Little Missouri Fly Fishing

Quote from: HEN on Sep 25, 2025, 10:10 PMIt was on the schedule to generate yesterday, they didn't! It wasn't on the schedule to generate today, they did!  When they did the river was ugly and stank like methane. I think they opened the gate on the third generator for the first time in over 2 years and all the crap came pouring out into the river. You may think that's the bad, no, that's good because the river can now start to heal before it's time to restock fish. Also means they have the trash racks repaired on the other intake tube. Again, I think this to be true. The river has smelled really bad for the past few weeks since the lake turned over, the smell today was different and the water was really ugly looking. The bad is that there are no fish in the river but I plan on going fishing tomorrow 🤣🤣, just to see if we have any more dead crawfish in the river. Not sure there were any left in the park area to kill.

Like I said, if all the above is true, the river can be on the road to healing and we don't have to worry about them stocking and then the Corp opening the repaired gate and killing the fish again. That's the best good news lately!!! 

Mike have they been generating as the schedule shows, if so is the water temperature down in the middle to lower 60's. He you check the low water crossing water temperature.?
Look at the stocking form last year, the first stocking was on the 23rd.
Thanks again for keeping us posted on what going on.

Hi all,
I'm trying to plan ahead for a trip back to the Little Mo once stocking resumes. With the recent water issues and dam repairs, I'm wondering about the insect base. If the river has been essentially "reset," are there still reliable midge, caddis, or mayfly populations to support the trout right after an October stocking?

Or should I expect the fish to be more tuned in to eggs, worms, buggers, and other attractors until the bug life rebuilds?

Would really appreciate any insight from folks who have been on the water or know how quickly the insect populations bounce back here.

Thanks in advance.

Thanks Hen!  Boy hidey, I sure do need my fishing fix in...soon!

Good lord willing,  thank you sir,

It was on the schedule to generate yesterday, they didn't! It wasn't on the schedule to generate today, they did!  When they did the river was ugly and stank like methane. I think they opened the gate on the third generator for the first time in over 2 years and all the crap came pouring out into the river. You may think that's the bad, no, that's good because the river can now start to heal before it's time to restock fish. Also means they have the trash racks repaired on the other intake tube. Again, I think this to be true. The river has smelled really bad for the past few weeks since the lake turned over, the smell today was different and the water was really ugly looking. The bad is that there are no fish in the river but I plan on going fishing tomorrow 🤣🤣, just to see if we have any more dead crawfish in the river. Not sure there were any left in the park area to kill.

Like I said, if all the above is true, the river can be on the road to healing and we don't have to worry about them stocking and then the Corp opening the repaired gate and killing the fish again. That's the best good news lately!!! 

Thanks, Jeff! Sorry to take so long getting back.

Make sure your reels balance the cane rods. You will likely have to use a relatively heavy reel to offset that "swing weight".

A 4 to 4.5 oz reel balances most 9' graphites about right. Canes need more weight, even in the shortest, lightest rods! In the "old" days, most of our reels were 5, 6 or 7 oz!

All that said, I have "collected" several bamboos over the years. Fished with a 5 wgt Powell that was actually custom built by Walton Powell himself. I acquired that one from the original owner. It was quite a nice piece of work.

Also have a nice little Horrocks Ibottson from the 50's that I restored, threw a four wgt on it comfortably! David Chin gifted me one of his twisted canes. Fished it a bit, but not as much a the Powell.

They all do the work, but there's something cool about fishing vintage rods! 😎

Have not seen any hatches on the upper part of the river, neither mayflies nor midges. I've seen some minnows and a few crawfish in back of my house, that's a little further down river. Water clarity is great. There is no vegetation at the park. You use to be able to stand on the wall with vegetation below and see bream, bass, sunfish, etc., alll that's there now is a dirty bottom, no nothing!! Same way from meat hole up to dam. The bottom has cleaned up a bunch because of the generation they are doing each evening. 

NOW THE BAD NEWS!  The reason the Corp is generating at six in the evening is that the divers and work crews are still working on the dam. They still have 2 big barges and 3 big crains there. I assume they fixed the intake tube that supplies water to two generators and are now working on the other intake tube that supplies the single generator. Will the same thing happen when they open that tube and start up that generation for the first time in almost 2 years???😬😬😬  I'm sure it also is full of all the same junk the other one was (rotten debris, what ever chemicals they are using, methane!!) will the game and fish take the chance of stocking only to have the new fish killed off like the nice carry over fish were?? Think about it!! 

Smallmouth - Bronze to Olive - with  vertical stripes ONLY! That's if stripes were even evident...

Kentuckies - very hard to distinguish from largemouth, except the upper jaw on the largemouths extends past the eye. Kentuckies does not.

Very easily any one of the three since they're all present!

And thanks, everyone, for the kind words!

Sandy is fair. 🫤 Parkinson's is brutal! 😔 We did get to Colorado this summer at least! 😎