The water is high and muddy, but the Mighty Madison River is fishing considerably well! These are the times where the big streamers and the big nymphs are working the best. The bigger flies and streamers push and move through the water better than all the smaller stuff and the fish pick that up with their lateral line. The water might seem high and fast but focus on the sides of the banks and the pockets of water closer to the bank. The fish feel a little more comfortable with this color of water not having to worry about the birds and people as much. As far as the little flies and beadheads go, the guides have been putting them to them! The March brown has been a heavy hitter in a few different sizes but mostly 14’s. The BWO still picks up a fish or two here and there. Even the Squalla has been getting them in the net still. Soon we will be experiencing some warming weather and the snow will all be coming down, so get ready for the higher water and a little more color.
The flies that 
have been working have been steady going.
Dries:
- Delektable Royal Chubbyness (sz 10)
- Adams (sz 14)
- Purple Haze (sz 14)
- Caddis (sz 14-16)
- Brown Drake and spinners (sz 12-14)
- Midges (sz 18-20)
Nymphs
- Delektable Mega Prince Standard (sz 4-8)
- Delektable Stonfly Candy (sz 8)
- Delektable Pheasant Tail Lil’ Spanker (sz 16)
- Delektable Prince Brandon (sz 16)
- Wire Worm (all sizes)
- Wooly Buggers (sz 6 and 8)
- Nyphicator (sz 16)
- Prince nymph (sz 16)
Streamers
- Any and all sizes will do, they are on it. When the bite is on, its on
- The Delektable Double Screamers in most of the colors have been hot
- The Delektable Single Screamers in White, Black , Badger and Black/Olive
- Wool Heads on single hooks
- Deer hair heads
Hope to see you out there enjoying the Big Montana Sky! Happy Fishing!!! -Dang
It’s been mostly nymphs and streamers that are doing the bulk of the catching. Delektable Double Screamers, Trevor’s Sculpins, Sparkle Minnows and Buggers have seen their share of success out there.
We’ve been fishing a good variety of nymphs as the conditions are changing almost every day. Delektable Lil’ Spankers, Copper John’s and Pheasant Tails are good for the March Browns in size #10 or #12. Smaller bugs like Delektable Ranch BWOs, Lightning Bugs, Serendipities and Princes are the Baetis/BWO lineup. Pat’s Rubberlegs, Delektable Stonefly Candy and Worms are working for the other stuff.
The drop in temp seems to be keeping the March Browns and Caddis under the surface once again. Shop Vacs and other Caddis Emergers will work. If you’re dying to get some dry fly fishing in you can still find some fish eating Midges and Baetis here and there. Sipper Midges and small Adams should be all you need or try a Purple Haze.
Thank you to all who joined us at our Montana Hope Project event. We had a great time eating good food, visiting with friends, relaxing, casting, and tying. We are excited to share that we exceeded last year’s totals and have more funds to help the Montana Hope Project Families. 
Hebgen on the 19th which made things tough for a few days but the bite only improved from then till now. We’re down to about 1,200 c.f.s. below Hebgen and 1,500 c.f.s. down at Kirby. It looks like we’re seeing the light at the end of the tunnel with all the wet weather and Summer should be setting in any day now.
The nymph fishing has been outstanding. We’ve had lots of success on soft hackle stuff lately like Delektable Hammerheads, Soft Hackle Hare’s Ears and Soft Hackle Copper Johns. Along with those the standard Mayfly and Caddis patterns have been successful. Things like the Delektable Lil’ Spankers, Lightning Bugs, Prince Nymphs and Psycho Princes are good bets. Any of them can be fished under a big dry or in tandem under an indicator. Some folks have scored with two small nymphs while others have used a larger Stonefly Nymph up top and a small nymph behind. Depending on the flows, a B or BB shot might be needed above the first fly.
What a great time to be out on the Upper Madison, we hope you’re all enjoying the excellent fishing and if there are any other tips we may have to offer don’t be afraid to call or stop by the shop to ask 406-682-7525.
