Category: Upper Madison River

With the increased water flow out of Hebgen Lake, the river below is full of fish. My daughter Allie, Michael, and I sampled this river full of fish on Monday. I pulled out a 1950’s Heddon Bamboo fly rod that I totally rebuilt into a 8′ 5/6 Wt. casting machine and an old Hardy reel to fish. The flies I fitted this outfit with were a #6 BH Delektable Mega Prince Flashback and a #8 BH Delektable Hurless Stone Flashback: >Delektable Flies Gallery.

It was a perfect day with Sqwalla stoneflies emerging and the imitations working on my outfit. 20 or more fish later, the outfit proved deadly. Michael and Allie had equal success with Michael using Pink San Juans, BH Red Headed Stepchilds and Allie fishing a combination of Delektable Mega Princes and Hurless Stones. Michael was the first to crack the 20″ mark with his second Rainbow. Allie caught the largest, a 22″ Bow, and my best was a 20+inch Brown Trout. I simply love fishing the old gear and the cool photos that are produced. Thanks for the cool photos, Michael.

Dan

The Upper Madison River opened to fishing from Quake Lake to McAtee Bridge today.

I was fortunate to be able to float the river with two of my friends, Bernie and Allan. We dropped my raft in at Lyons Bridge around 10 AM and didn’t go more than 100 yards downstream before Bernie landed a large Brown on a streamer. The fishing was great all day for Browns and Rainbows and one large Whitefish. The photos tell the full story.

The flies of the day included streamers, Delektable Screamers in Black, and Delektable Double Screamers in Black/Olive, and Olive/Yellow. The nymphs that were hot were the #6 and #8 Delektable Hurless Stone Gray Flashback, Delektable Mega Prince Standard Flashback, and the #12 and #14 Delektable CDC Baby: >Delektable Flies Gallery  The hatches that were visible in that section of the river were Midges, BWO’s, March Browns, and Sqwallas.

We had some additional fishing reports from Slide and Reynolds Pass: fish were biting on Delektable Mega Princes, Delektable Hurless Stones, Hot Beaded San Juans, Streamers, and Beadhead Caddis flies.

Dan

We had a mega float with Chip and Billy on a 20 MPH+ upstream wind blown day from McAtee to

8 Mile Ford. A mixture of Squalla Stoneflies, March Browns, BWO’s, and Mother’s Day Caddis were our hatches of the day; but the real story was fighting a 20 MPH+ upstream wind. All three of us battled the wind all day and the results were Big Brown Trout and Rainbows brought to the net.

The flies of the day were White Delektable Screamers #6, Delektable Olive Mega Prince Flashback #8, Delektable Olive Flashback Hurless Stone #8: >Delektable Flies Gallery, Hot Orange Beaded Maroon San Juan Worm #8, Beadhead Purple Flashback Prince #12, Beadhead One Man Party #14, and Beadhead Shop Vac #14.

Dan

We had a great outing with Dad and his three sons. It’s an incredible experience when a father and a son go fishing together; even more incredible when a dad and three sons that all love to be together, fishing together, and be on a guided float trip together.

Marty and I had the pleasure of taking Dale, Blake, Bronson, and Colten. We embarked on a long journey from McAtee Bridge; 18 miles later we took out at 8 Mile Ford. Everyone caught fish. The boys caught bigger and more but I think that’s what Dale had been planning all along.

Dan

May 10, 2011

Beartooth Flyfishing hosted a free day with the Ennis High School Science Club. It was a big time fun day. Nancy Delekta made 18 lunches for the group which were the usual Beartooth delight including Elle’s Belles Rainbow Trout Cookies, Yumm!.

Pat Clancy shocked a number of fish at Ruby Creek with two other FWP employees and explained procedures; genetics; and FWP work efforts to the Science Club.

The guides and outfitters who helped included: Dan Delekta; Marty Authement; Shad Sterzick; and Charlie Graham. They provided their drift boats and rafts and rowed the group from McAtee to Storey Ditch. Everyone had a great time on a cold spring day and some nice rainbows were also caught.

Dan

We landed 7 or 8, but missed quite a few on skwalas. The photos are of Curt with a 20″ Rainbow in my boat. The other is of Allen with an 18″ Rainbow. All we caught were rainbows.

Thanks for the report from another Dan,

the Rocky Mountain Embroidery Dan

April 27, 2011

My first day guiding the Madison River this season. A new resident of Ennis wanted to learn and fish the more remote sections of the river. The decision was easy, McAtee bridge to Varney bridge was chosen. Baird inquired about hatches we could expect to see and I went down the list: Sqwalla Stone flies; BWO’s; Midges; March Browns; and maybe some Caddis. We have a nice variety, but any dry fly action would be a bonus.

