Tag: articulated streamers

September 26th – October 2nd | Madison River Fishing Report

We were greeted with cool to downright chilly morning temperatures this week here in the Madison Valley. High winds in the early part of the week turned to some absolutely beautiful calm days in the latter half. The future forecast looks good until next weekend when some cool and cloudier days will return.

Very good to excellent Streamer activity continues in the early to mid mornings and again in the late afternoons and evenings. There are a good number of large Brown Trout running up into the system out of Ennis Lake. Some pigs are being landed from Varney down to the lake but that is the skinniest water. Just keep in mind if you’re floating at these lower flows keep your eyes downstream as it gets pretty skinny in some areas. Especially for those of you in the hard boats. Olive, Black, Black/Olive, Yellow, White, Brown/Yellow Streamer colors are all effective. Adding a small attractor nymph trailing the Streamer has also been very effective.

The Dry Fly bite has slowed over the last week. If you are a Dry or Die Angler you still have opportunities out there.There are BWO’s hatching daily. With some cloud cover the hatches have been heavy especially on the Upper Wade section. Next weekend there is some scuzzy weather moving in that should be an excellent window for some strong BWO activity. Hoppers never really materialized this year and the action on those has slowed even more now with the colder nighttime temperatures. You can still find a good fish or two to come up and inspect a well placed ant, beetle, or smaller Chubby though. October Caddis and the Fall Sedge Caddis are out on the water as well.

With the cooler Autumn temps the Nymph bite has returned to a much more consistent level. Smaller to Mid Size Stonefly Nymphs trailed with any of the Prince Variants, Bright Attractor Nymphs, or Perdigons is a good go to rig right now. We’ve been seeing some big fish come to the net nymphing as well over the last several days.

The crowds have thinned out for sure and there is plenty of water and the Rainbows and Browns of the Madison are getting on the feed ahead of the long winter ahead. With clear air quality again the views in the valley this time of year are simply stunning. Especially at Sunrise or near Sunset. The Alpenglow on the sides of the Gravelly and Madison Ranges are so beautiful this time of year. The snow will be flying before we know it so get out there and enjoy the last bit of nice weather remaining.

Dries: Delektable Flying Ant Red, Cinnamon #14-#16. Delektable Twisted Sister Orange/Brown #12 – #14. Delektable Twisted X Orange/Brown #12-#14. Delektable CDC Elk Hair Caddis Tan, Purple #14-#16. BWO Sparkle Dun #18-#20. Delektable Ranch BWO #18. Delektable BWO Teaser #18-#20. Parachute Adams #18. Carlson’s Purple Craze #16-#18. Purple Haze #16-#20.

Nymphs: Delektable Mega Prince Standard and Flashback #8-#10. Pat’s Rubberlegs Black, Olive/Black, Brown/Black, Brown #8-#12. Delektable Lil’ Spanker Silver, Gold, Red, Blue, Purple, Pheasant Tail #14-#18. Delektable Jighead Tungsten Spanker Holo Red, Holo Silver, Holo Black #14-#18. Formerly Known as Prince #16-#18. Delektable Prince Brandon #14-#18. $3Dollar Dips Brown, Red, Crystal #16-#18. Splitback BWO #18-#20. Pheasant Tail Nymphs #16-#20. Copper Johns Red #14-#18. Shop Vac’s #16-#18. Little Green Machine Green, Black, Pheasant Tail #16-#20.

Streamers: Delektable Single and Double Screamers Black, Olive, White, Olive/Black, Brown/Yellow, Badger. Delektable SS Jointed Screamer Black, Olive, White, Olive/Black, Brown/Yellow, Chartreuse/White, Olive/Yellow. Zonkers Natural, Copper, Pearl #6-#8. Mini Loop Sculpin Natural and Olive #6. Sculpzilla Olive, Natural, Black #8. Galloup’s Dungeons Regular or Mini Black, Olive, Cream. Galloup’s Silk Kitty Olive, White.

October 1st | Missouri River

Dan and Nancy had a wonderful opportunity to head up to Craig for a couple days and visit with some friends and sneak in a couple of floats on The Mighty Mo. The photos speak for themselves. The fishing was great and they had a great time. The Delektable Lil’ Spanker in Blue #18 behind a Delektable Screamer Single Black and Olive  strikes again!!!!

