depth and speed is achieved, which is quite difficult from a boat.

Euro nymphing is all about getting the fly where the fish live, allowing the fish to expend minimum energy to feed. There is no method of fishing that is more effective. The relative water currents are slowest at the bottom of a river. The nymphs in the rocks are at the bottom of the river. The fish get a maximum return for a minimum effort when feeding, so they spend the majority of their time hugging the bottom. When you get your fly where the fish are feeding, you take more fish. Simple as that. So if you’re all about catching a lot of fish, call and ask the Missoulian Angler Fly Shop about Euro nymphing opportunities in Missoula. Once you get the technique figured out, your catch rate will jump exponentially.

Happy fly fishing!

Mousing Montana Fly Fishing

Missoula Night Fly Fishing – Mice and Big Streamers

It’s 8:30 pm on a late July evening in Western Montana. You just got done with a short after work trip to the river, throwing a dry and putting a few smaller fish to hand, then switching it up to a streamer, but no slam pig brown like you’ve always dreamed of. The sun is just starting to tuck behind the mountains, so you figure you’d better head back towards the car. . . or should you? Is the best trophy trout fishing of the day about to begin? Is that monster of a brown trout just starting to slide out from a deep hole to feed? Well, there’s only one way to find out.

Morrish Mouse


One of the most overlooked methods of fly fishing for big trout around Missoula starts when the sun goes down. It may seem foolish and difficult to fumble around attempting to cast in the dark, but the payout can be extravagant. First, let’s establish why this works, and why it’s worth giving a shot. Big trout, and I mean BIG trout (23-32 inches) didn’t get big by being stupid. After living in a system for anywhere from 7 to 20 years, they know where and when they are in danger from predators, they know what actions put them in a vulnerable position, and they know one simple solution to eliminate these life-threatening factors. Eat. At. Night. Simple as that, feeding after sundown allows big trout to roam nearly any part of the river as they wish without a care in the world about the eagle that lives a quarter mile upstream. However, protection is not the only reason that huge trout choose to feed almost exclusively at night, there is another factor that is more seasonal. As you may have noticed the last time you fished the river in 100 degree weather, trout aren’t too fond of hot water temps. The biggest and smartest fish in the river are no exception. These fish live with 4 things in mind: get big, stay big, make babies, don’t die. The ‘stay big’ portion of this lifestyle is not particularly complimented by exhausting vast amounts of calories trying to chase baitfish through the shallows under the scorching hot sun. The air becomes cool at night in the Missoula area, and so does the water. Yet another reason why the 10+ pound trout of your dreams isn’t sipping BWOs at 2:00pm.


Now that we’ve discussed why this works, lets address how. There are two commonly used methods when it comes to fly fishing at night; mousing/topwater and streamer fishing. In most freestone rivers like the Bitterroot River, Blackfoot River and Clark Fork River, when trout reach a certain size, mayfly nymphs and caddis flies aren’t going to sustain the calorie intake that these pigs require. When the fish reach this point in their life, some will start to shift from a BMI (Benthic Macro Invertebrate) diet, to a baitfish and juvenile fish diet. Not only this, but these trout will also predate on mice, rats, small water mammals, frogs, crawdads, snakes, birds, the list goes on. Anything that offers a significant number of calories, a large predacious trout will eat if it can get its jaws on it. That being said, larger 4-7 inch articulated streamers have become a standard imitation for these large piscivorous trout, and anything from a single hook Moorish Mouse to a triple articulated rat pattern stripped across the surface will go as a rodent imitation. Oh, and ideally bring at least a 6 or 7 weight rod or you’re ‘gonna have a bad time’. Now, it’s not necessarily true that one of these fly selections will work better than the other, because when a trophy trout is the target, it’s more-so about being in the right place at the right time. However, as exciting as it is to hear a 6 pound brown Trout break the silence of the night with a belly flop on a mouse pattern, the number of hookups are less than ideal. If comparing the hookup ratio of a mouse pattern to a streamer, it’s probably 1:5. . . Regardless of which fly option you choose, the strategies that follow both are relatively similar. First off, it all starts with finding the right body of water. You need to find a system that has big fish potential. This can mean a few things. . . the system has at one point or another produced a giant fish or two, the system regularly produces larger fish (say 18-22 inch trout in this case) and you’re looking to uncover something greater, or maybe something as simple as a big fish story. Two crucially important factors that arise while night fishing rivers, is familiarity with the water, and finding safely wadable water. Don’t go trotting out onto a river you’ve never laid eyes on before in the pitch black. Not only can this be incredibly unsafe, but you also will have little clue what you’re casting to, tremendously lowering your efficiency. Keep in mind, it’s important to keep your headlamp off as much as possible, so casting into complete darkness is much easier if you’ve walked the water a time or two in the daylight. Additionally, try and choose a stretch of water where you can either easily navigate the bank, or walk through shallow and calm water that won’t sweep you off your feet and take you for a midnight swim. Now, with disclaimers out of the way, lets say you find a familiar stretch of river that you are convinced will produce a 28” brown trout. Focus on fishing moderate/slower pace water, anywhere near obvious structure or cover such as undercut banks, overhanging trees, downed logs, and rip-rap banks. Another major river feature that should be noted while night fishing, is big shelfs and drop offs. Often, large predatory fish will sit down on the deep end of a drop off during the day to rest. When nightfall hits and they’re ready to feed, they will move up onto the shelf and scan the flat water for minnows and juvenile fish . . . so, don’t be hesitant to pull a streamer or mouse through a stretch of knee deep water. Additionally, big fish will also move into side channels and sloughs where their prey has less room to escape.

