Madison River
Dam: 1,910 cfs
Kirby: 2,930 cfs
Varney: 4,670 cfs
The plug of mud that had been creeping closer toward the outlet of Quake finally made it to the river, and we are now at 4-6″ of visibility and just under 3,000 cfs at the Kirby Gauge. The streamer bite has definitely slowed down since the mud hit, but the nymph fishing is still producing good numbers of quality fish throughout the wade section. Pink, purple, and brown San Juans, Black and Olive Pat’s Rubber Legs, lightning bugs, shop vacs, hares ears and other baetis nymphs have been the ticket under the indicator for the last few days, but rest assured they aren’t the only ones getting it down out there. If you are looking for relative solitude and great nymph fishing then the upper 10 miles of the Madison is certainly a good bet, but you are definitely going to have to get down and dirty around here for another 2-3 weeks at the very least.