September 19th-25th | Madison River Fishing Report

 

 

 

 

 

Hello again from the Delektable Crew here at Beartooth Flyfishing. We’ve had a busy and great week here in the Madison Valley. After the cold warmer weather and sunny skies returned and we’ve had beautiful days with very little haze from the wildfires of the West. The fishing overall is great especially sub surface with a great Streamer bite most mornings. The Fall BWO’s are beginning to make their presence known. Especially on cloudy and cool days. There are some Fall Sedge Caddis, October Caddis, and still Hoppers and Ants to keep us on our toes as well.

 

 

 

 

 

Streamer fishing has been good to excellent most days from Dawn until about mid morning. And throughout the day with some cloud cover. We’ve seen numerous fish in the 20+ inch class come to the net throughout the week. The Browns are getting more aggressive the deeper we get into Fall. Numerous patterns are working effectively as well as presentations. And you don’t necessarily have to throw the huge patterns to get the big boys to eat. We’ve had numerous clients get into some of the bruisers on some of the smaller patterns just as much as the big articulated ones. And if you’d like add a small Nymph to the back and double up on your chances.

We still have Hoppers, Ants, Beetles, Caddis, and BWO’s out now as well. So by no means is it time to put away the Dry Fly sticks just yet. Periods of surface activity occur each day and it’s a matter of rotating through bugs and watching what the river tells you. If you commit to the Dry you can have success. You may have to sift through some of the little guys until the bigger fish you want comes up and sucks down that dry.

As always Nymphing will be your most consistent way of hooking up for more numbers. With the Baetis activity on the rise be sure to have a good selection of small Baetis and Pheasant Tail Patterns on board in the size #18-#20 range. Many attractor nymphs are having success. Patterns such as Lightning
Bugs, Delektable Lil’ Spankers, and most of the Prince Nymph Variants are all good places to start. Trailing one of these behind a Pat’s Rubberlegs or a Delektable Mega Prince are a good two fly rig to fish now.

Dries: Morrish Hopper, Panty Dropper Hopper, Thunder Thigh’s Hopper in Tan, Pink, Peach #10-#14. Delektable Flying Ant in Cinnamon and Red #14-#16. Bloom’s Stealth Ant Purple #16. Delektable Twisted X Orange/Brown #12-#14. Delektable Twisted Sister  Orange/Brown #12-#14. Delektable CDC Elk Hair Caddis in Tan, and Purple #14-#16. Snowshoe Baetis #18-#20. Sparkle Dun BWO #18-#20. Delektable Chubbyness in Rootbeer and Cinnamon #14. Delektable Lil’ Chubby in Royal, UV Cinnamon, UV Black, and UV Gray #16 – #18. Delektable Lil’ Secret in Royal and UV Pink #16-#18.

 

 

 

 

 

Nymphs: Delektable Mega Prince Standard and Flashback #8-#10. Pat’s Rubberlegs in Black, Brown/Black, Olive/Black #8-#12. Delektable Guide Stone’s #8-#10. Delektable Lil’ Spankers #16-#18 in Silver, Red, Purple, and Pheasant Tail #16-#20. Pheasant Tail Nymph #16-#20. Delektable Big Spanker Warrior #14-#18. Formerly Known as Prince #14-#18. Prince Nymph #14-#18. Delektable Prince Brandon #14-#18. Little Green Machine in Olive, Black, Pheasant Tail #16-#18. Splitback Baetis #18-#20. Delektable Rootbeer Float in Baetis Gray #18-#20. $3 Dollar Dips in Red, Brown #16-#18. Crystal Dips #16-#18. Shop Vac’s #16-#18.

Streamers: Delektable Single and Double Screamer in Olive, Olive/Black, Brown/Yellow, Badger. Zonkers in Copper, Olive, and Pearl #6-#8. Galloup’s Dungeon Standard and Mini in Olive, Black, White, Cream. Galloup’s Silk Kitty Olive or White. Mini Loop Sculpin Natural or Olive. McCune’s Sculpin Natural or Olive. Sculpzilla in White, Olive, Natural, and Black #4-# 8. Coffey’s Sparkle Minnow #6.

