Tag: Madison River Montana fly fishing

July 16th – 22nd | Madison River Fishing Report

It continues to be an impressive year here on the Upper Madison with very healthy flows and bug hatches. We’re sitting at about 1,320 cubic feet per second of water flow below Hebgen Lake, at the Kirby gauge she’s running at 1,460 and down at Varney Bridge flows are at 1,690(about 400 c.f.s. above historic average).

The PMDs are coming off around 8 o’clock am, Caddis are hatching throughout the middle of the day and we’re still picking up plenty of fish on the attractors. Our favorite dry patterns have been Delektable Chubbyness’ in smaller sizes, Delektable Secret Stones in Dark Olive, Delektable Halos, Purple Crazes and lastly the Rusty Spinners have been killer as the sun goes down.

Lots of fish are being caught sub-surface as well. Weather under a dry fly or an indicator if you’re looking to get higher numbers of fish you’ll be best off fishing stuff like Green Machines, Delektable Lil’ Spankers in Olive or Pheasant Tail, smaller Pat’s Rubberlegs, Prince Nymphs, Lightning Bugs and Batwing Emergers.

Streamer fishing has brought us a mixed bag of reports but the best luck seems to be coming early in the morning or late in the evening. Recommended flies would be Delektable Single Screamers, Mini-Loop Sculpins, Trevor’s, Sparkle Minnows and Zonkers. You’re probably best off fishing low and slow in the deeper plunge-pools and around the rocks rather than pounding the banks.

We’re looking forward to seeing everyone this upcoming weekend for our Montana Hope Project Fundraiser. There will be lots of good food and treats as well as fly casting and tying demonstrations for a great cause. As always, feel free to call or stop by the shop for any other tips or info and keep an eye out for more reports!

May 16th – May 30th | Madison River Fishing Report

We’ve seen a lot of change on the Upper Madison over the last couple weeks as the river came up for the long awaited “flushing flow”.  Beginning on May 20th we saw the river rise a couple hundred cubic feet per second every other day for about a week until the goal of 3,500 c.f.s. at Kirby was met and we’ve been hanging on at that flow for the past few days. What does this mean for the fishing? Just that you’ll want to stay above the West Fork and concentrate on getting flies down deep in the slower water.

 

There hasn’t been a whole lot of dry fly fishing to be had as of late but from time to time you may find a nose poke up for a BWO or Midge. If you so happen to find some fish that are willing to eat on top your best bet would probably be a smaller Adams, Purple Craze or a Midge Cluster.

With all that being said, the sub-surface fishing has been stellar. You’re best off anywhere upstream of the West Fork as it’s pumping in muddy water. Three Dollar Bridge, Raynold’s Pass, Pine Butte and the upper stretch of Between the Lakes have all been fishing well. Pat’s Rubberlegs, Worms, Delektable Mega Princes, Delektable Hurless Stones, Shop Vacs and Serendipities have all been doing a good job picking up fish. Focus on slower water along the edges and don’t forget your split shot!

Streamer fishing has also been really good. Again, you won’t have to do much wading as they’re all along the banks. Delektable Screamers and Double Screamers have been picking them up in Olive/Yellow and Olive/Black along with Trevor’s Sculpins, Sparkle Minnows and Double-Bunnys.

We’re very excited for another awesome season of fishing on the Madison and as always keep an eye out for up to date reports! And of special note, it’s never too early to start fly fishing.

April 16th- May 1st | Madison River Fishing Report


 

 

 

What a time of year to fish the Upper Madison, the valley is coming to life with bugs, birds, green grass and hungry trout. The river is flowing at 2,100 c.f.s. below Hebgen lake, 2,180 c.f.s. at Kirby Ranch and 2,460 c.f.s. at Varney Bridge and we expect those numbers to keep climbing as Northwestern Energy plans on running a flushing flow at their maximum allowed 3,500 c.f.s. at Kirby for 3 days sometime within the next couple of weeks.

The forecast is showing daytime highs in the upper 60’s and low 70’s for the next ten days with some scattered thunderstorms and night time low temps in the lower 40’s which should make for some awesome days on the water. As always for this time of year look for fish to be spreading out throughout the river as water temps come up.

Dry fly fishing is picking up as we’re starting to see March Browns hatching closer to town along with the Blue Wing Olives that have been around in good numbers for a couple weeks now. After looking at water temps I don’t think it’ll take more than a week or so before we see big Caddis hatches. Our favorite patterns have been the BWO Para-Sipper, Batwing Emergers, and the Split-Wing Adams.

Streamer fishing has also been on the upswing with some days displaying some serious action. Our best bugs have been Black/Olive Delektable Double Screamers, Trevor’s Sculpin, Mini Loops and Sparkle Minnows. I’ve had better luck with a slower retrieve with lots of little jerks and pops on the way in.

You’ll all be surprised to hear that nymphs still catch ‘em too. With the flows being up a bit you won’t want to forget the split shot at home and if you’re wondering how you didn’t get a take in that perfect bucket you may want to try some more weight before changing up flies. The best flies have been the Olive Delektable Mega Prince, Delektable Hurless Stone, Delektable Hammerhead Jig-Hook Prince, Lightning Bugs, Worms and smaller Pat’s Rubberlegs.