We were greeted with a blast of winter at the beginning of the week. Lots of accumulating snow and high winds brought drifting snow and lots of shoveling to all of us here in the Madison Valley. We were grateful for a plow rescue from a friend. Thank you! The boat ramps at Varney and above were out of commission for a couple days but cleared up within a couple days. Now things are back to normal October conditions and we’ve had some pretty darn nice weather since Wednesday.
The front that moved through sure got the Big Browns of the Madison moving around and chasing quite well. Some very good streamer and nymph fishing was had the second half of the week. If you could find some spots shielded by the “W” there were trout sipping BWO’s in the soft pockets around rocks and near the banks.
Fall is here to stay and it won’t be long until we’ve all wondered where this season went so quickly. So get out on the water if you find a day to your liking and enjoy the last few weeks, before the snow is flying in earnest.
Flows still remain low so if you’re looking to squeeze in a last float or two before storing the boat for the season, your best bet will be up higher in the Lyon’s to Mac section. The water up top is just fine for floating without beating up your hard boat.
Dries: Delektable Sparkle Bug Olive, Dark Olive, Gray #18. Delektable BWO Teaser #18-#20. Delektable BWO Squeezer #18-#20. Brook’s BWO Sprout Emerger #18-#20. BWO Sparkle Duns #18-#20. Parachute Adams #18-#20. Carlson’s Purple Haze #18-#20.
Nymphs: Delektable Mega Prince Standard and Flashback #10. Delektable Guide Stones Black #10. Pat’s Rubberlegs Black #10-#12. Formerly Known as Prince #16-#18. Delektable Prince Brandon #16-#18. Delektable Lil’ Spanker Silver, Pheasant Tail, Blue #18-#20. Lightning Bugs #16-#20. Pheasant Tail Nymph #16-#20. Geppert’s Master BWO Emerger, Geppert’s Mega BWO Emerger.
Streamers: Delelektable Single and Double Screamer Olive, Black, White, Olive/Black. Zonkers Natural, Copper, Olive. Galloup’s Dungeon and Mini Dungeon Black, Olive, Olive/Black Barred, Cream. Galloup’s Boogie Man Black, Olive. Mini Loop Sculpin Olive and Natural. McCune’s Sculpin Olive. Coffey’s Sparkle Minnow #6.
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.
Some days are good… some days are not as good. When you have a bad day on the river, is it really that bad? Does it ever make you want to quit fishing? Maybe, but probably not. For there to be good days, you must have the “bad” days to make the good days seem “good”. Some people come into the shop and remind me that even the bad days need to be put in the “great days” category, because really, you are still on the river. Now is it really that bad?
The nymph game is picking up to another level with this weather, the fish are eating the larger size Stoneflies that are starting to move more with this weather. They have also been keying in on the shiny patterns. The Lightning Bugs and shiny Nymphs such as the Silvie’s lightning bug, the Silver Lightning Bug and the Delektable Lil’ Spanker Silver are all good little shiny bugs that have been working well with the cloudy weather. Most of those would be in a size 14 or 16. That Crystal Dip in a size 16 on that curved hook are working well. The Pat’s Rubber legs is a tried and true pattern that will get fish in the net for you, but if you wanted to wonder off the beaten path of big nymphs, we have a variety to choose from here. The Delektable Mega Prince Standard in a size 6 or 8 has been a go-to of mine for years and years and years in the fall months. That pattern has fooled so many fish over the years. The Delektable Hurless Stone in the Gray size 6 and 8 is a great pattern for the fall times with the water being lower and a little colder. I would also check out the Delektable Stonefly Candy patterns that work in a number of colors. The Twenty Incher is also a great Stonefly pattern that works well in the size 6 or 8. Mostly, try and get a drag free drift with any big black/brown/olive Stonefly and you will have pretty good luck here on the ole’ Madison with the stones.
begging you and telling you to use dry flies
mers
