Category: Upper Madison River

The past couple weeks have seen an abundance of insect hatches with Caddis, PMDs, various other Mayflies, Yellow Sallies and a few Nocturnal Stoneflies in the mix as the primary food source for our trout.                                                                                            

There have been some epic days of dry fly fishing using PMDs, Parachute Adams, Purple Haze, Caddis, Ants and small attractor patterns such as the Delektable Chubbyness. There have also been some slower dry fly days, and many of us have turned to adding small nymphs about 3 feet under the dry fly or using two small nymphs with a small split shot. Most notably productive nymph patterns have been the Psycho Prince, Delektable Sure Strikes, Copper Johns, Red, Purple, Gold and Silver Lightning Bugs and the Delektable Hammerhead. Small Girdle Bugs in different colors have also come back into style after a brief hiatus following the salmon fly hatch. Split shot above the flies has allowed anglers to get down quickly behind rocks and into the buckets where fish seem to be lying in the middle of the day.                                                      

The weapon of choice for a lot of us though has been the streamer/nymph combo. An effective approach has been to cast dark sculpin patterns and various nymphs close to the bank, giving it a couple quick strips into deeper water where you can mend and dead drift through the buckets, eventually allowing it to swing across. This has produced good numbers and some quality fish. Ants and Hoppers should be just around the corner.

I hope you are enjoying all the fish porn…because its just going to keep going…Keep scrolling.                    

It’s a good time to Go fishing! So….GO:)                                                                                                                                     -Parker

Marty Authement is our number one guide after Dan Delekta out of the shop here at the Beartooth. He is from Homa, Louisiana as some of you know from a redfish trip or two with him. He is one of our best trout guides here! (he can also catch whitefish too:) Britt and Suzanne found out just how good Marty can be at getting people on fish today! The bugs were size 12, 14 and 16 caddis and mayfly dries of royal colors. The nocturnal stone is about to be in full swing here in a minute er so, so get your big, dark bugs out again and get ready for that wingless little fast runnin’ stonefly! I hope you all are having a killer summer, do swing in the shop and say hey if you get the chance! Great job Britt and Suzanne!!!      Happy Fishing!!!                  -Dang

The Boys Are Back In Town

Mike, Steve and Jason were here. Fact. Nancy showed them how to catch fat rainbows while Dan and the boys got weird.                                                                                              

-DanG

A Late Father’s Day Duo                                                                                                    Today was another awesome day on the Madison for two of our fine clients. It was a fine partially sunny day on the river and the fish were in good spirits eating dries and nymphs. All was well on the Maddy.                                                                                                                  

The fish that were caught were very fine, healthy fish and made Pa and Son very happy. They caught them on dries such as the Royal Cripple sizes 16 and 18, and Dan’s Delektable Royal Chubbyness size 16. Nymph bite was on too with PMDs being the  main drag. A size 14 Lemon Drop was the ticket there. When all said and done, Marty was the man, again, and Matt & Ken were two very happy, satisfied clients we like to call our friends! Happy Fishing Everyone!!!

DanG

The Houses are in the House

The House girls fished the upper Madison with Randy Cain and Captain Marty today. Three words: Silver Lightning Bug. Fishing was steady as we deal with warmer temperatures. Getting the fly down to the fish was really important as they are a bit lethargic in the middle of the afternoon. The House family had a blast learning some new techniques and hearing stories from Randy and Marty.                                                                                                                                                                       -Parker

Nancy and Big Fish Kim floated the Madison today from Ruby Campground to Burnt Tree with Brandon Struckman as their guide. Dry flies weren’t happening despite an abundance of adult PMDs, caddis and yellow sallies. Small nymphs of these varieties through the lower section of their float were very productive. We’ll let the pictures tell the rest!  Of special note was that Kim’s incredible persistence really paid off. She never let her line be dry. Her flies were in the water all the time, even when taking a break on the side for lunch, she had her flies in the water. Nancy had some action on dries but caught smaller fish with the dries. Tight lining with two small flies was a good option in addition to using a bobber with two small nymphs.                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

Parker

Ham and Eric took their very first flyfishing trip with the famous Brandon Struckman today. It was a learning experience for them and they loved every minute of it. I know this because i saw them when they landed back at the shop. Their faces were glowing! I said, ” Well, how was it?”. the response was nothing at first, with eyes open and head shaking, out came a…”whoa, it was soooo fun! We have never done this and it was the most spectacular day!!!” Brandon found the fly; Dan Delekta’s Delektable Peacock Surestrike size 14. It is a caddis pattern on a curved hook that has holographic biots on the sides and a CDC collar. I was very happy and stoked to see yet another couple of souls latch onto the sport we all love so much here. Thank you Brandon for all your hard work!!!

Bob also had a stellar day on the Madison today! Dave Evans was his guide. Bob caught fish, yes, but Bob was on a mission; to catch a fish on his father’s bamboo rod. With Dave’s help Bob caught many other fish, but the one rainbow on the ‘boo’ was a special fish for Bob today. if you have a bamboo rod just hanging on your wall, you might want to think about taking out for a cast or two on the river. After all, the rod was built for fishing and the bamboo has living fibers that will stay strong for a very very long time! Thanks Dave for all the help!!! Awesome ‘Boo-Bow Bob!!! Happy Fishing Everyone!!!