 

September 12th – 18th | Madison River Fishing Report

Another week has come and gone here in the Madison Valley. October is approaching quickly. Shorter days lie ahead in the very near future. It’s been a mixed bag this week with the fishing action on the Upper Madison. We’ve seen some very tough days out there with the fish being finicky and selective and some good solid consistent days as well. We’ve had some pretty heavy wind as well for about the last four days making rowing a boat down the boulder field that is the Madison a bit of an adventure. Flows remain low and I would expect this to remain the same for the foreseeable future. With that said just know the River gets a bit boney down below 8 mile through the town stretch and down to Valley Garden. So those of you with the hard boats might get some new scrapes in the paint.

Streamers, Nymphs, and Dries when the wind is calmer are all in play on the Upper currently. We have some cool wet weather forecast for Sunday and Monday so that could get some BWO’s up on the surface especially in the Upper Wade Section around $3 Dollar and Raynold’s. Streamers are for sure the name of the game if you’re out early. And you can definitely throw them all day now if you have the stamina for it. Zonkers and Sculpin Patterns are fishing best. Olive, Black, White, Olive/White colors seem to be the most consistent. It seems we will not be seeing that consistent good Hopper fishing we were spoiled with the last couple years. Definitely still have them as on some days they do turn onto them and it’s best to have them in your quiver than not just in case.

 

 

 

 

 

The Chubby/Hopper dropper rig continues to produce. And the Ant patterns are for sure your best bet for the closest thing you’ll find to some consistent Dry Fly fishing right now. Nymphing as always gives you your best overall bet. The Trout seem to be looking for the smaller fair mostly now. Fishing smaller Stonefly Nymphs trailed with Small Attractor Nymphs and Baetis Nymphs are bringing some success. Think no bigger than a size #16 for your trailers now. With a lot of #18’s in the mix as well.

The Madison in the Park is beginning to heat up as a fairly good number of run up fish from Hebgen are now in the system. It’s still not money time there yet. But there are definitely enough fish in to make the drive worth while and swing a runner or two up with some streamers or soft hackles. Early mornings are currently best for the Trout Spey crowd. And you can certainly Nymph some of those big runners up throughout the day and into evening. If you’re new or interested in getting into the Trout Spey Game stop by and talk to Ryan our Shop Manager. He is a regular in the Park for the Fall Brown Trout Run and can give you some advice on Rods, Shooting Heads, Flies and all the fun that is Fall Fishing in YNP. There is something about being on the Madison inside the Park on a crisp Autumn morning by yourself. With the steam rising off the river, Bull Elk bugling, and walking the footsteps of the legendary anglers who have come before us is just something all Flyfishers should look to experience just once in their life if they have not had that opportunity.

As always be safe out there. Enjoy this beautiful Fall Weather we are experiencing. And don’t forget to look around and experience the breathtaking scenery we have surrounding us. It’s so easy to get tunnel vison and focus on our Flies or Indicator and forget about the miracles of nature that surround us on each Outing. Feel free to call or stop by anytime for some Flies, advice, and all your flyfishing needs. Our shop hours are currently 8AM to 6PM 7 days a week.

Dries: Delektable Chubbyness in Rootbeer and UV Cinnamon #14-#16. Delektable Lil’ Chubby in Royal, UV Cinnamon, UV Black #16-#18. Delektable Flying Ant in Red, Cinnamon, and Black #14-#16. Bloom’s Stealth Ant Purple #16. Delektable Secret Stone #10-#12 Dark Olive. Parachute Adams #12-#18. Carlson’s Purple Craze #12-#18. Purple Haze #12-#18.

Nymphs: Delektable Mega Prince Standard and Flashback #8-#10. Pat’s Rubberlegs in Black, Olive/Black #10-#12. Delektable Lil’ Spanker in Silver, Red, Gold, Purple, and Pheasant Tail #16-#20. Shop Vacs #16-#18. $3 Dollar Dips in Red and Brown #16-#18. Crystal Dips #16-#18. Pheasant Tail Nymphs #16-#20. Beadhead Mo’ River Pheasant Tail #18-#20. Tungsten BWO Splitback #18-#20. Olive Perdigons #16-#18. Micro May Brown or Olive #18-#20. Tung Teaser Black #18. Prince Nymphs #16-#18.

Streamers: Delektable Single or Double Screamer in Olive, Black, Olive/Black, White, Badger. Delektable SS Jointed Screamer White/Olive. Galloup’s Dungeon Regular and Mini in Olive, Black, Cream, and White. Galloup’s Silk Kitty Olive. Mini Loop Sculpin Olive and Natural. Sparkle Minnow and Sparkly Yummy. Zonkers in Silver, Copper, and Olive.