We expect some real good streamer fishing as long as flows stay somewhat consistent. A number of different flies worked these two weeks including Stonefly Nymphs, some streamers, and Eggs. Experimenting with amounts of weight helped. Some specific patterns were Delektable Mega Princes, Delektable Hurless, Pat’s Rubberlegs, and the Roe Egg and the Glow Bug Egg in Orange and Tangerine. We have enjoyed the company of Project Healing Waters Vets at our lodge this week. Thank you to Bob Frey and Michael Gerhart for all the extra help with the planning and cooking. 
up yesterday morning and that was a blessing after such a dry couple of months. With predicted rain and highs in the mid 50s and low 60s the forecast is looking good for everyone’s favorite fall festivity, STREAMER FISHING! Flows are at 861 c.f.s. below Hebgen Lake and 970 c.f.s. down at Kirby.
pretty good as of late, best in the mornings and evenings but I expect it to be an all day affair with the upcoming weather. The fish are in their normal hiding places (undercuts, boulders, logjams, etc.) feeding on their usual prey (whitefish and sculpin). Some of the bigger flies are starting to get more attention like the Delektable Double-Screamer, Circus Peanuts, Silk Kitty, and Sundell’s Bad Boys as well as the go to smaller stuff like Double Bunnys, Delektable Single Screamers and Sheila’s Sculpins. 
experienced the Solar Eclipse on the river and Kevin provided shots from Idaho. We had a mixture of fun fishing experiences including us and many friends and new friends. We had special surprise guests for Dan’s 60th birthday. And…we shared an incredible birthday cake Elle made totally in honor of Dan and “Scar Tissue”. It was quite the week of incredible experiences, fun fishing, great reunions, fabulous cake and terrific food too. Life at Beartooth can be so much fun. Thank you for sharing.
hasn’t changed too much throughout the month of August. The biggest change we’ve seen over the past week is that bigger fish are eating a little more readily, let’s hope that lasts. Flows are up slightly from last week below the dam to 1,040 c.f.s. and 1,190 c.f.s. at Kirby Ranch. 
good even though sometimes we end up with a totally Tyke bite for a day then bigger fish the next day. Big swarms of flying ants can be seen from Storey Ditch down past Varney Bridge later in the afternoon but they’ll eat them almost all day. The Delektable flying ant in Purple or Cinnamon has consistently been our best pattern. Quigley’s glitter ant and the smaller Yeager’s 409’s in red are doing the trick as well. Early in the day a small Adams or Purple Craze has brought success while pseudos are about and hoppers are still producing as well. For those, the cast and location is important. The Delektable Chubbyness in #14’s and #16’s is still a good pattern with best results in UV Purple, UV Cinnamon, and Royal this week. Hoppers in pink, yellow, and cream underneath are still working.
small princes, small Delektable pheasant tail Lil’ Spankers, tan/brown or olive/brown Rubberlegs, bigger Delektable Hammerheads, Hare’s Ears and Delektable Big Spanker Warriors. Lightning Bugs in Silver and Pearl are still good. These flies have all been pretty good all day but best During the late morning and early afternoon.
continue to improve. We’ve seen some good action into the hottest part of the day the last couple days. Some of our best bugs are the Delektable Single Screamer in white, the Sculpzilla in White or Tan, Mini Loops, Silvey’s sculpin leech and the Conehead Bow River Bugger. Using a sinking leader has helped with Slow strips and dead drifts around the boulders. You could even add a trailing small nymph from the list above. The smoke remains in the mountains and less so on the river.
The Upper Madison is flowing at 
1030 c.f.s. below Hebgen Lake, 1190 c.f.s. at Kirby Ranch and 1220 at Varney Bridge. The forecast calls for some much needed scattered thunder storms over the next few days with night time low temps in the 40s. We’re looking forward to kicking the dry heat for a while.
flies. Spruce moths, ants and grasshoppers are picking fish up throughout the river. For the hoppers I’ve been doing well a with peach or pink body color. Morrish hoppers, white clouds and yeti hoppers have been a few of my favorites. Delektable twisted X has been our go to spruce moth pattern with some of the bigger elk hairs or Goddards are doing the trick as well, most of the spruce moths will be found between Pine Butte and Palisades. Small 409’s, Hippie Stompers and Delektable flying ants are working well, ants are seeing the bulk of the action most days.
tough week last week. The river isn’t handing fish out like it was in June and July but if you’re willing to work for them they’ll eat. Smaller Pat’s Rubberlegs in brown or olive/brown, Princes, Lightning Bugs and Silver Delektable Lil’ Spankers are all doing the job at the right time.
sculpin patterns have been the ticket. Fish have been moving out from the banks and all around boulders. Morrish’s Sculpin, Trina’s Belly Dancer, Silvey’s Sculpin and The Delektable Screamer have all been getting some attention in addition to Shiela. Either dead drift them into boulder pockets or strip them off the bank and you should see some results.