We started with a Delektable Olive Mega Prince Flashback in a size #8 in tandem. From the time we put in we caught larger rainbows and this continued all the way to the take out. We added two brown trout to our totals. What a great first day to be introduced to this section of the Madison. Baird soon forgot about his desire for the dry fly bite because his fly rod was continually bent on the nymph bite. Welcome to our wonderful neighborhood, Baird.

Dan

A day of fishing on the famous Madison River in Montana including myself, John Delekta, friend Steve, and our guide Jim Morrison. Our float was from Windy to Storey Ditch. We started our float about 10:00AM. The day started with a cool morning but warmed up during the rest of the trip. The first hour was slow fishing. As the weather got warmer, the fishing heated up.

The next four hours I caught and landed four large brown trout. Two trout were over 18 inches and two were over 19 inches. Steve caught a 19 Inch Brown Trout plus a number of smaller fish.

Later that day I caught the biggest fish of the day, an over 20 inch Brown Trout and a fat Rainbow Trout over 18 inches.

You know I will fish whatever it takes to get the trout and I like whitefish but I was doing really well with a two nymph rig and sometimes a nymph off of a streamer. Steve was working the dries pretty hard and was catching smaller trout with the dries. Sometime after lunch Steve converted his rig to add nymphs and soon after he had another really nice trout landed. This was another great day of fishing. Nancy and Dan think I look ten years younger every time I fish. At 87 years going on 88 I can use all the help I can get. I am going to try to fish more and fish harder. Thanks Jim for doing a great job guiding and thanks Steve for taking the pictures. What a fun day!

Grandpa

A day fishing on the famous Madison River in Montana with Jim Morrison, our guide, my friend Steve, and myself, John Delekta, Chairman of the Board at the best fly shop in Montana, Beartooth Flyfishing Shop and Lodge with the hosts Dan and Nancy Delekta. You can tell this is a proud father.

Our float trip was from Ruby Creek to Varney Bridge. Steve was fishing dry flies and I was fishing a two nymph rig. Steve was the first one to catch a good size brown trout. I missed the first two good fish I had on. They were in the 18 to 20 inch range. Jim and I both witnessed the one fish broke my line and the other one jumped and spit the hook. I did better the rest of the trip and landed all the rest. Two of the brown trout I caught were over 19 inches long. Steve and I also caught a bunch of browns and whitefish in the 16″ to 17″ range.

All in all it was another great fishing day on the Madision River.

Grandpa

The last couple weeks have been very interesting on the Madison River, with many asking, “This is August, right?” Bright, hopeful mornings have given way to nearly daily afternoon thunderstorms, with quickly dropping temperatures. Some days were outright chilly, and there was even a hail storm or two thrown in for giggles and grins. But fishing remained good; except during the hail storms, of course; with fishermen scoring on a combination of nymphs, streamers, and dries, depending on conditions. We have had some great adventures.

Still, the cool, wet weather kept the grasshoppers at bay, with the constant question being heard every day in the shop; “When will the hoppers start?”

Well … Good news! … The hoppers have started!!!

The last couple of days have produced enough consistent hopper action to report and are what we’ve all been waiting for. And with a sunny and warm forecast for the next several days, the action should only get better. Also mixed in with the hopper bite are the Spruce Moths, which have been producing fish throughout the unusual weather. Earlier this week we had a great Father/Son day with both sets of fathers and sons catching some nice trout enjoying regular action on both dries and nymphs.

A variety of hopper patterns have been working, mostly in sizes 12 and 14. The Spruce Moth patterns with the most consistent success have been the Half-Down Hopper in #14, Gold Tarantula in #12 and #14, and the Delektable Twisted Baby, Tan/Brown, in #12, #14 and #16.

And don’t forget the ant patterns. Fished in tandem with a favorite hopper, these tasty little morsels can be deadly. A variety including the Delektable Flying Ant in Cinnamon in all sizes have been working.

Along with the surface action, nymphs, whether fished alone or as a dropper under the hopper patterns, are still a great choice. Stoneflies, especially Girdle Bugs, in a variety of colors in size 8 and 10 have been good, along with the normal mix of Mayfly patterns, such as the Lightning Bug, Copper Johns, Red-Headed Stepchild and Delektable Lil’ Spankers, in a variety of colors, all in #16 and #18. Caddis patterns, and Caddis Emergers such as the Serendipity, are also an excellent choice.

So get out there and enjoy the sunny, warm weather. The hoppers certainly are!