Soft Hackles: Full Dressed Red, Hare’s Ear Soft Hackle, Pheasant Tail Soft Hackle, Partridge and Orange, Partridge and Olive.

September 5th – 11th | Madison River Fishing Report

Fishing on the Upper Madison right now continues to be an adventure of adaptation and changing strategies throughout the day. But you can certainly bring plenty of fish to the net if you are willing to change it up. Streamer action remains strong in the early mornings. Stripping, swinging, and dead drifting are all working.

As the sun gets higher there are still fish looking up for Nocturnals. A well placed Chubby or Water Walker in a Dark Olive tone is a good way to go. Drop a small Nymph off the back and you have a great chance with that.

As you transition into afternoon start fishing the Hoppers and the Ants, or Hopper Dropper. Attractor dries are also working at times.

Or if your wanting some numbers and don’t mind staring at the indicator all day go sub surface with a two fly rig and bring some in that way. Stonefly Nymphs, Bright Flashy Attractor Nymphs, Perdigons, old standby’s like Shop Vac’s, $3 and Crystal Dips, and Lightning Bugs are all good patterns to try.

There are a lot of anglers having success swinging Soft Hackles as well.

Best way to describe it right now is have plenty of ammo and be willing to change things up throughout the day until you start finding that consistency. The transition to fall is well underway to be sure.

We just want to as always say a huge thank you to all of our customers. Your support and patronage is so appreciated. And if you aren’t a regular here at Beartooth Flyfishing yet, please stop by and share some of your Montana trip with us. We are always here with great advice for fly selection, or any of your other Gear needs. We still have plenty of Cortland Clearance lines at 40% off. A lot of 7 and 8 weight lines available for those of you who may need a new Steelhead Line for the Fall. Be safe and enjoy a beautiful time on the River out there.

Dries: Delektable Chubbyness in Rootbeer, UV Purple and UV Cinnamon #12-#16. Delektable Lil’ Chubby in Royal, UV Cinnamon, UV Tan #14-#18. Delektable Secret Stone Dark Olive #10-#12. Delektable Secret Stone UV Goldenstone #12. Purple Haze #12-#18. Carlson’s Purple Craze #12-#18. Parachute Adams #12-#18. Delektable Flying Ant in Cinnamon and Red #14-#16. Bloom’s Stealth Ant Purple #16. Dornan’s Water Walker September Stone #14. Delektable Lil’ Secret in Royal, UV Pink #16-#18.

Nymphs: Delektable Mega Prince Standard and Flashback #8-#10. Pat’s Rubberlegs in Black, Olive/Black, Coffee/Black, and Brown #8-#10. Delektable Jig Hook Tungsten Spanker in Pheasant Tail, Silver, Orange, and Red #14-#18. Delektable Lil’ Spanker in Silver, Gold, Purple, Blue, and Red #12-#18. Shop Vac #16-#18. $3 Dollar and Crystal Dips #16-#18. Formerly Known as Prince #12-#18. Prince Nymph #12-#18. Pheasant Tail Nymph #16-#18. Micro May in Olive #18-#20. Lil’ Green Machine Pheasant Tail #18-#20.

Soft Hackles: Hare’s Ear Soft Hackle, Pheasant Tail Soft Hackle, Full Dressed Red, Partridge and Orange, Partridge and Olive, Partridge and Purple.

Streamers: Delektable Screamer Single or Double in White, Olive/Black, Badger, Yellow/Brown. Delektable SS Jointed Screamer in Olive/White. Coffey’s Sparkle Minnow, Coffey’s Sparkle Yummy. Sculpzilla’s in White, Olive, Black, Natural, #6-#8. Mini Loop Sculpin in Natural and Olive. Zonkers in Copper, Silver, and Olive. Galloup’s Dungeons Regular and Mini in Black, Olive, White. Galloup’s Boogie Man in Olive, Black, and White. Galloup’s Silk Kitty in Olive or White. Kreelex Minnow’s. Montana Intruders.

August 22nd – 28th | Madison River Fishing Report

It’s been an absolutely beautiful week in the Madison Valley. Perfect weather and calm winds have allowed the valley to clear out a good amount of the smoke from the numerous fires in the West. Temps in the 70’s, it’s been just wonderful. The mornings are crisp and Fall is right around the corner.

