Madison River Archives - Page 10 of 11

April 21st-30th|Madison River Fishing Report

Early spring conditions means bring ALL your gear out on any given day because you never know what momma nature will throw at ya this time of year. Despite the weather, our guides have been getting some great fish. Streamer fishing has been picking up big time which has been long awaited.. The olive/black Delektable single screamer has been the fly to beat and Sheila’s sculpins are working well too.

Nymph fishing has been a stonefly and worm game and they’re WORKING. Delektable Megaprince’s have been on fire on a size #8 hook in either standard or olive with or without the flashback. Delektable Hurless Stone’s have had a tough time staying out of mouths as well especially in olive sizes #8 or #10. Pats Rubberlegs have been producing some fish as well, specifically in the olive/brown color combo on a #8 hook. Last but not least the pink flossy worm has been bring’n em in.

Dry fly fishing has still been mostly a midge

game but if you’re out in the evening you can certainly come across a bucket full of blue wing slerpers. So come prepared with some Griffiths Gnats in #18 and #20 along with Brook’s Midge Sprouts in olive on a #18 hook. The BWO Split Wing Parachute has been one of our favorites as well.

As always, be sure to stop in the shop and load up on all these tasty bugs on your way to the fish!

September 7th-12th, 2016|Madison River Fishing Report

It’s early morning and nice weather is in the forecast for Bill later today. The “W” is almost nonexistent. He gets out of his truck all bundled up head to toe in his newly purchased gear. The cold crisp fog is rising from the upper Madison River in what seems to be slow motion. He takes a look around and sees an eagle barely visible through the fog flying majestically, looking for an easy target to scoop up for breakfast. Bill is fully equipped and ready for action. He starts walking toward the river from his rig. He immediately spooks a brown right off the bank. He smiles. Bill has been waiting for this all year….the fall run. The leaves are turning yellow quickly and the valley is changing in color day by day. Bill is in his element. He is free, the air is clean and he is alone. This moment is all about him in his favorite Montana surroundings. His soul needs this……it craves it. The best part about this story is that Bill IS actually here now. He is NOT daydreaming about monster brown trout while he butters his toast at home. He has built a getaway that is healthy for him away from work, and now he is here. He has set himself up for success not only mentally and therapeutically, but for the fishing too. He is fully prepared.

The cold weather snap here in Southwest Montana has given the trout a little indication that it is time. It is time to get serious about fattening up, and time to get serious about getting serious in a fishy relationship. It is spawning season soon and the bite is on!! I hope you all will take advantage of these ferocious browns with their vicious takes on the streamer!

We are seeing some nice fish enter and exit the boat safely taken on single hooked streamers, articulated streamers and well, you get it. It’s on!

Well, it’s not just streamers that are working. There is also still quite an extensive list of “normal” flies that will be working. Let’s start with the stone flies that are moving around with the colder temps. Pats Rubber Legs in a size 8-12 are working just fine for those little guys. Colors that are strong ones will be brown, black, brown/olive and black/olive (for the Nocturnals still), black/brown and orange/tan. A red headed prince with a tungsten bead on a size 14-16 hook in combination with any of those stones would be good. Small princes, small pheasant tails and small serendipities (size 18-20 on curved hook) have been working lately. Baetis…start looking for ‘em and start throwin ‘em. A wire worm size 8. Delektable Lil’ Spankers in silver, red and pheasant tail have been good. Lightning bugs silver, pearl and purple are working just fine. We have also had some good reports on the little red copper john size 20. That could be for the pseudo mayflies we have had lately, but trout just love the little red copper john….always. There is a 14-16 gray caddis that has been flying around and we have been using the Delektable Rose/Pink Twisted Sister dry size 16 for that lil’ guy. One might want to try that one in the brown color too. It could be time for the Delektable Mega Prince and relatives.

As for the weather and the bite during the day, it has been real good in the early morning, a little slower by mid-day, and then it has been picking up a little bit more later in the afternoon.

