Missouri River Fishing Report: April 27, 2026

Summary

A cold front pumped the brakes on a fishery that was getting ahead of itself, and the shops frame it as exactly the slowdown the river needed. A warm-up is underway this week, back to a normal late-April pattern, with BWOs the headline hatch on a roughly 2 to 6 PM window. Fish below Craig where the bug activity is strongest.

At a glance: ~3,370 to 3,500 CFS at Holter, steady | Clear | 44°F, down from 48°F | Warming after a cold front, highs 50s to 60s, lows in the 30s | BWO the headline hatch, March Browns on deck

Spring whiplash week on the MO. Highs in the 80s last Tuesday gave way to a snow-and-rain weekend with overnight lows in the 20s. The cold front pumped the brakes on a fishery that was getting ahead of itself, and most reports frame it as exactly the slowdown the river needed. Warm-up underway this week brings 50s to 60s daytime, 30s overnight, back to a normal late-April pattern.

Flows steady around 3,370 to 3,500 cfs at Holter; water temp dropped from 48°F to 44°F over the weekend. Rainbows are wrapping up the spawn near the dam, fish in the upper canyon carry the post-spawn recovery blues. Veteran anglers are working below Craig where the bug activity is stronger; Craig-to-Mid is a clean float that sidesteps the bridge closure entirely. Mid-to-Mountain, Prewett, and Pelican are also good options.

BWOs are the headline hatch, prolific emergence, peak window roughly 2:00 to 6:00 PM (later on bluebird days). March Browns are next on deck. Midges are still in play all day with cluster patterns getting good attention.

Craig Bridge is closed for repairs through the weekend at minimum, no firm reopen date. Shuttle logistics are workable but plan accordingly. Wolf Creek Angler, Headhunters, and The Trout Shop are all running daily shuttles.

Best techniques

• Nymphing is the main game. Go deep (6 to 7 ft) in the morning with a split-shot rig; transition shallower (3 to 5 ft) in the afternoon as fish look up for emerging baetis. Some anglers fishing without split shot in skinny water.
• Dry-fly ops in rising-fish locales, when too many naturals are on the water, switch to a #18 attractor (Purple Para Wulff, Royal Wulff, Purple Haze, Adams) or drop down to an emerger / soft hackle just below the surface.
• Dry-dropper, Skwala Chubby or larger mayfly as the indicator suspending an emerger or small nymph is reliable in skinny water.
• Soft-hackle swing, BWO softies behind a leech or small minnow pattern is covering water effectively right now.
• Streamers turning on, especially on cloudy days. Browns are in chasing mode; rainbows still sluggish post-spawn. Intermediate or dry lines, some dredging deeper. Strippers and swingers both producing.

Hatches and flies.

Nymphs: Pill Popper, TFP Skurp, UV Yum Yum, Soft Hackle Ray (pink/orange/red bead), Pink Bead Tungsten Epoxy Back Sow, Tailwater Sow (natural grey, rainbow), Zebra Midge, Mercury Midge, Tufted Zebra, Midge Larva, Black IPT, Green Machine / Little Green Machine, Psycho May, Two Bit Hooker, Micro May, Crust Nymph, Tung Jig Pheasant Tail, Frenchie, Wire Worm, Tungsten Tailwater Tiny, Olive Perdigon & Brown Perdigon, Magic Fly, Mosason, Two Hot Baetis, Olive Crack Back Bullet, March Brown Nymph (#12 to 14 above an #18 BWO nymph)

Dries: Pederson's 401K Baetis, Sprout Baetis, Hi-Vis BWO Spinner, Film Critic, Brianne Dun, CDC Para Spinner, Sparkle Flag, Split Flag, Purple Para Wulff, Royal Wulff, Purple Haze, Olive Haze, Parachute Adams, Jake's Hatchback Baetis, Winna Spinna BWO, Flash Cripples, Last Chance Cripples, Skwala Chubby. Midge dries: Cluster Midge, Griffith's Gnat, Harrop's Hanging Midge, Grizzly Midge Cluster, Adams Midge Cluster, Black Midge

Streamers: Sparkle Minnow (Sculpin variant per WCA), Goldie, Skiddish Smolt (Silver original; Brown/Yellow), Montana Intruder, Mini Montana Intruder, Mini-Dungeon, Sex Dungeon, Micro Peanut Envy, Mini Sculpin, Bam Bam, Thin Mint, Trout Spey Bugger, Peacock Bugger & Black Buggers, Sparkle Bugger, Kreelex, Lil' Kim, Heisenberg, Gamechanger

Outlook. Warm-up resumes this week (50s to 60s daytime). BWO dry-fly fishing should hold and possibly improve as cloud cover comes and goes. March Browns are the next-up hatch, start carrying a few #12 to 14 PT-variety nymphs above the BWO nymph. Streamer bite improves with water temps creeping back up; brown trout are aggressive. Watch fish on redds and steer clear, keep promoting the fishery for the next generation. Some redds still active in the upper river.

Sources and Thanks

Shop	Report date	Coverage
Headhunters Fly Shop (Craig)		Missouri River
The Trout Shop (Craig)		Missouri River
Cross Currents Fly Shop (Craig)		Missouri River
Wolf Creek Angler (Wolf Creek)		Missouri River