Fishing can be good to great if you have the patience to weed through the smaller fish or are willing to get out there in the early mornings stripping or swinging the bunny fur. Streamer fishing remains good to very good in the early mornings. With Black and Olive patterns being popular choices. When the sun gets high switching to a White or Natural colored Streamer has paid dividends. Some very good fish have been taken throughout the river this past week on Streamers.

The Dry Fly game right now is one of patience and accuracy. The bigger fish will eat on top but you need that fly in the right seam and drifting drag free. And of course there is the constant harassment to your dries from the little tikes in the river. Small to Mid Size Chubbies, Ants, and Attractor Dries have been the best patterns for surface activity. Along with a few Hoppers.

For the nymphing action two fly rigs with a Mega Prince or Pat’s Rubberlegs trailed by numerous Attractor Nymphs, Serendipities, or Perdigon’s have been fishing the best. Flows have dropped in the last couple weeks, so for you floaters out there it is getting a bit boney in certain areas of the flats and down around Ennis. Keep an eye out for those sneaky chine busters.

We still have plenty of great Discontinued Cortland lines in stock at 40% off. We have plenty of bugs in stock and as always free coffee in the mornings. Have a great time out there on the river.

Dries: Delektable Lil’ Chubby in UV Cinnamon, Royal, Tan, #14-#18. Delektable Chubbyness in UV Cinnamon, Rootbeer, and Royal #12-#16. Delektable Lil’ Secret in UV Pink, and Royal #16-#18. Delektable Flying Ant in Cinnamon, Black, Red #14-#18. Parachute Adams #10 – #16. Carlson’s Purple Craze #12-#16. Purple Haze #10-#16. Morrish Hopper, Panty Dropper Hopper, More or Less Hopper, Thunder Thighs Hopper in Tan, Pink, Peach, Yellow #12-#14. Water Walker September Stone #14.

Nymphs: Delektable Mega Prince Standard and Flashback #8-#10. Pat’s Rubberlegs in Black, Brown, Brown/Black, Olive/Black #8-#10. Delektable Lil’ Spanker in Silver, Red, Purple, Pheasant Tail #14-#16. Pheasant Tail Nymph #14-#18. Lightning Bugs in Silver and Gold #14-#18. Prince Nymphs #12-#18. $3 Dips Brown #16-#18. Crystal Serendipities #16-#18. Wire Worm #4-#8. Perdigon’s Olive tones #16-#18.

Streamers: Delektable Screamers Single and Double in White, Olive/Black, Badger. Delektable SS Jointed Screamer Olive/White. Mini Loop Sculpin in Tan and Olive. Sparkle Minnow. Sex Dungeon & Mini Sex Dungeon in Olive, Black, and Cream. Silk Kitties Olive and White. Zonkers in Copper, Silver, and Olive. Sculpzillas #8 Olive, Black, Natural, and White.

August 15th – 21st | Madison River Fishing Report

 

 

 

 

 

It’s been a fun week up here in the Madison Valley with lots of good news heading the flyfishing communities way. Hoot Owl restrictions were lifted on the Upper Madison and Missouri from Holter to Cascade on Tuesday. Then Saturday Yellowstone National Park lifted their Hoot Owl restrictions on all the rivers and streams within the Park. The Lower Madison below Ennis Dam to it’s confluence with the Missouri will remain on Hoot Owl restrictions until further notice. This has allowed us all to get back to a bit more normal schedules and a bit more rest overnight. Then we had three solid days of cool and rainy weather. Which has helped water temps lower in most of our major fisheries. Some very solid streamer days were had. With some large browns being landed river wide. Nymphing has remained decent to very good most days. And we even had some clients that stuck to the dries throughout the inclement weather and had great success as well. We have some beautiful weather forecasted for the next ten days or so with plenty of sunshine and temps in the 70’s and low 80’s. So we are all hoping and looking forward to being able to throw Hoppers, Ants, Beetles, and large attractors all day and evening without the restrictions in place.

Streamers and Nymphing will be the name of the game early or twitching those Chubbies for the Nocturnals until Mid Morning or Mid Day. Then transition into Terrestrials, Attractor Dries, and Dry Dropper rigs for the rest of the day and evening. Maybe finish off with some more Streamer fishing the last hour of light.