Back to streamer talk now. Early mornings have been borderline epic on the strip. As for colors, white is right. Olive articulated streamers have been reeeally good along with black here and there. There has been some good nipping going on without the full commitment, but have no fear, it will happen. Personally I would rather strip a streamer than dunk it under a bobber, but dunk’n stinger-hooked streamers with a nymph trailing has been a killer combo for numbers in the boat. They may look at the streamer and hopefully take it, but if not, they usually take the small nymph behind it. Anywho, please get out there and get some fishing time in for yourself with this epic weather. The bite is just simply better with this colder weather. You may have to bundle up a bit more but it usually well worth the effort. To each their own, but I prefer fishing in the snow and blizzard conditions with the way the trout react. Plus, there are a lot less people out there in “your spot” 🙂

Happy Fishing!!! -DanG

June 1st- 5th 2016| Madison River Fishing Report

The pattern for this week is “Fluctuating River Color” with conditions persisting to change. What we have noticed is water temperatures are cooler than average and flows have been going up a bit. Water is still green and dirty green out back with dirtier water closer to Ennis. There is still a seam in the river but the majority dirty green. Overall, fishing continues to be good with fly patterns and new hatches coming although most people fishing are working for their fish. Flies that worked this week included; Power Worms, Delektable Lil’ Spankers Pheasant Tail, Tungsten Redemption BWO’s, Green Caddis Emergers of various types with some brighter green colors of choice, Caddis of various types, and Phsyco Princes. With the salmon fly and golden stone hatch on the big hole right now the excitement begins to build.

To start off the week, Will drove up to Raynold’s bridge where previous reports had been that the wade only section was fishing well. Sometimes a personal day out on the river is exactly what is needed. The fish are bigger and the stories are always better with no witnesses. Fishing the buckets and side pools, Delektable double screamers (Olive and Black), Midges, and Tungsten Copper John’s #14 were all working. Fishing streamers slow and letting the fish catch up was still important with the water temperatures low. Overall, it’s never a bad day when you’re out on the river and a bonus when you’re catching.

Emmett fished between Lyons Bridge and Windy Point. The fishing was good even though the weather was extremely warm and sunny. The river was slightly off color, especially on the left, west side of the river due to the West Fork. Most bites were happening in the clearer side of the river or near the seam; however the dirty side was productive too. Most bites were happening on small #16 nymphs. They were taking them as emergers with a gentle upward pull. Streamers were used too, but with no avail.

Saturday was a beautiful day for fishing with a group of boats out guiding from Lyons to Palisades. With no new big runoffs, CFS levels were consistent and water clarity green/dirty green; dirty water on the left (West) from the West fork and clearer water on the right (East). As always fishing buckets and giving the fish time to catch up with water temperatures in the 40’s was important.

Ian took Dave and Kevin, on a half day float from Lyons to Pal. The water clarity was good, clear east and dirty west. The flies of choice for the day were power worm’s #8/#10 and small baetis nymphs.

John kept with similar trend with Norbert and Omar, having success on wine colored worms as well as small red wire worms. To compliment that, Tungsten Redemption BWO #16/#18 and green Caddis Emergers were catching. So, something of color with the smaller nymph trailer seemed to work.

Brandon, with Mark and Rob, had most of their luck throughout the day on a Psycho Prince GB Caddis Green #14.

Joe on the other hand, with Gary and Harry, used Delektable Lil’ Spankers Pheasant Tail #18 and Delektable Lil’ Spanker olive green and Pat’s Rubberlegs in Black like the Stone Flies underneath you see in the boat.

Overall all guides had action throughout the day and a variety of different fly patterns were used, all with varying success. A day spent floating with friends and having a laugh are great memories that are never forgotten. Warmer weather is ahead so wear your sunscreen and dip in the river to cool off.

Keep Throwing Darts! Will

May 22-31 2016| Madison River Fishing Report

You never truly know the beauties of Montana and the Madison River until you have the chance to experience it first hand and gaze upon its charm. The motif for this week’s fishing has been “keep on keeping on”, with the river continuing to change every few days. We have gone through two runoffs over the past three weeks, with dirtier water staying closer to Ennis and clear water steady above the Westfork this week. The backyard is green today. The Upper Madison continues to fish well in all sections as CFS levels between Lyons and Varney remain between 1200-2000 CFS. Overall, fishing has been good, some have had to work harder at it than others. Finding the right patterns for the bite is continuously changing with Caddis still about in various sizes; BWO’s later in the day, and Midges. With a big weekend ahead of us it’s time to gear up for that big day.

To start off this week of trips we greeted our new shop employee Will (me) who drove from Virginia to work with us for the summer. Dan and Will’s father Bill have had the pleasure of spanking some bonefish together in the Bahamas. They both have shared varying stories.

On May 26^th, Dan, Bill and Will launched from Lyons to McAtee. The day began with a few minor penalty box events as the Madison River proved to be one of experience. They soon found success landing several commendable trout with Delektable double screamers (Black and Olive), stonefly nymphs, and Delektable Mega Chubbyness Royal. The Highlight of the trip came when Will landed his first big Madison brown on a Delektable Hammerhead Hare’s Ear #14 and was able to show it off later to his buddies back home.