GOOD NEWS AND BAD NEWS

First, the bad news; it’s been a while since we posted our last fishing report … Too long.

But the good news is, it’s because we have been SO busy, we haven’t had time to publish one. What an incredible season it’s been so far! Our other excuse is true, Nancy is still recovering from her spine surgery and can’t be living at a computer keyboard so much. The pictures we posted in this report cover two weeks to yesterday.

For those who have been languishing in the interim, waiting for a new fishing report, we greatly appreciate your continued interest in our reports, and we apologize. As we continue through this very busy and successful season, we will strive to publish reports as often as is feasible.

We graciously and sincerely thank you for your consistent interest, patience, and support. Without you, our loyal, fishing enthusiasts, who are downright fun, and interesting customers, we would not be enjoying such success. We have the BEST customers in the world. You guys and ladies ROCK!!! It has been fun at Beartooth Flyfishing and you are very much a part of our daily adventures in the shop and on the river. Thank you!.

Tight Lines!

The Delektable Crew

A day fishing on the famous Madison River in Montana. Jim Morrison was our guide and myself going on 88 years and my fishing partner, Dry Fly fisherman, Steve. It was a nice sunny warm day on the Madison as we started our float trip from Windy to Storey Ditch. The first two hours I caught two big Whitefish and Steve and I caught about 6 smaller Rainbow Trout. The next few hours Steve caught an 18 inch Brown Trout on a dry fly.

Unfortunately, we had technical challenges in getting a photo of Steve’s fish. It was a great catch. I hooked a monster trout that took off in back of the boat and broke my leader off. Later that day I caught a 19 ½” Brown Trout and an 18” Rainbow Trout. It was a grand fishing trip and was enjoyed by all. Thanks Jim for doing a great job of getting us into fish.

Grandpa

July 20, 2010

Nymphs: great; Dries: good; Streamers: so-so

Flow: 1,040 and stable

The nymphing has been out of sight. A #12 or #14 Prince nymph has been a great lead fly, followed by any number of PMD, Caddis, or Yellow Sally nymphs. Our favorites have been: Yellow Superflash, Silver Lightning Bug, Delektable Silver Lil’ Spanker, Soft Hackle Hare’s Ear, Bead Head Caddis Emergers-olive and tan–all in #16.

Dries have been getting fish regularly, but it’s not off to the races, yet. Try your favorite PMD, Caddis, and Yellow Sally patterns, and Delektable PMD Teaser and PMD Squeezer-#16, Parachute Rusty Spinner #16, and Delektable Tan Sparkle Bug and Halo-#$16: Delektable Flies Gallery

The steamer fishing has been slow. Patterns with olive and black are working some. Maybe the bright weather we’ve been having, or all the insect food in the water, has not made the big fish eager to chase streamers for the time being.

Brad

A day fishing on the famous Madison River in Montana. Jim Morrison was our guide and myself going on 88 years and my fishing partner, Dry Fly fisherman, Steve. It was a nice sunny warm day on the Madison as we started our float trip from Windy to Storey Ditch. The first two hours I caught two big Whitefish and Steve and I caught about 6 smaller Rainbow Trout. The next few hours Steve caught an 18 inch Brown Trout on a dry fly.

Unfortunately, we had technical challenges in getting a photo of Steve’s fish. It was a great catch. I hooked a monster trout that took off in back of the boat and broke my leader off. Later that day I caught a 19 ½” Brown Trout and an 18” Rainbow Trout. It was a grand fishing trip and was enjoyed by all. Thanks Jim for doing a great job of getting us into fish.

Grandpa

July 20, 2010

Nymphs: great; Dries: good; Streamers: so-so

Flow: 1,040 and stable

The nymphing has been out of sight. A #12 or #14 Prince nymph has been a great lead fly, followed by any number of PMD, Caddis, or Yellow Sally nymphs. Our favorites have been: Yellow Superflash, Silver Lightning Bug, Delektable Silver Lil’ Spanker, Soft Hackle Hare’s Ear, Bead Head Caddis Emergers-olive and tan–all in #16.

Dries have been getting fish regularly, but it’s not off to the races, yet. Try your favorite PMD, Caddis, and Yellow Sally patterns, and Delektable PMD Teaser and PMD Squeezer-#16, Parachute Rusty Spinner #16, and Delektable Tan Sparkle Bug and Halo-#$16: Delektable Flies Gallery

The steamer fishing has been slow. Patterns with olive and black are working some. Maybe the bright weather we’ve been having, or all the insect food in the water, has not made the big fish eager to chase streamers for the time being.

Brad