6/26/2026: Missouri River Fishing Report

2026-06-26 (June 26, 2026)

Summary

Summer has flipped the Missouri into Trico season. The first truly river-wide Trico hatch of the year came off June 25, with caddis still strong into the evenings and PMDs on the tail end, all playing out on a steady, low, clear tailwater.

At a glance: ~3,180 CFS below Holter Dam (steady, low summer level) | good clarity, aquatic weeds coming up | water temp 60 to 61°F | cooler than normal, more rain Friday through Sunday | first river-wide Trico hatch of the season

The big news is that summer has flipped the river into Trico season. The Trout Shop called June 25 the first truly river-wide Trico hatch of the year, with spinner falls blanketing much of the water by midday from the dam on down after a couple weeks of scattered "towers" lower around Pelican and Rhodes Island. Headhunters sees them in the mornings too, not everywhere yet but building, with a few fish already taken on the dry. The trigger was temperature: water has climbed to 60 to 61°F, and 60°F is the number that turns the Tricos on.

Flows are steady and low, about 3,180 CFS below Holter (Headhunters rounds it to "3K-ish"), normal for a low-runoff year on this tailwater. Weekly rain and hail have kept both air and water cooler than usual, which everyone is thankful for, and more rain is forecast Friday through Sunday, a welcome boost heading deeper into summer. The flip side of low runoff is that aquatic weeds are starting to come up and will increasingly shape where you can fish clean drifts. PMDs are still around but clearly on the tail end of their cycle, caddis are providing excellent evening dry-fly opportunities, and there are still brown drakes showing lower in the canyon.

Etiquette note: Boat and wade traffic is at or near all-time highs on this low-water river, and that combination makes the fish very spooky. Both shops and Wolf Creek Angler hammer the same point: be courteous, give wade anglers a wide berth, don't crowd boats (and boaters, don't crowd waders), and consider hanging out late or fishing the evening drift to find some peace. Play nice and coexist.

Best techniques

• Nymphing, still the workhorse. Headhunters is running mostly short rigs, 6 feet or less, with split shot used less often in favor of a lighter, easy-casting tandem. Top flies are the Tailwater Sow and generic sow/scud bugs in pink, orange, red, and wine, small mayfly nymphs in a pheasant tail profile like the Frenchie, and perdigons. Wolf Creek Angler reports fish holding in the faster, medium-to-shallow depths on PMD and caddis nymphs, sows, and pheasant tails; deep rigs still produce, but short-leashing the shallow flats or a dry-dropper rig has been good. The Trout Shop adds wire worms, crayfish patterns, PMDs, and midges to the nymph menu.
• Dry fly, now the main event. With Tricos coming on, the focus is shifting to technical dry-fly fishing. Bring your reading glasses for the tiny Trico spinners, plus the slack-line cast of your choice, and be ready early in the morning. Caddis remain the standout dry into the evenings. The fish are spooky on low, clear water, so the cast is critical.
• Streamers, a few players. Headhunters is getting some on small and black patterns but says never to disregard the flash, fished on dry or intermediate lines, with the deeper streamer lines to scrape the bucket. The Trout Shop, by contrast, calls streamers and Trout Spey "largely off the menu" right now. Call it a sleeper, not a primary plan.

Hatches

Tricos are the headline, arriving river-wide on June 25 with midday spinner falls and morning activity that should only build as water temps hold near 60°F. Caddis are the favorite dry of the summer so far, overshadowing the PMD, with the best fluttering activity in the evenings. PMDs persist but are on the tail end of their window. Brown drakes are still showing lower in the canyon, and background midges remain a year-round nymph staple.

The Fly Box

Nymphs: Tailwater Sow, Frenchie, Pheasant Tails, Lightning Perdigon, Split Case PMD, Two Bit Hooker, Red Headed Step Child, Hogan's Step Child, Hogan's Golden Child, PMD Jig Napoleon, Magic Fly Tungsten PMD, Tung Dart, Weight Fly, Wire Worm, Dirt Snake

Emergers: Translucent Pupa, Translucent Emerger, yellow soft hackle

Dries: Corn-Fed Caddis, X-Caddis, Outrigger Caddis, Harrop's Henry's Fork Caddis, Palmered Caddis, Missouri River CDC Caddis, Parachute Caddis, Splitsville Caddis, Missing Link Caddis, Spent Partridge Caddis, Hi-Vis Spent Caddis

By the stretch. The reports ran whole-river again, with no formal sub-section breakouts. A few geographic notes worth carrying: the Trico hatch came off river-wide from the dam downstream, with the earliest scattered towers having shown lower around Pelican and up near Rhodes Island before going river-wide. Brown drakes are a lower-river story, still showing in the canyon. No specific Land of the Giants or Cascade-stretch breakouts this run.

Outlook. Trico season is underway and should deepen as long as water temps hold in the desired range, which the weekly rain is helping with. Traffic will wane a bit as the calendar moves into July, and the cooler, wetter pattern is exactly what this low-water tailwater needs to keep temperatures in check. Expect technical dry-fly fishing to dominate: Tricos and caddis up top, a fading PMD as a bonus, and spooky fish that reward a clean, accurate presentation. Watch the weeds as they come up, fish early or late to dodge both the heat and the crowds, and pack rain gear for the weekend.

Sources and Thanks

Shop	Report date	Coverage
Headhunters Fly Shop	June 25, 2026	Craig
The Trout Shop	June 25, 2026	Craig
Wolf Creek Angler	June 19, 2026	Wolf Creek
Cross Currents Fly Shop	June 8, 2026	Craig