Day three arrived with higher hopes, thanks to temperatures in the 50s, light winds and overcast skies. Perfect weather for dry fly fishing.
We started the day nymph fishing and both landed several nice fish. Most fish were caught on a traditional pheasant tail in sizes #18 & 20. The day wore on into afternoon with only a few may fly duns on the surface and no risers.
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I worried the hatch might not happen until we finally saw a pod of trout sipping flies off the surface at 3:30. I quickly switched to my dry fly rod rigged with one of the BWO emergers I had tied for the trip. I made two casts and hooked a small 14” rainbow that jumped several times.
A 14” trout is a good fish on most rivers but small on the Missouri. Recent surveys (2016) from FWP estimate 43% of the rivers 4,000 rainbows per mile are over 18 inches.
Fish continued to rise as we floated downriver. I had already missed a couple takes and broke off a good one when we anchored on another pod of risers.
Several fish stopped rising except one that appeared to be a smaller fish at the end of the run. I made a cast at the riser and as luck would have it the fly landed 2 feet above the trout in its feeding lane. The fly floated a few seconds then disappeared under a small dimple on the surface. I hesitated a second then lifted the rod to set the hook.
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