Mousy Mcmouse Face. One of our favorite mouse patterns.


From here, there’s only a couple things left to consider; commitment and persistence. Night fishing is different, and not particularly convenient or appealing to the average angler. However, it is by far the most effective manner of targeting big fish exclusively and not worrying about numbers. Furthermore, the determination to pursue a big fish comes with some downfalls. Other than the few giants, most fish usually stop feeding around sunset. This means you’re going to get skunked more times than anyone likes to admit along the journey of chasing a trophy. Those willing to bite the bullet and put fishless (and sleepless) hours on the clock are the ones who will be rewarded. So . . . next time you hit the river for evening outing of fly fishing, bring a few streamers, a couple mice, and a headlamp. Stay a few extra hours and you may be surprised what kind of magic happens after the sun goes down.

We do offer guided fly fishing trips in Montana for Mousing. Due to safety of issues of fishing at night we typically start at first light in the morning which can be one of the best times to mouse. If this is something you would like to do then please give us a call at 1 (406) 728-7766.

Additional Night Fishing Resources

Pale Morning Duns and Pale Evening Duns

Why are we grouping these two together, when they’re so taxonomically different? Because the same fly that works in the morning will work in the evening, so with the same imitation, we lump them together. The PMD’s and PED’s are the first hatches post run-off that can be wader friendly for fly fishing, and the PMD’s are a classic mayfly hatch. PMD’s have been known to darn near blanket the waters on the Clark Fork River and Bitterroot River, and they’re also very prevalent on Rock Creek and the Blackfoot River. This is a very important insect for Missoula rivers and it’s fisherman.

When we say classic mayfly hatch, it comes from the view many anglers take, declaring matching the hatch as the premiere challenge in fly fishing. During a blanket hatch, the fish definitely key in on certain stages of emergence and adulthood. Because of the feeding complexity, the PMD is a hatch where you buy flies wide and shallow. That means if you buy 6 PMD’s, get two parachutes, two cripples and two emergers. That way, you’re better able to match the insect stage being focused on, instead of having six adults when the trout want cripples. It’s not a bad way to buy flies at any time, but especially important with an abundance of insects. The PED’s aren’t always as abundant, but since you’ll already have a wide array of flies, you’ll be ready!

The PMD nymphs are crawlers, and very poor swimmers. After bottom release, their ascent to the surface is quite feeble. The long, slow rise to the surface gives trout time to gorge, and during emergence trout may be found higher in the water column, following nymphs to the surface. The PMD emergence is one time you may not want your nymph on the bottom, but suspended a little higher up. It’s an exciting way to nymph, sight fishing to suspended fish. A jig Pheasant Tail or a Racing Gold Perdigon is effective at this time. After ascent, PMD’s emerge from their shucks a couple of inches from the surface and finish floating to the meniscus to emerge as adults.

Trout can very specifically target PMD’s after emergence from their shuck but not yet to the surface. Pay close attention to the rise form. If there are no bubbles trailing the rise, chances are very good the fish didn’t break the surface with its mouth, but with its back. Floating a dry fly over a fish that’s not coming to the surface is exceptionally frustrating! If there are no bubbles, attach an emerger or a nymph on a dropper about 4 inches long. This will allow the fly to sink just under the surface film, but not too deeply. You’ll take a lot of “risers” this way.