On May 26^th, Marty took Tony on a float from Lyons to Ruby; fishing streamers, stone fly nymphs, Delektable Mega Princes, Pats Rubber Legs, Delektable Lil’ Spankers, and Delektable Sure Strikes. They had modest results on the Delektable Black and Olive Screamer, Pats Rubber legs and stone fly Nymphs but managed to find the bite with smaller nymphs including: Red Headed Step Child; Delektable Lil’ Spanker Red; and the Delektable sure strike. Overall it was a great day with good conditions and fish in the boat.

The Next trip began on May 28^th with Brandon guiding Jim and Keefer from Lyons to Ruby. Delektable Mega princes, Pats Rubber legs and Delektable lil’ Spankers Pheasant Tail were all on. With the water temp still in the mid 40’s the key was to fish the buckets with persistence and allow the slow moving fish to see the fly.

What better way for Dan and Nancy to let off some steam and get away from the shop then to head to the Upper Madison to fish the wade only sections. On May 31^st they decided to fish Raynolds to Pine Butte being a scenic section of the river with very few people this time of year. The “W” factor was strong with chilly conditions in play. The water was low, fast, and clear requiring wade fishers using boats to float rafts instead of hard sides. The fly of choice was Delektable Mega Prince Olive or a Delektable Screamer with a Mega Prince behind it in either Olive or Standard colors. Dan beat up the buckets below the boulders and was casting up into the buckets as he walked the dog down toward him. He had great success with this keeping the line tight as it flowed down stream. It’s hard to beat a day like this when all you see is two fisherman, one boat, and lots of memories.

To put this past week into summary there was a lot of great fish caught and of course some lost. Due to colder water conditions some had to slow down and cast to spots more than once, continuously working the buckets. Fish were less willing to chase, so a near dead drift with twitches continued to work instead of stripping streamers quickly. We will find out this weekend if the majority of runoff we have been experiencing will be done.

Keep Throwing Darts! Will

May 13-21 2016| Madison River Fishing Report

“The only constant is change” has been the theme for fishing the last week or so, with rising and falling river flows, drastic temperature changes, and varying degrees of water clarity. Overall, fishing has been quite good, but that too has had its variances.

The latest stretch of trips began on May 13 with Gunnar Folsom guiding his client, Steve, into some nice trout. They found success with streamers and Stonefly nymphs. An interesting highlight of the day was the discovery of a large Salmonfly nymph under the rocks; a precursor of the next evolution of the season.

On May 14, Dan and Marty snuck away from the shop for a day, with local artist and streamer designer extraordinaire Bern Sundell. A cold North wind blew stiff all day, and the water was quick and cloudy from a partial runoff, which kept fisherman away in droves. The trio didn’t care about the conditions, and neither did the fish. It was a great day for streamer fishing, and while they met a handful of friends at the launch, they floated 17 miles without another boat in sight.

The day produced many nice fish; mostly Browns, with a few Rainbows caught mostly toward the end of the float. Some strikes were hard, but most were softer due to the water temp in the low 40s. The cold water also made the fish less willing to chase, so a near dead-drift with twitches worked as opposed to stripping the streamers. The key to finding the fish in the quick, colored water was simple; find slower water. Fish were stacked in the expected spots; against the bank, behind the rocks, etc.

Multiple streamers were thrown, but the fish were particular on colors, striking only olive or olive/black. The far-and-away best streamer of the day was the Delektable Double Screamer, Black/Olive, Gold Belly.

On May 21, the day started with Dan and Capt. Marty working on a project together in the fly shop. The electricity “magically” went down and the job was finished with flashlights. Then the lightbulb in Dan’s head went off; no power, no work – casting break!

Off he went behind the shop in the 2,900 CFS flow, and a couple nice fish slammed the Delektable Double Screamer in Black/Olive as he field-tested the shop’s new 9-foot, 6/7-weight Presidential rod.

He jumped back into his rig and drove above Windy Point and fished a 9-foot, 5/6-weight Rocket Launcher with a double nymph rig of Delektable Flashback Hurless Stone and Delektable Flashback Mega Prince. The combo caught Browns, Rainbows and Grandpa’s favorite; lunker Whitefish.

The trip was on the third Saturday of May, which made it very special; Dan and his late dad, “Grandpa” to everyone, would always fish the upper Madison on the third Saturday in May. And thanks to the power shortage and the cooperative lunker Whiteys, Dan could hear Grandpa saying, “I need the net now!”

