Category: Upper Madison River

Hey all! The ant has been working for us here on the Madison! That little guy is teasing the fish too much now and they just can’t take it! The water is coming up again slowly and the fish have been kinda weird, but try the ant! It has been real hot still, so they are a little slower in the late morning to afternoon. The pearl lightning bug size 14 is still kickin’ butt along with some other small nymphs like the pheasant tail softie size 16. Today it seemed like everyone around was hooked up and rods were bent. The smoke plumes have been pretty impressive over the past week, but it is clearing and the cloud cover was still great today, so we had some happy clients. And as you probably know, happy clients mean happy guides
and happy guides therefore means happy wives :). So, smaller hoppers with smaller droppers have been the key to the game lately. A few other small nymphs are the copper john (red), prince, and micro mayflies. This week the ladies really cleaned up! There may or may not have been a little competition going on between them all but, so you guys be the judges. Great job ladies and we cant wait to have you back! That’s all! Enjoy the pictures!! Happy fishing!!!

DanG

On the Madison this past two weeks, we have been seeing fish taking smaller streamers with small nymphs trailing, hoppers (sizes 10-14) with small droppers into the middle of the day and bigger nymphs in tandem in sizes 12 and 14 all during the day.                                                        

These are some of the combos that are working very well right now, and if you are thinking outside the boat and using some strategies you might not normally use, you might score very nicely :). The fish have seen just about everything that the fly fishing industry has to offer. So put yer thinking cap (beer helmet) on and get to it. Also the occasional flying ant has been fishing very well lately with that size 14-16 guy flying around in the late afternoon to evening. Some of us here have been using the Royal Wulffs and trudes sizes 12-16 for the ant and doing well.                                                                                       

There has been a larger heavy spinner fall late in the evenings too over the past few days and the Delektable Teasers in Purple and Adams (size 14) have been the ticket for some of us here at the tooth.                                                                                                                                                        

We have had some great groups going out with us lately including a group of all ladies. One of the ladies boats did well with Chubbies and Flying Ants. When Skill levels range across the board, the guys are trying a variety of patterns to help with the casting and with the catch. It                                                         

remains very warm in the middle of the day with mornings and evenings the preferred fishing time. We have a fire near us called the Eureka Fire. For information on that fire go to inciweb.org.                                                                                                                                                                 

The Delektable Crew

These past few days on the Maddy the fish have been torturing the nocturnal stone, which is out, and we in return have been testing their decision making skills with our version of the nocturnal! Chubby’s cousin (Gang Green) tied special here in the shop for our guides in the size 14 dry hook seems to be the ticket for right now. Along with the hopper, lots and lots of browns have been taken on this fly in the early to late morning with a lightning bug or some flavor of size 16 nymph below it. Hopper fishing is very good to great right now, so get out your hoppers and throw ‘em! Pearl or Silver lightning bugs (size 18) have been the most productive dropper. The traditional bugs like the prince nymph, the pheasant tail and the hare’s ear nymphs have still been producing average fish.  Best luck is in the morning with the cooler air and water. Look out for those sprucies, they are on their way!! Best of luck, Happy Fishing!!!

Big Dan, Marty and Dan G

These past few days the fish have been torturing the nocturnal stone and we in return have been teasing them in the net with our version of the nocturnal! Chubby’s cousin (Gang Green) tied here in the shop special for our guides in the size 14 dry hook seems to be the ticket for right now. Lots and lots of browns have been taken on this fly in the early to late morning with a lightning bug or some flavor of size 16 nymph below it. Hopper fishing is very good to great right now, so get out your hoppers and throw ‘em! Pearl lightning bugs (size 18) have been the most productive dropper. The traditional bugs like the prince nymph, the pheasant tail and the hare’s ear nymphs have been producing average fish too.  Best luck is in the morning with the cooler air and water. Look out for those sprucies, they are on their way!! Best of luck, Happy Fishing!!!

Dan G

Another couple of days with one of our favorite groups! Nick, Jim, Dan, Marty, Brandon, and Gunnar, and Adam took this group fishing and had a great time! The fishing was reported great in the morning and a little slower in the afternoon on the first day (continuing to see a pattern here) …Psycho princes, gold, silver and pearl lightning bugs,(16s and 18s) also the Girdle Bug and the Evil Weevil were killing it:). The second day with the group was once again great in the morning and slower in the afternoon. Soft Hackle Hare’s Ear in the 16 and Softie Red Copper Johns 16s and 18s have been the heroes these couple of days too. Its always a

pleasure to have great clients to fish with! we hope to see you out there and Happy Fishing!

