Well, well, well, fall is rolling right along and we have had the privilege of having some real fun groups come in and we’ve made some new friends along the way! Thanks to all the people who make it possible every year for us to exist. (for you!) The groups this week have had to deal with some extreeeme weather (50-60 mph winds) due to the tailing storm patterns going on over on the west coast. We have received another healthy dose of rain and also some more snow in the mountains. Well folks, today’s weather is brought to you by …………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………SHARK WEEEEK!!!! Episode #3…………………………
These brown/black/yellow/orange sharks are being pulled out of the Madison River on the regs lately and are acting like vicious, sculpin-blood-thirsty predators. If you are out early in the early morning you will have the best luck (because it’s fall), but with the clouds and the weather the way that it has been all day long, it will be good…all day long. Our clients and guides have been reporting that the streamer bite is really crazy right now and that small children should keeps their hands and feet inside the boats at all times. Children have been known to lose fingers just by sticking them in the water around this time of year.
These toothy brown trout will stop at nothing to get a quick taste of a squirmy little fingers. After all, it will give those little sculpins a little break. The Sculpin is a small tapered olive fish with a big head, and browns and rainbows alike just love the little guy. It’s usually an easy snack any time of day, but it’s especially good in the morning. Breakfast to go with a side of…..SET THE HOOOOK!!!!!!!
I hope you are taking full advantage of the fall fishing as I and my friends at the shop here are. The rain has stopped for a bit now and the cloud cover is at a sick point sick on the sickter scale. (100% full send). So, please do yourself a favor and get out there!!!
If you need any pointers on what to use, here ya go, try something like these: Dan Delekta’s Delektable Screamers and Delektable Double Screamers in all the colors; Bern Sundell’s Bad Boy in all of his colors; Bern Sundell’s Silver Fire; Sculpzilla size 4 and 8 in black, olive and white, Trevor in black, olive, and white; Silvies Woolhead in white and silver; Kelly Galloup’s Sex Dungeons and Silky Kittys in whites, blacks and olives; The Zonker in pearl, copper, natural and white. And last but not least for my recommendations is the Bow River Bugger in a size 6 or 8.
We still have had a good bite on the 
big nymph as I said last week, as it is still going on under there in the dark world. The small BWO’s and Calibaetis #18’s and #20’s are out and about providing little scrumptious meals for the eager hard-working brightly spotted teenagers out there. You won’t need to be throwing anything small unless you are imitating those little guys right there. Also the midges are black and grayish and are about a size #20-24 and everywhere this time of year. Those tiny guys are verrrry effective if you are up to the challenge. I have a friend who is in his 70’s that has been knocking them down one by one with the 22’s and 24’s. “The cast must be a perfect cast, every time, on the first cast. Then you see the swirl in the film.”
In the guide world, the little nymphs that just catch fish are working just fine, as usual. The Lightening Bug size 14 behind a Pat’s Rubber Legs black size 8 is a sure combo to get fish in the boat. The Delektable Mega Prince Standard size 8 is a great nymph to put up top and get yer little guys down in the fish’s faces. Working here at the shop, I have been seeing a lot of small olive and darker guys in the #16-18 range going out the door. Also, the caddis right now are gray and in a size #14, maybe #15. A prince nymph in a size #12-14 is a sure catch most of the day. Tungsten beaded nymphs will help it get down even faster if you are having trouble tagging the bottom every now and then. The October Caddis has been flying around and he’s about a size 10 dry. Any orange or brown stone nymph in that size too will work for him too. We have a series of Delektable stones and nymphs that will work for the Octobers if you come in and are looking for some new guys to try.