We have plenty of bugs in stock for all your needs whether it be Dries, Nymphs, or Streamers. We have just marked down a huge amount of Cortland flylines at 40% off and invite you to come in and pick a line or two up in case you’ve got a rod or two in need of a fresh line. Cortland doesn’t get as much hype as the RIO or SA but has always been one of the best lines and nothing has changed today. These are great lines at a great price. It’s been wonderful seeing some of our regular customers back in the shop again now that we all don’t have to sprint to the river at 6am. And we look forward to meeting many new faces and hope those of you have not yet discovered what Beartooth Flyfishing has to offer, will soon come in and let us take care of you. Enjoy the time on the water and be safe out there.

Dries: Delektable Chubbyness in Royal, Rootbeer, UV Cinnamon #12-#16. Delektable Lil’ Chubby in Royal, UV Cinnamon, UV Tan #14-#18. Delektable Lil’ Secret in Royal, UV Pink #16-#18. Parachute Adams #10-#16. Carlson’s Purple Craze #10-#16. Rusty Spinners #14-#16. Morrish Hopper, Panty Dropper Hopper, Thunder Thighs Hopper in Tan, Pink, Peach, Yellow #12-#14. Delektable Flying Ant in Cinnamon, Black, Black/Red, Purple #14-#16. Bloom’s Stealth Ant Purple #16. Yeagers 409 Red #16.

Nymphs: Delektable Mega Prince Standard and Flashback #8-#10. Pats Rubberlegs Black, Olive/Black, Coffee/Black, Brown #8-#12. Delektable Lil’ Spanker in Silver, Red, Blue, Purple, and Pheasant Tail #14-#18. Lightning Bugs in Silver and Purple #16-#18. Pheasant Tail Nymphs #14-#18. Micro Mays #16-#18. Little Green Machine PT #16-#18. Wire Worms #4-#8. Shop Vacs #14-#18. $3 Dips Brown #16-#18. Crystal Dips #16-#18. Prince Nymphs #14-#18. Perdigons #14-#18.

Streamers: Delektable Screamers Single or Double or Stainless Steel Jointed in Black, Olive, White, Olive/White, Olive/Black. Trevor’s Sculpin Black or Olive. Silk Kitties Olive and White. Dungeons Standard or Mini in White, Olive, Black. Mini Loop Sculpin Tan and Olive. Zonkers in Silver, Copper, and Olive. Small Bunny Leeches in Black. Sculpzilla in Black or Olive. Sparkle Minnows. 

 

August 8th – 14th | Madison River Fishing Report

Hoot Owl restrictions remain in effect for the foreseeable future on the Upper Madison. So get on early and put those rods away at 2pm. Fishing overall remains pretty good. Although it seems each day right now is different. With periods of time and stretches of river producing that may or may not have produced the day before. It’s a patience game at times. Switching bugs, tactics, colors, to whatever our fishy friends want at that particular time. Nymphing is definitely your best bet for solid action throughout the day. But if you’re willing to stick with the dries and are patient and have a solid rotation of patterns you can bring some tiny guys as well as some nice ones to the net. And the streamer game is showing some great signs of life over that last week.

The dry fly action with hoppers, ants, and beetles has shown a bit more consistency over the last week. Especially in the Storey to Varney area. Tan, Yellow, Peach, and Pink seem to be the general colors of choice. In the mornings we still have some Epeourous Spinners and some Caddis out and about. So it’s wise to have some Rusty Spinners and your favorite Caddis imitations just in case. Nocturnals also remain active in the mornings as well.

As we said before nymphing remains fair to good most days. With Prince variants, Small to Mid Size Pat’s Rubberlegs, Lightning Bugs, Shop Vac’s , Dips, Delektable Lil’ Spankers and Pheasant Tails.

Streamer fishing is bringing some great fish early in the mornings. If you can get on at dawn or slightly before there are some players out there ready to pounce. Trailing your streamer with a small nymph continues to be highly effective as well over the last several days. Standard colors like Olive and Black are working great in the mornings and throughout the day. Brighter colors are taking some good fish also when the sun is high and bright.

We just received some of Dan’s new patterns this week. The full assortment of the Delektable Lil’ Secret Dries are now in stock in UV Cinnamon, Royal, Goldrush, and UV Caddis Green. These are great patterns to imitate smaller Stoneflies, Nocturnals, and make a good low riding Hopper Pattern as well. I had a chance to test some out a couple mornings ago and they did not disappoint. So stop by and grab some while you can. The guides and visitors are gobbling them up as we speak.

