Missouri River Fishing Report, July 28, 2026

2026-07-28 (July 28, 2026)

Summary

The waiting ended this week: after two runs built on the same mid-July source reports, all five active shops posted fresh reports within the last six days, and they agree on the shape of the thing. The Missouri is fishing well, for part of the day. Highs are pushing the upper 90s to 100, the dam is releasing about 3,500 CFS of water that starts the morning at 65 degrees and ends the evening at 68, and the entire fishery has compressed into the hours before the heat. The Tricos still set the timetable, the big browns are eating like they know August is coming, and the smart anglers are off the water by early afternoon, leaving the river to the tubers and the trout. One number worth respecting: hoot owl closures are posted all over the state, but not here. The Mo has drawn that restriction exactly twice in its history, and Wolf Creek Angler's house rule is stricter than the state's anyway. When the water hits 68, they quit, restrictions or not. That is the right example to follow.

At a glance: Dry fly season on a warming tailwater | ~3,500–3,580 CFS below Holter (live USGS ~3,580 this morning; regulated and steady) | 65°F at the dam in the morning, 67°F by mid-morning and 68 by evening, warmer with every mile downstream | Tricos own the morning, terrestrials are joining the roster, weeds own the margins | no hoot owl on the Mo, but every shop in Craig and Wolf Creek is watching the thermometer.

The morning is the day now. Water at the dam starts in the mid-60s and this is the coolest water on the river, so every mile downstream subtracts margin. Fish early, watch the thermometer, keep the fights short, and keep the fish in the net for photos; as Headhunters put it this week, late summer is not the time for a hero shot. The fishing itself is legitimately good. Cross Currents reports a run of big browns coming to the net despite the challenging heat, the Trico game is still delivering technical morning dry-fly fishing, and the hopper program has produced a few promising days without turning consistent yet. The fish are low-water spooky: 9-foot-plus leaders in 5X and 6X, longer casts than you want to make, and the fly landing first, because on this river dead flies do not swim and first drifts are the ones that count. Weeds remain the tax on everything subsurface. The clean lanes have moved to the center of the river, streamer anglers are mowing grass on every second strip, and the deep, fast, bucket-studded water is where the nymphing pays.

Best techniques

• Mornings open on the Trico shift: duns early, spinners falling from about nine, and clusters when the carpet gets thick. The current spread runs Quigley's Clusters, Buzzballs, Griffith's Gnats, Renegades, the Reneball, Harp's CDC Spinners, Winna Spinner Tricos, Hackle Stacker Tricos, Last Chance Cripple Tricos, CDC Trico Emergers, and drowned Tricos in or under the film, with a tiny Adams, Para Adams, or Purple Haze as the searching alternative.
• Nymph deep and central: a Zirdle or Wire Worm up front with a Zebra, Flying Zebra, Tufted Zebra, Black Green Machine, Frenchie, Purple Weight Fly, Tailwater Sowbug, Brown Perdigon, Warrior Perdigon, Black IPT, Black Two Bit, Jig Micro May, Duracell, or a black or hare's ear Blowtorch trailing 20 inches behind. Five to six feet to the split shot in the 4-to-6-foot buckets, and expect to pick weeds off the rig all morning.
• Close the day on the edges: sporadic caddis and PMD (by evening, PED) activity with a Corn Fed Caddis, Missing Link Caddis, Superman Caddis, Jeb Caddis, Hi-Vis Spent Caddis, or an Ascending Caddis pupa, plus a Rusty Spinner or Hi-Vis Rusty Spinner at last light. The PMD file still earns its slot: Found Links, Film Critics, Sparkle Flag PMDs, CDC Para Spinners, Profile Spinners, Brianne Duns, and Split Flag Adams. Round out the afternoon with a hopper-dropper or double-Zirdle rig, and keep the terrestrial box (small hoppers, ants, beetles) handy along the banks.
• Streamers are a stubborn hunt in the weeds, not a plan: a Kreelex, Sparkle Minnow, Bam-Bam Minnow, Thin Mint, Chicago Overcoat, Lil Kim, Zonker, Bugger in black, brown, or olive, or a Sex Dungeon through the deep drop-offs, and crawfish patterns swung small. The Craig shops open at 6 a.m. for a reason; the coffee and the morning fly-size read are both worth the stop before you hit the ramp.

Montana Fly Goods finally refreshed its report and brought the below-Hauser water back into view: it is fishing well on much the same program as below Holter, with two local wrinkles. The crawfish game is the headline (a crawfish pattern up front with something shiny behind it: a Rainbow Warrior, Mirage Perdigon, or Spanish Bullet), and leeches are still moving fish alongside the crawdads. Trico mornings and afternoon terrestrials apply here too.

Hatches

Tricos remain the headline act, hatching and falling every morning below the dams. Caddis and PMDs are present but sporadic in both species and timing, pseudo and micro mayflies ride in their wake, Callibaetis are a possibility on the slower water, and hoppers, ants, and beetles are earning more attention every hot afternoon.

The Fly Box

Nymphs: Zirdles, Wire Worms, Zebras, Flying Zebras, Tufted Zebras, Black Green Machines, Frenchies, Purple Weight Flies, Tailwater Sowbugs, Brown Perdigons, Warrior Perdigons, Black IPTs, Black Two Bits, Jig Micro Mays, Duracells, Blowtorches, Rainbow Warriors, Spanish Bullets

Emergers: CDC Trico Emergers, Drowned Tricos, Ascending Caddis

Dries: Quigley's Clusters, Buzzballs, Griffith's Gnats, Renegades, Reneballs, Harp's CDC Spinners, Winna Spinner Tricos, Hackle Stacker Tricos and Callibaetis, Last Chance Cripple Tricos, Adams, Para Adams, Purple Haze, Found Links, Film Critics, Sparkle Flag PMDs, CDC Para Spinners, Profile Spinners, Brianne Duns, Split Flag Adams, Corn Fed Caddis, Missing Link Caddis, Superman Caddis, Jeb Caddis, Hi-Vis Spent Caddis, Rusty Spinners, Hi-Vis Rusty Spinners

Streamers: Kreelex, Sparkle Minnows, Bam-Bam Minnows, Thin Mints, Chicago Overcoats, Lil Kims, Zonkers, Buggers, Sex Dungeons

Outlook. Ten days of highs near 100 are on the board, so the pattern is set: Trico mornings, terrestrial afternoons for those who stay, weeds thickening, and fish getting spookier as the water drops. Watch for the caddis and PMD activity to stay sporadic, the hopper bite to firm up as August arrives, and the whole valley to keep one eye on the temperature gauge. The Mo has dodged hoot owl twice-in-history odds so far; fish like you want to keep it that way, mornings only, thermometer in the vest.

Sources and Thanks

Shop	Report date	Coverage
Headhunters Fly Shop	July 25, 2026	Missouri
Cross Currents Fly Shop	July 25, 2026	Missouri
The Trout Shop / House of Fly	July 27, 2026	Missouri (freshest)
Wolf Creek Angler	July 24, 2026	Missouri
Montana Fly Goods (Helena)	July 22, 2026	Missouri
Montana Trout Hunters (Helena)	No current report	Missouri (coverage gap)