Yearly Archives: 2018

Madison River Fishing Report for November 27th, 2018 Dam: 1,010 cfs Kirby: 1,100 cfs Varney: 1,170 cfs Winter has arrived in the Madison Valley, and we are seeing some much colder day and nighttime temperatures with a decent amount of snow starting to fly. Not that 20 degrees is all that bad, but throw some 10-20 mph winds in the mix and you’ll definitely start to feel it.  You’ll find a little warmer sanctuary by Ennis, but the lower river is getting a little chunky with ice flows down toward town.  All that being said, colder weather tends to keep [...]

Madison River Fishing Report for November 9th, 2018 Dam: 921 cfs Kirby: 1,040 cfs Varney: 1,050 cfs Winter has started to settle in over the last week, with nighttime lows dropping into the 9-10 degree range.  We are still looking at highs in the low 30’s for the time being, but it looks like we should start to get back into the low 40’s by next week.  Crowds have just about disappeared, with a good percentage of folks looking to fill their freezer before hunting season ends on the 25th, and the fishing has actually been very good this November. [...]

Madison River Fishing Report for October 26th, 2018 Dam: 921 cfs Kirby: 1,040 cfs Varney: 1,090 cfs The weather around here has been nothing short of spectacular over the last two weeks, but it looks like cooler temperatures will be moving back in after the weekend.  Normally we’d be ok with keeping a little more sunshine around, but something has got to pick up the streamer bite on the Madison and hopefully this next cycle of rain and snow will be exactly what we need.  We will be looking at highs in the low 40’s after Sunday with plenty of [...]

Madison River Fishing Report for October 4th, 2018 Dam: 931 cfs Kirby: 1,020 cfs Varney: 1,050 cfs Madison River fishing report. The Upper Madison continues to fish well this Fall.  Obviously some days are better than others, and the windy ones have made for a little tougher bite, but the river has been holding its own for the most part.  Flows are about normal for this time of year, and air temperatures have made for some really pleasant days over the last week but that is about to change starting tomorrow.  The forecast is calling for highs in the high [...]

Madison River Fishing Report for September 20th, 2018 Dam: 985 cfs Kirby: 1,020 cfs Varney: 1,020 cfs While the first day of Fall doesn’t start until this Saturday, it certainly feels like it is well underway throughout the Greater Yellowstone Region.  Cooler nighttime temps and crisp mornings have the leaves turning colors in sync with our resident brown trout, and everyone around here is starting to get their streamer boxes in order for the big season ahead. […]

Madison River Fishing Report for September 3rd, 2018 Dam: 1,140 cfs Kirby: 1,180 cfs Varney: 1,180 cfs The Upper Madison has been fishing very well over the last several weeks, and this August was certainly one for the books in terms of dry fly fishing.  We seem to be on a steady weather pattern this week with most nights dropping the mercury into the low 30’s followed by very pleasant afternoons in the 70-80 degree range.  With the vast majority of surrounding rivers fishing well and school being back in session, crowds have been fairly minimal and the fishing has [...]

Madison River Fishing Report for August 7th, 2018 Dam:  1,170 cfs Kirby: 1,270 cfs Varney: 1,380 cfs The Upper Madison continues to hold its own through the first week of August, and while inconsistency is very much a part of this time of year we have had some very good days on the river lately.  That said, there have been some very slow ones too, but that is sort of the name of the game from here on out as August is generally as inconsistent as it gets.  Water levels and temperatures have been excellent throughout the entire river, and [...]

Madison River Fishing Report for July 26th, 2018 Dam: 1,330 cfs Kirby: 1,450 cfs Varney: 1,670 cfs The Upper Madison is still fishing well throughout its entirety, and some cooler nights and afternoon thunderstorms have kept water temperatures at good levels for most of the day.  We are starting to see temps hit 68-70 degrees during the late afternoon hours, so you might consider taking a break until they start to drop again in the evening.  Traffic on the river has also started to slow down quite a bit, as many other options in the area like the Yellowstone, Gallatin, [...]

Madison River Fishing Report for July 14th, 2018 Dam: 1,300 cfs Kirby: 1,480 cfs Varney: 1,810 cfs The Upper Madison continues to hold its own throughout July and we have had some of the best dry fly fishing we have seen in years over the last several weeks.  That said, it has been a scorcher out there over the last few days and fish have been putting their heads down once it starts to creep into the the mid 80’s and 90’s.  If dries are what you seek then you’ll want to stick more to the 8:00 am – 1:30 [...]

Madison River Fishing Report for July 4th, 2018 Dam: 1,300 cfs Kirby: 1,510 cfs Varney: 1,960 cfs It’s hard to believe that July is already and with some of the most precipitous weeks we’ve seen in June for quite some time, it has been really nice to bask in good ol’ fashion Summer sunshine over the last week.  The river has dropped to around 1,500 at Kirby and just over 2,000 cfs in town which is pretty much the perfect flow for both sections of the river. […]