Dries: Thunder Thighs Hopper, Morrish Hopper, More or Less Hopper, Half Down Hopper in Tan, Peach, Pink, Yellow, #12-#14. Delektable Flying Ant in UV Cinnamon, UV Purple, Black, Black/Red, Red #14-#16. Delektable Lil’ Chubby in Royal, UV Cinnamon, Tan #14-#18. Delektable Chubbyness in Royal, UV Cinnamon, UV Purple and Rootbeer #12-#16. Parachute Adam’s #10-#16. Purple Haze #10 – #16. Yeager’s 409 Red #14-#16. Delektable Lil’ Secret UV Cinnamon, Royal #12-#18.

Nymphs: Pat’s Rubberlegs Black, Olive/Black,Brown, Coffee/Black #8-#12. Delektable Lil’ Spankers Silver, Gold, Red, Pheasant Tail #12-#18. Lightning Bugs Silver, Gold #14-#18. Shop Vac’s #14-#16. 3 Dollar Dips Brown #16-#18. Crystal Dips #16-#18. Formerly Known as Prince #12-#16. Prince Nymph #12-#16. Wire Worms #4-#8. Pheasant Tail Nymph #14-#18.

Streamers: Delektable Screamers Single and Double Black/Olive, Olive/White, Olive, White. Zonkers Natural and Olive. Trevor’s Sculpin Olive and Black. Dungeons Full Size and Mini. Silk Kitty. Sparkle Minnows. Kreelex. Sculpzilla Olive and Black.

As you can see we had a visit from two of the Hoot Owl Trout Princesses. They gave Dan some great Karma for that Fattie ‘Bow.

August 1st – 7th | Madison River Fishing Report

 

It’s hard to believe we are through the first week in August already. Archery season is just around the corner and there is a touch of fall in the air in the early mornings. But still plenty of fishing to be had. We are still under Hoot Owl restrictions here on the Upper Madison. So keep in mind you need to lay the rods down at 2pm and enjoy the scenery with a cocktail after that. Or get out in the middle of the night and find that Brown of a lifetime on a juicy Mouse pattern. We’ve received more much needed rain over the last several afternoons and we are very thankful for that.

 

 

 

 

 

After the last two epic Hopper seasons, so far this year is shaping up as a tougher one. Of course the Hoot Owl closures don’t help by taking away a huge portion of the prime Hopper time on the River. If your patient and rotate through some colors and patterns you can get some action on them. But Ant patterns and Chubbies are fishing more consistently each day. And you can never go wrong with the Dry Dropper rig this time of year.

Nymphing remains consistent and is solid to very good most days. Pat’s Rubberlegs in Olive/Brown, Brown/Black, Delektable Guide Stones are working, Lightning Bugs, Delektable Lil’ Spankers, Flashback Pheasant Tails, and Wire Worms have been fishing well over the last several days.

Dead drifting and stripping streamers early in the mornings is bringing in good results. Sculpin imitations in Olive, Natural Zonkers, and White have been popular this week. Trailing your streamer with a small nymph has been a solid strategy too.

Dries: Delektable Mega 2Tone Chubbyness in Royal and UV Purple #10-#12. Delektable Lil’ Chubby in Royal, UV Tan, UV Cinnamon #14-#16. Delektable Chubbyness Rootbeer and Cinnamon #12-#16. Delektable Flying Ant in UV Cinnamon #14-#16. Delektable Twisted X Orange/Brown #10-#12. Royal Wulff Cripple #16. Parachute Adams #10-#16. Rusty Spinners #14-#16. Purple Haze #10-#16.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nymphs: Delektable Mega Prince Standard and Flashback #8-#10, Pat’s Rubber Legs Olive/Brown, Brown/Black #8-#10. Delektable Guide Stones same size and colors as Pat’s, Delektable Lil’ Spanker Silver, Gold, Red, Blue, Purple #14-#18. Lightning Bugs Silver, Gold #14-#18. 3 Dollar Dips #16-#18. Crystal Dips #16-#18. Shop Vac’s #14-#18. Prince’s, Delektable Prince Brandon, and Formerly Known as Princes #12-#18.

