Madison River
Dam: 749 cfs
Kirby: 811 cfs
The mercury has been falling drastically over the last few days, and with the local forecast calling for highs in the single digits to mid teens well into next week, there isn’t a huge rush to get on the water before noon at the moment. For the hard-cores out there, you’ll pretty much have the whole river to yourself right now, and nymphs will be the name of the game– The usual fare of midges, pat’s rubber legs, nuke eggs, and $3 Dips will be more than enough to get you through the end of the season…just remember that you will also be clearing the ice out of your guides about every 3rd cast until we start to see temps climb back into the 20’s. For the streamer junkies out there, you’ll do best heading up between the lakes rather than the section below Quake, as water temps should be a good 3-5 degrees warmer. Remember to work the slower insides and tailouts thoroughly this time of year, and keep your retrieves to more of a slow-twitch rather than a jerk-strip. As always, please watch out for spawning redds.
