Yes, the Missouri is considered one of the top five fishing rivers in the United States.

And yes, the main hatches on the river occur during summer, the height of tourist season. Caddis, blue wing olives, tricos, pale morning duns, hoppers.

And yes, oh yes, the stretch from Holter Dam to the Pelican Access Point is so spectacular that it doesn’t really matter if you don’t catch a thing. The land the Missouri flows through looks much the same as when it was explored by Lewis and Clark over two centuries ago.

No matter what kind of country you love to fish, you’ll find it here. Agricultural valleys make way to canyons. River canyons make way to mountains. Mountains make way to open prairie. The riverbanks themselves are a mix of brush, grass and fields, providing a terrific diversity of habitat.

Known as one of the top trout rivers in the world, this forty-mile stretch of the Missouri appears more like the world’s largest spring creek than it does America’s longest river. The possibilities are endless. Fly fish from shore, float it anywhere from 2 to 15 miles, and wade along the pea gravel bottom.

There’s decent fly fishing on...[continued]