Streamers: Zonkers Natural. Trevor’s Sculpin, Sheila Sculpin, McCune’s Sculpin. Delektable Screamer Single or Double in White, Olive, Olive/Black, Badger. Dungeon’s in Olive and Black.

July 25th – July 31st | Madison River Fishing Report

Another week of Summer has come and gone in the Madison Valley. We’ve received a bit of much needed rain at times. The fire situation up around Cliff and Wade has improved and the heavy layer of smoke we’ve been living and fishing in since the beginning of July has lifted some. Improving the air quality and visibility. Hoot Owl restrictions are still in place and will be so until conditions improve enough for Montana FWP to lift them. For any of you that are new to Hoot Owl restrictions this means no fishing between 2:00 PM and 11:59 PM. Please access the Montana FWP link below for a list of all the Hoot Owl restrictions in effect statewide.

https://fwp.mt.gov/new/current-closures-restrictions.

Flows and fishing remain solid here on the Upper Madison. The Streamer game is definitely on in the early morning hours. With trout chasing well from before light to mid morning when that sun begins to hit the water. If you can catch a day with some cloud cover or when the smoke creates a false cover it has been good with the bunny fur all day. We’ve also had great reports from the Upper River with many anglers having success stripping smaller Black Buggers, Bunny Leeches, and Mohair Leeches.
We’ve seen the Mayfly and Caddis hatches begin to slow down over the last week. With the Nocturnals, Ants, Beetles, and Hoppers beginning to be more of the prime game. If it’s slower on the dries definitely go to the dry dropper rig. The Hopper bite is still building and will only improve throughout August and into September.
Nymphing is the most consistent fishing at the moment. With flows bumped back up to around 1500cfs at the Kirby guage, the Wire Worm has been effective on some recent days. Prince variations, Lightning Bugs, Perdigons, Olive and Coffee Pat’s, and Delektable Lil’ Spankers.

It can be a bit crowded at the ramps right now with the restrictions in place and everyone getting early starts. Remember to be courteous and patient out there. Play your fish as quick as possible. Keep them as wet as possible and take that extra moment to revive them before your release. Current conditions give you the opportunity for some unique and fun new ways for photos. With most cell phones and cameras having some waterproof features now. You can get some amazing shots at or under water level. Please call us or stop by with any questions you may have about your fishing needs. Stay safe out there everyone.

Dries: Morrish Hopper in Tan and Pink #12-#14. Thunder Thighs Hopper in Tan, Pink, Yellow #10-#14. Half Down Hopper #12-#14. More or Less Hopper Tan, Peach, #12-#14. Delektable Chubbyness UV Purple, Royal, UV Cinnamon, Root Beer #10 – #14. Delektable Lil’ Chubby Royal, Root Beer, UV Cinnamon, UV Tan #14 – #18. Para Adams #10 -#16. Carlson’s Purple Craze #14-#16. Royal Wulff #12 – #16. Royal Wullf Cripple #14 -#18. PMD Sparkle Dun #16. Delektable Sparkle Bug Tan, Pale Olive #14 – #16. Delektable PMD Teaser #14 – #16. Delektable CDC Elk Hair Caddis Tan #14-#18. Delektable Halo Caddis #14 – #16 Tan, Royal, Peacock. Delektable Lil’ Secret Royal, Goldrush, UV Caddis Green. Micro Water Walkers Peanut, Pink, September Stone #14-#16.

Nymphs: Delektable Mega Prince Standard and Flashback #8 -#10. Pat’s Rubberlegs Olive/Black, Brown/Black #8-#10. Formerly Known as Prince #16-#18. Psycho Prince Yellow and Purple #14 – #16. Delektable Lil Spanker Silver, Gold, Pheasant Tail #14 – #18. Lightning Bugs Silver and Gold #12-#16. Delektable Tungsten Jig Spanker Silver, Pheasant Tail, Miller Time, #16-#18. Perdigons. Wire Worm #8. 

Streamers: Delektable Screamer Single or Double Olive, Olive/Black, Badger #6. Sparkle Minnows #6. Zonkers Copper, Silver #4-#6. Galloups Dungeon’s Standard and Mini Olive, Black, Cream. McCune’s Sculpin Tan and Olive #4 – #6. Black Bunny Leech #8 – #10. Black Buggers and Mohair Leeches #8-#12.