Also on May 21, new shop worker Emmett and his dad hoped to avoid the dirt, so they decided to head up river to just below Hebgen Lake. The previous evening the fish were rising, but thunder ended the trip.

Above Cabin Creek, the water was nice and clear, even though the rain was torrential. Emmett fished streamers while his dad was fished nymphs. In the continued rain, the rises of the previous evening weren’t to be found, except for the occasional leap. Lots of people were fishing the only 300 yards of river that wasn’t off-color in the vicinity, so the fishing was challenging.

May 3-8 2016| Madison River Fishing Report

Mother’s Day Bite!

One of our neighbors, Michael, got back into town and it was time for a float: McAtee to Varney; floating, wading, nymphing, streamers, and killed it on the start of the Mother’s Day Caddis Dry Fly Bite. March Browns were also present but the Delektable Royal Chubbyness in size #16 was the fly of the day. There was also story of a monster fish almost landed on a Delektable Double Screamer Black/Olive, but the evidence got away. It was a really fun day!

We are experiencing a mixture of conditions this week. If you know how to fish the dirt, it is happening but if not, it will be tougher fishing. Above the West Fork is more clear. Between the lakes is fifty fifty. Below the West Fork goes from full dirt to fifty fifty to full dirt. We are expecting some cooler nights this week which could stall the dirt and clear it up some again. Call us for the most current information. Out back is dirty today. That’s the Ruby Creek kicking in some dirt.

Elle made one of her most realistic Brown Trout creations this week, we had to share it with you. Enjoy! Happy Birthday Elle!

Game On! Dan

April 27th-30th 2016| Madison River Fishing Report

We hosted a great group of Project Healing Waters veterans at the lodge this week. Bob Frey was the also the host and helped out. Tom, Ed, Brian, and Caleb spent four days with us staying at the lodge and fishing the Upper Madison. They experienced a variety of weather and conditions. Bob took Brian and Caleb on an adventure hike. The hike was a true workout but they did get into some nice trout action. Considering these are wounded vets, they did great doing the hiking. We will need to inquire with Simms to help them with more customized waders and boots to make hikes like that easier.
Tom and Ed fished with Dan out of the boat the first day, and with Brandon the second. Brian and Caleb hiked two days and went with Dan in the boat the third day. Tom was with Ian on the third day. Thanks to the guides for helping out.

The river was evolving with the cool weather. The first day it was a bit dirty, then more

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.

It was a great experience for us to help these guys and spend time with them. They were really nice people and became a part of the Beartooth family. We look forward to seeing them again on their next adventure.

Dan and Nancy

April 28-30 2016| Madison River Fishing Report

What can we say about this day but Keefer really figured something out. Jim and Keefer

were fishing with Brandon. Both days were Lyons Bridge to Ruby Creek. After such a good first day, they had to do it again. The fun part was Keefer is using new photo equipment so we get the advantage of “Fish Eye”. The “Vana White” trout pose is more profound in these pictures. The river was off color. There was some weather. They used the usual spring combinations we have been using the past two weeks with some variations and some of Brandon’s secrets which may have included his own CDC Prince. The bugs included: Delektable Single Screamer Black/Olive; Delekable Mega Prince Flashback Standard; Delektable Flashback Hurless Stone; Pat’s Rubberlegs Black or Brown/Tan; Delektable Lil’ Spankers in PT,and Red; BH Worms; and Shop Vacs.

How do you follow a day like that? Our friend Kim and Mark fished with Joe and had a 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.

Ian and Hienie went out earlier in the week and then Joe with Hienie on Saturday. Again, they were 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.

April 25th 2016| Madison River Fishing Report

Our new Shop employee Emmett started off the week with a nice trout.
Emmett is an avid fly tyer and rod builder at a young age and is a serious fisherman and skier. We are happy to have him join the Delektable team.

Dan and Nancy

April 21-23 2016| Madison River Fishing Report

Dan fished with Hienie on a cold and cloudy day with some color in the river. It was 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 articulated Delektable Black/Olive Double Screamer fished by itself well too.

Brandon and Gunnar fished with David, Matthew, Jackson, and Doug. The first day was
bigger action on the fishing. 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.

Joe fished with Hienie on Saturday and they fished streamers mostly. There was more weather as the day went on enabling the streamer bite more. You can see the articulated streamers were the ticket. Not everyone can throw junk like that but Hienie has had a lot of practice. He had fun. Thanks Joe.