Missouri River Fishing Report: April 30, 2026

Summary

Classic spring on the Mo, with sunshine, rain, and a side of late-April snow, but a steadier, warmer pattern is moving in for the week. Flows hold near 3,370 to 3,500 CFS with BWOs and midges leading and March Browns on deck. Craig Bridge is closed for repairs, so plan floats around it.

At a glance: ~3,370 to 3,500 CFS at Holter | Clear, tailwater normal | 44 to 48°F, cooled this week | Warmer and less windy ahead, highs 50s to 60s, lows 20s to 30s | BWOs, midges, March Browns on deck

Spring on the Mo, in the truest sense, sunshine one morning, rain the next, and a side of late-April snow midweek. Headhunters reports a steadier pattern moving in for the week ahead with warmer air and lower wind. Flows are sitting in the 3,370 to 3,500 CFS range out of Holter (Trout Shop and Cross Currents within fifty CFS of each other), water temps dipped from 48 °F to 44 °F over the last day or two as the cold front passed through, and clarity is the usual tailwater clear.

The fish picture: rainbows are wrapping up the spawn, especially up near the dam, and many up top are working through post-spawn recovery. Over the next few weeks fish will spread back through the canyon as they move down from the dam and tributaries. Veteran anglers are putting most of their effort below Craig where bug activity is stronger, Craig-to-Mid, Mid-to-Mountain, Prewett, and Pelican floats all in play. Browns are in a chasing mood for streamer anglers; rainbows still a touch sluggish but coming around.

BWOs are the headline hatch and they are happening daily, often kicking off around 2 PM and running close to 6, with bright sunny days pushing the hatch later into the evening. Headhunters made a useful technical point: the common belief that BWOs hatch better under cloudy skies is backward. Mayflies stay on the water longer in damp, cool, low-wind conditions because their wings need 15+ minutes to dry, versus 1.5 seconds in the sun. So sunny days = great hatches and short surface time; cloudy days = fewer bugs but more sitting ducks. Tune your dry vs. emerger choice accordingly. Midges are going strong all day. March Browns are next on deck, Trout Shop is already rolling #12 to 14 PT-variety nymphs above the #18 BWO nymph as a hedge.

Craig Bridge is closed for repairs. The river is open and shuttles are running, but float logistics are more complicated. Wolf Creek Angler and the Trout Shop are both running shuttles around the closure. Plan launches accordingly, Craig to Mid is a clean float that sidesteps the bridge work.

Best techniques

• Nymphing is the bread and butter. Go deep in the morning (6 to 7 ft) with BWO nymphs and sow patterns; transition shallower (3 to 5 ft) in the afternoon as fish key on emerging bugs in the upper column.
• Dry fly window is open in the BWO hatch, when there are too many real bugs on the water, switch to something a little different (Purple Para Wulff, Royal Wulff, Purple Haze, an old-school Adams) to stand out, or drop a soft-hackle just under the surface.
• Dry-dropper with a Skwala Chubby or larger mayfly dry up top, suspending a nymph below, clean play in skinny water.
• Soft-hackle swings are timely now: a BWO softie behind a small leech or minnow covers water and pulls grabs.
• Streamers are starting to turn on, flashy, white, and dark all producing on different days. Anglers willing to keep changing patterns and profiles are winning.
• Trout spey crowd is happy with the slate-colored skies; light soft hackles, BWO swings, and small leech patterns are the move.

Hatches and flies.

BWO (Baetis): Nymphs: Green Machine, Two Bit Hooker, Zebra Midge (Purple, Olive, Black Mirage variants), Psycho May (Olive), Juju Baetis (Tungsten and Purple), Tungsten Tailwater Tiny, Mosason, Magic Fly, Crust Nymph, Black IPT, Micro May, Tung Jig PT, Frenchie, Two Hot Baetis, Olive Crack Back Bullet, Olive Perdigon, Brown Perdigon. Emergers / Cripples: Sprout Baetis, Last Chance Cripple, Flash Cripple, D&D Cripple, Film Critic, Jake's Hatchback Baetis, Nyman's DOA Cripple Baetis. Dries: Pederson's 401K Baetis, Sparkle Flag, Split Flag, Brianne Dun, Hi-Vis BWO Spinner, Winna Spinna BWO, Purple Para Wulff, Royal Wulff, Purple Haze, Olive Haze, Adams, CDC Para Spinner

Midge (Chironomidae): Nymphs / Pupae: Zebra Midge, Mercury Midge, Tufted Zebra, Midge Larva, Ju-Ju Chironomid, Ruby Midge. Adults / Clusters: Griffith's Gnat, Cluster Midge, Adams Midge Cluster, Grizzly Midge Cluster, Black Midge, Harrop's Hanging Midge, Bucky's Midge Cluster

Sows & Scuds: Pill Popper, TFP Skurp, UV Yum Yum, Soft Hackle Ray (pink/orange/red bead), Pink Bead Tungsten Epoxy Back Sow, Tailwater Sow (natural grey and rainbow), Caviar Scud

March Brown: March Brown Nymph, Pheasant Tail Nymph in #12 to 14 above a #18 BWO nymph

Worms: Wire Worm, Hot Bead Power Worm

Streamers: Flashy: Kreelex, Sparkle Minnow (Sculpin), Lil' Kim. White: Skiddish Smolt. Dark / leechy: Sex Dungeon, Mini-Dungeon, Micro Peanut Envy, Mini Montana Intruder, Mini Sculpin, Bam Bam, Thin Mint, Heisenberg, Sparkle Bugger, Black Bugger, Peacock Bugger, Trout Spey Bugger, Gamechanger

Outlook. Warmer, lower-wind week ahead, daytime highs creeping into the 50s and 60s with overnight lows still cool (20s to 30s). That should keep flows steady, prolong the BWO window, and bring the March Brown hatch into the picture meaningfully over the next 7 to 10 days. As more rainbows finish the spawn the hungry-fish bite will tighten up. Streamer odds improve on the cloudy days.

Sources and Thanks

Shop	Report date	Coverage
Headhunters Fly Shop (Craig)	April 29, 2026	Missouri River
The Trout Shop (Craig)	April 23, 2026	Missouri River
Cross Currents Fly Shop (Craig)	April 23, 2026	Missouri River
Wolf Creek Angler (Wolf Creek)	April 26, 2026	Missouri River