Madison River
Dam: 1,530 cfs
Kirby: 2,290 cfs
Varney: 2,630 cfs
Everybody’s favorite hatch is finally here. We have loads of salmonflies, Goldens, and Yellow Sallies throughout the float section, but particularly from Palisades down to Varney Bridge. My guess is that we should start to see them pop around Lyons any time now, and the visibility has improved dramatically over the last couple of days. Cabin Creek has really cleared up, and Beaver Creek isn’t much further behind. More importantly, the West Fork is putting in clear water, which should improve the dry fly fishing below Lyons. We’re looking at around two feet of visibility in the wade section, and that should only get better as the week progresses. A few people said they got them on golden stones yesterday, but I have a feeling they will be looking up a lot more as the clarity improves. Nymphing is still the way to go, and it has ranged from very good to downright stupid with caddis larva, rubberlegs, yellow sally nymphs, and caddis pupa being the top producers. We have also been seeing about a size 18 baetis pop in the mornings, and one boat said yesterday that they were killing them on #18 and #20 pheasant tails until about noon, so don’t overlook the small stuff when you head out there. Long story short, this place is about to go off…maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow…but maybe tomorrow.
