Hebgen Dam: 733 cfs
Kirby: 803 cfs
Varney: 949 cfs
Fishing on the Upper Madison is still a little tough these days, but if you keep at it you can bring 6-8 good fish to hand as long as you capitalize on your opportunities — You’ll have some smaller fish and a whitey or two in the mix as well. Flows have been on the lower side since mid August and we anticipate them to hover between 700-800 cfs out of Hebgen for the rest of the year, but that is still enough water to float the vast majority of the river. Everyone in the valley has been keeping their fingers crossed for an early fall in the Greater Yellowstone Region and we might just get one after all — The forecast is calling for highs in the mid 60’s- low 70’s with a chance of rain almost every day starting next Tuesday.
Other than early morning streamer fishing, there hasn’t been a huge need to get on the water before 9 am, as most of the action seems to be in that 10 am – 3 pm window and then again later in the evening once water temps begin to cool. We are seeing some early fall baetis and a smattering of darker caddis, but that is about it for aquatic insects right now. Fish have been more interested in the nymphal stages of these insects than the winged adults, and they haven’t been sticking their noses up for anything other than ants or small hopper lately. Some of the better nymph patterns we’ve been using in both the float and wade sections have been Micro Mayflies, Weiss’ BP, Juju Baetis, Three Dollar Dips, Zebra Midges, and small perdigons.
Dry Fly fishing has actually picked up a bit over the last two weeks, especially in the upper reaches. Fish have seen just about every realistic hopper in the bins so try using small Chernobyls and micro foam patterns that are a little more out of the box and you will get some nice fish out there. We’ve also had a few nice fish eat the ant with all the cinnamon flying ants out there lately.
Streamer fishing has been good to excellent during the morning hours, but seems to slow down a bit a little after 11 am unless we have a cloudy day. Larger articulated patterns have been more effective on the lower parts of the river, but we’ve had the most luck with smaller stuff from Quake down to McAtee – Baby Gongas, Mini T&A’s, Big Zonkers, CH Barely Legals, Mini Dali Lamas, and Mini Dungeons are all good choices as of late if you are fishing up high.
