Missouri River – Below Holter Dam

March 14, 2009 back to My Fishing Journal

Once again, I found myself nearly along on a prime stretch of the Missouri River. Maybe it had something to do with the ice. This would be the last of six consecutive months over the fall and winter that I was able to get out on the Missouri at least once. April would prove to be filled with other opportunities. I found from December through March that if the temperature got into the high 30’s and the wind wasn’t too bad, I could last until sundown.

Water

Once again, the water this close below the dam was very cold – not more than a couple degrees above freezing. The feet hurt for awhile then go numb. It is hard, though, to stand out in waist-deep water for an hour or two at a time in those temperatures. It was beautifully clear, though.

This section of the county received very little snow through the main of the winter. Some late-season storms hit it harder, though.

Fishing

It was streamer time on the Missouri. I thought that these wild buggers would stir something up, but alas! Between the challenges of swinging those pillows through the wind and an occasional diversionary shot to keep the muskrats at bay, my tennis elbow would keep reminding me of the fishing fun for a month or more afterwards.