-DanG

This report is fueled by our guides and visiting anglers. The Salmon fly hatch has been the talk of the valley this past week. The fly fishermen have arrived as expected and the fishing has not disappointed. The hatch kicked off around Ennis with scattered adults emerging along the grassy river banks. There were more shucks found than confirmed adult sightings early on, but eventually we saw an abundance of adults later in the week as the hatch moved up river. Also in the mix was a consistent caddis hatch with the smaller caddis present all day and the larger specimens emerging in numbers by the evening. We also had Golden stoneflies, PMDs, yellow sallies and mayflies emerging as well.  

Throughout the week the shop received reports from all sections of the river. It seems that with the high pressure settling over the valley that the best fishing has been moving up the river as the water temperature rapidly rises during the day. Just yesterday we had a temperature reading at Storey Ditch of 70 degrees in the late afternoon. There have been many reports that the best fishing has been occurring before 11 am and after 5 pm. In fact, many boats have reported epic fish counts with many 18”+ fish caught on salmon fly dries and various droppers. Hot patterns have been Dan’s Secret Salmon Fly, The Royal Chubby, the Delektable Bomber Caddis, and small Purple haze. There have been spans of slow dry fly fishing midday, and for numbers a #14 or #16 dropper set at least 3 feet below has been the ticket. Sure Strikes, pheasant tails, Prince nymphs, Delektable lil’ Spankers and the new Delektable Hammerhead tied on a jig head has been red hot. With the boat traffic and water temperature, tight lining nymphs has been very effective. It’s a little early in the summer for “small ball”, but it is definitely working with low flows and sunny days. Streamer fishing has been put on the back burner for a lot of us but definitely give it a shot if you can sneak out early or late.  

More warm weather is expected as we progress into the final week of June. SLIGHTLY cooler temperatures are forecasted for the beginning of July. Watch the flows as more water is expected to be released from Hebgen Dam to maintain water temperature. This could help the fishing during the day. We went down to 750 CFS at Kirby Ranch on June 21 and 22. Since then the river has been slowly rising to 950 CFS today.

Here are some words of advice: fish early and fish late; don’t be afraid to fish the small stuff; lighten and/or lengthen your leader; play and handle the fish efficiently but gently to reduce fatigue and stress; wear sunscreen; drink tons of water and smile because it’s beautiful out there.

-Beartooth Family

So, this is gunna be kind of ridiculous…Hienie and the boys have done it again! And again…and again….and again. These boys have literally slept, ate and drank browns and rainbows the entire time they have been here! The salmon flies and golden stones have been flying around all week along with bomber caddis and sallies to play cleanup. The dries have been doing really good in that aspect but if you want to really start crankin’em in the boat, it’s a dirty nympher’s game. Caddis patterns in sizes 14 and 16 have been working well. Stonefly patterns have been the slayer on the Maddy lately with a beadhead behind. Pat’s Rubber Legs of course leads all in sizes 6, 8 and 10. Golden stone patterns sizes 6, 8 and 10 are working well. Prince nymph in sizes 10, 11, and 12 have been working really well for the caddis and mayflies. Some folks around here have been coming in and claiming to have done very well on yellow sally nymphs also.                                                                                                                                      

The bite has been really good in the morning and a little slower throughout the middle of the day. The evenings have been absolutely killer for some of us here at the shop! The big bugs are out in full force behind the shop and the fish are eating. The bugs (salmons, goldens, yellow sallies, caddis greendrakes, bomber caddis, PMDs) are everywhere and the fish are very happy!

Stay tuned for some more big bug action as we will try to keep you updated from a couple days to a couple days! Happy Fishing!!!

-DanG

Keeping up with the Jones’

We had the Jones Family from Georgia visiting the Madison Valley for the week. They fished with us on the 15th and the 19th. With their fly fishing experience varying from beginner to advanced, we paired them up with some of our most experienced guides.  Salmon fly nymphs were on the menu as expected, as were golden stonefly nymphs, big adult caddis and some mayflies. We had numerous reports of adult salmon flies in the air, but the fish seemed more eager to rise to the caddis. Dan Greene was busy in the shop tying bomber caddis dries the whole week. We couldn’t keep them stocked!

With the river dropping, the Jones’ reported fantastic fishing with a dry-dropper for all boats. The coveted Delektable Bomber Caddis and the Delektable Royal Chubbyness were top producers for dry flies. Among others, effective droppers were Pat’s Rubber Legs, Delektable Sure Strikes, various pheasant tails, prince nymphs and the Guide’s Choice Hare’s Ear.  Capt.  Marty went to his trusty double stones when the dry fly fishing slowed and reported great success as well. With the dropping flows, fish were beginning to spread out as they move out of the slower water. There is a smorgasbord of insect activity this time of the year and the fish seemed to respond well to most patterns if presented well.

We had a great time in the shop talking to the Jones Family upon their return from the river. They went home with some unforgettable memories and tons of fly fishing knowledge.  They were eager to take their skills back to Georgia so we sent them on their way with some killer patterns for Largemouth bass and bream in their home waters. A big thank you from our guides and crew to the Jone’s Family and we hope to see you again soon! 

-Beartooth Family