Well, I hope to hear about your wild fishing stories here at the shop when you stop by! But for now, if you are feeling the skunk while chuck’n the junk, keep on keeping on, cause those brown punks will eventually get outta their bunks ta bust yer funk. But if they won’t…….. I guess go get drunk! 🙂
Happy Fishing!!! -DanG
I’ll let you in on the guide bugs and whats working for them out there right now. The stones are crawling around and a Black Pat’s Rubber Legs in a size 8 will do just fine. There are a couple of different colors in that pattern that are also working very well, like Brown, Tan/Brown, Black/Brown and Olive/Black. The size is an 8 but a size on either side of that will do just fine also. Bend the shank to give it a much buggier look (and give you an up on yer buddies) 🙂 . Also, try a Twenty Incher Stone (it’s a peacock stone) in a size 8 or 10. As usual, the Delektable Mega Prince Standard size 10-8 is a good call for any stretch of the river, but especially the top end right now. The rock pocket 
picking is spectacular above the Lyons Bridge Recreational Area all the way up to the Slide at Quake Lake. The Prince nymph in a size 12 has been a “go-to” with the guides here as well as a whole slew of small darker BWO/Calibaetis style nymphs. As for the streamer bite… all the colors are working, all of the silhouettes are slaying and all the rods SHOUUULD…theoretically and historically be…BENT!!! Some of the best colors have been olive and black combos on articulated streamers. Olive and Yellow has been really good too. Black, Black and Blue, Black and Purple, White, Silver, Tan and various colors of the natural spectrum have been doing well. That pretty much covers the rainbow huh? Well, if you are having trouble hooking up on the “straum” (streamer) and you want to quit and throw nymphs again, just take a look at these photos and rethink your decision. If you want to catch a fish on a streamer…you must first throw the streamer…in the water. 
with some white meat that Captain Marty deep-fried in his special Cajun ways that tasted soooo good (just take my word for it). As for the carp, Mike caught that on a white Delektable Double Screamer (I know, wierd)
green, then more clear and green. The cooler weather really made a difference and cleared up the river quite a bit. They fished a variety of bugs including Mega Princes which worked well, Pat’s Rubberlegs in Black, some used different worms, Delektable Lil’ Spankers in PT and other colors. Streamers were also a good choice on the weathery days. The later part of the trip March Browns started to show along with BWO’s. Some caught on dries when the hatches started to pick up but mostly on wet flies.
great day too. Remember this is the well known “Big Fish Kim”. There are actually two Big Fish Kims. Kim may be a lucky fishing name but this day, Mark was the big fish guy too. Sometimes the weather and the dirt can help. The river was off color but still green and it was cloudy. These can be ideal conditions.
fishing streamers or big nymphs and trailers. Thursday was more productive than Saturday for them. It was fun both days. As you can see Hienie was sporting a very warm hat. It was cooler out both days.
another Upper River float from Windy Point to McAtee. Hienie put some nice fish in the net. The fly combinations were a single Delektable Black/Olive Screamer with a #12 BH Red Worm trailer or a #8 Delektable Flashback Mega Prince.
The second day the weather kicked in and the river became higher and the color started to get dirty below the West Fork. The river has been ever changing this spring as we have had a mix of very warm then cold conditions. As it cools down, the river clears up but when it gets warm, the snow melts and the side streams flow heavier into the main river with some dirt. 
They had good results with some of the same bugs. They fished Pat’s Rubberlegs in Black, Delektable Flashback Mega Prince Standard and Olive, trailers of Lil’ Spankers in PT, some worms, some silver, some red, and streamers worked with olive or black and olive being the better choices.
Springtime in the Rockies with weather conditions either hot and sunny or cloudy and cold. The bite was on with my favorite stonefly nymphs: all size #6 and #8 Delektable Flashback Mega Prince; Delektable Flashback Hurless Stones in Gray and Olive.
It’s incredible that the Upper Madison is open from Quake Lake to McAtee again year round. There were spots in the calm where the trout were sipping like crazy in pods. Those fish were fussy about the dry but not about the Delektable nymphs. Dan’s favorite spring flies were great that day. Later on we did try the small Delektable Chubbyness and it worked too. What a fun day.
They just killed it on the Delektable Flashback Mega Prince in Standard and Olive and the Delektable Flashback Hurless Stone in Gray and Olive. Catalina caught a massive Rainbow and rocked all day. Way to go Cat! Mike helped with the rowing and Dan was able to enjoy some rod bending.