Spring fishing is heating up on the MO’ as the fish emerge from winter’s slumber and start to feed with reckless abandon which translates to what is often some of the best fishing of the year, as least as far as numbers go.
Nymphing has been the hottest ticket as of late and will continue to be the go-to for the next several weeks but it’s also approaching Prime Time for Streamer Fishing. We haven’t had nor have we heard of any, epic streamer days just yet but it could be any day now. As those water temps tick upward it’s just a matter of time before the chase and the crush commence.
The winter nymphing routine is but a memory now as the fish are vacating the slow depths and moving into those faster feeding lanes and staging areas. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t fish those winter runs, you should, but we’re rapidly approaching the time when the fish are EVERYWHERE.
Winter bugs are still in play with Pill Poppers and Tailwater Sows being the most reliable go to but we’ve also had varying degrees of success with Rainbow Czechs, Depth Charge Jig Worms, Fish Finder Worms, Bubble Yum Scuds, Caviar Scuds, Tungsten Tailwater Sows, Pink Amex, Pink Weight Flies etc. on point trailed with pink lightning bugs, soft hackle sows, Pink Lucent Bead Ray Charles, black Zebras, UV Yum Yums, Radiation Baetis, UV Crush, Tailwater sows etc.
It’s also time to start thinking about throwing some baetis nymphs into the mix. LGM’s, BWO Magic Fly, Split Case BWO, Psycho Mays, Olive Lightning Bugs, Olive or Brown 2 Bits and S & M’s, MicroMays etc. Perhaps a little early for these but it never hurts to show them something different than what they’ve been seeing all day every day.
All of these and many more available now at Wolf Creek Angler along with our newly added Jig selection which includes an abundance of the hottest jig patterns along with staples like Rainbow Czechs and Amex.
This year was by far our biggest pre-season bug purchase, come check out our selection which continues to rival that of any of the competition.
Concentrate on the medium depth water with moderate to fast flow and don’t be afraid to shorten up and hit the shallows. Water temps are currently 38.5 and climbing with flows holding fairly steady in the 3800 CFS range. Each tick upward in water temps will seemingly bring an uptick in the action and with air temps approaching 70 this weekend we’re well on our way to prime spring fishing.
And before I’m accused of overselling it, I’ll shout from the roof tops that you could very well have some slower days out there but speaking in the language of trends we are definitely trending towards the time of year when we count on putting some decent numbers together on a consistent basis.
As I mentioned, we’re on the cusp of PRIME TIME STREAMER SEASON. The Streamer bins have all been restocked and we continue to boast what many feel is the best streamer selection on the Missouri including a couple of awesome new patterns from our very own ZK.
Keep the strip on the slow side for the time being with plenty of pauses but it won’t be long before the fast strip is back in play. Bomb the banks, run the shelves and drop offs, swing the tail outs and definitely target any and all structure including those beaver lodges which are a dangerous place to dredge but well worth the risk when you coax that behemoth brown from his hiding place in the submerged lumber.
Come check out our streamer selection and our new Streamer X rods designed by Kelly Galloup for Echo. We’re also fully stocked on streamer lines with everything from intermediate to Big Nasty Sink to Airflo Streamer Max Shovelheads. We’ve also got plenty of Versileaders for those not wanting to commit to a dedicated streamer line.
Gear shipments have been iffy with the covid supply chain issues but we do have plenty of new stock with more arriving daily including new rods from Lamson which will be arriving any day now.
We also just received a shipment of Tornado Anchors – the coolest anchor design we’ve seen. I can’t wait to try this anchor.
We’ve yet to open our motel rooms but plan on having them available April 1st.
We’ve done more spring special guide trips this year than ever before and seem to be booking more every day.
Our spring lodging and guide trip special runs through April 18th. $550 for a full day guide trip for one or two anglers and two nights of premium lodging. Nobody, and I mean NOBODY, can touch this deal!
If you don’t need the lodging the spring rate for guide trips alone is $450, also running through the 18th.
Annie’s is open and last I heard OPENING DAY at IZAAK’s is this Friday the 26th.
If you’ve been waiting for spring fishing on the MO the time is now!
See you soon.
