Madison River Fishing Report

The Madison river fishing report from The Slide Inn is the most thorough and accurate report you will find on the Upper Madison River. These reports are written by people who are on the river every day and people you can trust to give you the straight scoop. If you are looking for the latest Madison river fishing report, be sure to give the shop a call and one of our staff members will bring you up to speed.

Filters

Madison River Fishing Report

October 23, 2019November 9, 2018

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

October 23, 2019October 26, 2018

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 clouds in the mix, so now is a good time to get your Fall fix on the Upper Madison before Winter engulfs the Greater Yellowstone Region.

Madison River Fishing Report

October 23, 2019October 4, 2018

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 thirties to low forties for the next seven days, and we will definitely see some snow heading our way. The good news is that foul weather generally keeps the crowds down and we should be in store for some good hatches of BWO’s and Pseudos.

Madison River Fishing Report

October 23, 2019September 20, 2018

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

October 23, 2019September 4, 2018

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 been well worth the drive most days.

Madison River Fishing Report

October 23, 2019August 7, 2018

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 the foot/boat traffic has been pretty slim from what we’ve seen in years past. Long story short, you could do worse that hit the Upper Madison right now if you are looking for some good fishing during the dog days of Summer.

Madison River Fishing Report

October 23, 2019July 26, 2018

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, and the waters of Yellowstone National Park are also fishing well.

Madison River Fishing Report

October 23, 2019July 14, 2018

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 pm time slot, and then go hit the evening caddis from 6:30 pm to dark. This should hopefully change once we get a break in the weather, and highs go back to the high seventies and low eighties.

Madison River Fishing Report

October 23, 2019July 5, 2018

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.

Madison River Fishing Report

October 23, 2019June 21, 2018

Madison River Fishing Report for June 20th, 2018

Dam: 2,510 cfs

Kirby: 2,990 cfs

Varney: 3,710 cfs

NorthWestern Energy had been holding flows back last week in order to fill up Hebgen and with all the rain we received it got to full pool in a hurry. With a full lake and a lot more water coming into it than they were letting out, it was time to bring up the flows in a big way and we are back to almost 3,000 cfs at the Kirby Gauge. Nobody knows when they will start to bring the water down, but our best guess is that it will start to drop over the weekend.