Madison River
Dam: 680 cfs
Kirby: 770 cfs
Varney: 953 cfs
JUST A REMINDER THAT THE UPPER MADISON BETWEEN QUAKE LAKE AND MCATEE BRIDGE AS WELL AS FROM ENNIS BRIDGE TO ENNIS LAKE IS CLOSED TO ALL FISHING UNTIL MAY 16TH.
Not much has changed on the Upper Madison since the last report with the exception of a little more in the way of BWO activity around Varney. It’s not full blown yet but with a few adults starting to show themselves the bulk of the hatch should start to get going any day now. Nymphing continues to be your best bet in the float stretch, and #8-10 Pat’s Rubber Legs and red and pink san juan worms are still the heavy hitters down there. Small baetis nymphs, zebra midges, $3 dips, caddis larva, and yellow sally nymphs are also good choices if don’t seem to be getting action on the bigger stuff. The streamer bite has been picking up in the afternoon as well, and a good mix of peanut envys, dungeons, and barely legals will get you into some of the bigger browns on the prowl this time of year.
The action between the lakes continues to improve with each passing week, and from the looks of things on Saturday there has been a lot more spawning activity as well. There were new redds around the islands and a lot more between the dam and Cabin Creek than the week before…I know that we sound like a broken record, but PLEASE watch you step out there and feel free to ask other anglers what a spawning redd looks like if you don’t know what to look for. Cabin Creek has been throwing in a little glacial green color downstream to the lake, and the visibility is roughly 2-3 feet below the Campfire. Despite the colder water temps, the streamer bite has actually been really productive. Normally we preach a “low and slow” retrieve this time of year, but we were getting fish to chase pretty hard with bigger articulated patterns thrown along the banks and behind various pockets over the weekend. Nymph anglers with a good selection of midge larva and pupa, rubber legs, egg patterns, and red attractors will have no problem getting into fish on any given day, but week days are still you best bet if you are looking for a little solitude out there.