With the PMD, it’s a good time to talk about the difference between a cripple and an emerger. Our best answer is about 1 second. Mother Nature is not always kind, and when the emergence process is interrupted, the insect quickly goes from emerger to cripple. It’s not as complicated as some people make it out to be. Both cripples and emergers are found in the surface film, and often imitated by the same fly, like a Film Critic. The PMD, with its slow emergence, provides multiple opportunities to use a fly in the film. A rise form to a fly in the film may or may not leave bubbles. Just adds to the puzzle!

Once a PMD has broken through the meniscus and emerged, it must wait for its wings to dry before flying. Depending on weather conditions, an adult can ride on the surface for quite a long distance, again providing the trout with quality feeding opportunities. A Tiltwing Dun or simple parachutes are excellent imitations for the adult.

So let’s make things complicated. PMD’s and PED’s also fall as brown spinners, which is imitated by the Hi-Vis Rusty Spinner. A spinner is a spent adult, returning to the water to finish its life cycle. These spinner falls can occur early in the morning, late at night, or, our favorite, during the hatch. So quite often, you will have the option of Rusty Spinners during the emergence, which adds complexity to matching the hatch. Again, we return to the classic concept of a mayfly hatch. You can find a group of rising fish, and while one may be taking emergers, the fish next to it may be taking adults, cripples or spinners. Which can make matching the hatch an interesting proposition. But isn’t that why we choose to pursue a fish with a measured IQ of 4, to keep things interesting!

Fisherman and guides are pretty spoiled in Missoula, MT having so many great hatches for fly fishing and the PMD is one hatch that last longer then most. This makes it a very important insect and there should be plenty of different stages of imitations in your fly box.

Additional PMD and PED Resources

Green Drake Hatch Montana

Green Drakes in Missoula

The Western Green Drake is a good hatch for fly fishing in Missoula, MT, but not the easiest to predict. It doesn’t come off as heavily as other hatches in the area, but can be strong in certain places at certain times. As with many early season mayflies, the hatch is triggered by water temps, and due to factors like runoff, rain and varying weather, the Green Drake isn’t a hatch you can set your watch to. But they’re a sizable bug, and when they start hatching in early to mid-June, they’re big enough to pull fish off of the Salmon Flies and Golden Stone! So it pays to have some Western Green Drake imitations in your box, especially when the weather is cloudy.


There are two main species of Western Green Drakes, Drunella Grandis and Drunella Doddsi. D. Grandis max out at 16mm while D. Doddsi maxes out at about 13mm. We have both on our waters, imitated by the same pattern, in size 10 or 12, and applies to nymphs and dries equally. The nymphs don’t hatch at the surface, they hatch about a foot below the surface, and then float to the top to use their wings to break through the surface film. While this emergent phase may be critical on rivers like the Henry’s Fork, where the Green Drake is a blanket hatch, in Missoula the sparser nature of the hatch means fish keying on the Drakes are a much less fussy.


Using the wings to break through the surface film causes additional stress to these insects. When these insects do emerge, their wings are pretty beat up, and many of the adults don’t actually make it to the stage where they can fly off the water. A Green Drake Cripple, such as a Sir Francis or a Quigley Cripple are excellent imitations of the drakes that don’t make it.


The Western Green Drake uses a liquid to fill the veinations through its wings. That process takes time. And depending on air temperatures, the Green Drake wings can take a long time to dry. On colder days, the bugs may float for over a minute before their wings are full and dry and capable of flying. The dry fly is a subject of some debate amongst tyers and fishermen. In Missoula, Green Drakes hatch when the rivers are running pretty big. On the Blackfoot River and Rock Creek, you may want to use a Green Drake pattern with strong flotation, like a Hairwing Green Drake. But when Green Drakes hatch on the Clark Fork River or Bitterroot River, which are much lower gradients, use a more imitative pattern like a Carnage Green Drake or an Tilt Wing Green Drake. That’s not to say that the flies listed are river specific, we’re simply saying that a big, bouncing river will sometimes need a higher floating fly than a calmer river might require.


The Green Drake isn’t always the friendliest of hatches for the wading angler. The rivers are big when it starts coming off, and sometimes a wading angler simply can’t get to where the insects are hatching. As with most mayflies, if you can set yourself up downstream of a good, strong riffle, these crawler nymphs will hatch down into the slower water often found below riffles. And of course, in all high water, the fish are hugging the banks, looking for the softer water. With an insect that may float for a minute on the surface, it may not be critical to be near where they’re hatching, only to be near where the fish can find
soft enough water to rise!

Additional Green Drake Resources