Marty

PMD crackbacks seem to be what the fish want here right now. They are eating Psycho Princes and other PMD patterns like the Guides Choice Hare Ear too (16s), but they are really keying in on the PMD crackback (split case) in the size 16 and 18 with the bead. Once again the mornings have been better than the afternoons with bigger fish eating earlier.

Today was a great day even with the rain (which we needed anyway). No real big ones, but a lot of fish! Girdle bugs are working great still for the nocturnal stone. Olive and brown seem to be the color, but they will take ‘em all! Dan, Marty, Dan M, Brandon, Dave and Jim 

The fishing is still pretty good round these parts! We have been going out after work and doing great these past few nights. Big stimulators and nocturnal stones on top are working well in the evening. Many caddis variations in the size 16 realm are also working quite well. Dan’s Delektable Twisted Baby (Brown and Tan) is working very well now for the spruce moth or caddis or something good:). The red flying ant has been spotted and the fish are eating them! So, get yer ants out and give ‘em a toss. In the nymph world girdle bugs (Brown and Olive size 8) are still tearing it up. Anything shiny and sparkly with a small beadhead seems to be doing the trick underneath your big bug. What I have been doing also is running two small beadheads with a lot a weight and I have been having pretty good luck. PMD nymphs are really getting some fish in the middle of the day for us hear. And don’t forget about the hopper! He is coming, so maybe throw him a little early to get the jump on some of these smart fish?! Happy Fishing!!!

DanG

We had a fun family float today including brothers, their wives, and children and their friends and six of our great guides. It was a lot of fun in the sun! Swimming and floating down the river with Randy Cain (just add water) keeping everything happy with fun and games and fishing 🙂 . Everyone had a great time with the different fishing experience levels and personalities within the family! There were a few beginners and a few pros in the mix, and everybody caught fish! One of the beginners was the champion of the day, catching the biggest and the most fish, Yeah! To Summarize the day, there were not a lot of crushing huge fish, however a few really nice

fish were caught. Some fish were caught on girdle bugs some on small nymphs and some on dries. I’ll spare you from the exact pattern details, but it was the same as of late with PMD’s, Caddis, and Nocturnal Stoneflies. I’m going to let the pictures tell the story with this great family and their awesome attitude and love for the outdoors!!! Happy fishing!!!

DanG

A few good mornings with the ant and nocturnal stone fly followed by some great nights with the PMDs and bigger bugs made
for some excellent fishing the last few days for John and I!

We have found ourselves working a little harder but the results have been rewarding. Evenings have been best with the dries. The big dries are working for us still; John scored well on an Orange Stimulator and Psycho Princes, while I did well on Dan’s new Delektable Big Spanker Red Head. Dries in the evening are the ticket however. We have been going out around 7:30 to 10:00pm after work.
Once again, some fish are turning for the ants and hoppers but it might be a bit more time yet before they start pounding them. Marty also went out this day doing two floats, one in the morning and one in the evening. the morning was good with a huge rainbow that thought it could get away by wrapping itself around the anchor rope. Marty, however, is one of our best guides and was not about to let it go! After jumping out of the boat to unwind the line while fighting the

higher water as of late, he got the fish lose and jumped back in the boat only to realize his net was 100 feet or more floating down the river!! After pushing forward for a fast short stretch, Marty grabbed his loose net and netted the rainbow immediately! Great job Marty! 🙂 The evening was also a very stellar one for the caddis hatch! The word was insane hatching and insane catching. No pictures for that, but it will be remembered for a while! Happy Fishing!!!

Dan G

We had several folks go out this week. To make it easier for you and not too long a read with pictures, we tried to generalize the report and provided a sample of the photos. So, here we are catching up for you! 🙂





Mornings and evenings have been the best with caddis, mayflies, and sallies. Most of the fish have been taken on nymphs like the hares ear softies and the tungsten pheasant tail softies. The micro may and some red style nymphs like the red brassie in the small sizes have been working great as well.


The Delektable CDC prince and the lemon drop have been hot in the middle of the day when it slows down a little. Sally nymphs have been good in the Indian Creek confluence and nearby. At this time when the fish are getting a little pickier, you have to be willing to change it up a little bit more than usual to find what they want exactly. We have been seeing some hoppers now but they aren’t taking them as readily yet. Ants have been reported to be working also. It’s hot and terrestrial season is upon us. Happy fishing!!!

Dan, Marty, Brandon, Tim, Randy, Nick and Craig