Madison River
Dam: 900 cfs
Kirby: 1,200 cfs
Varney: 1,660 cfs
The Upper Madison is in top shape right now, and the dry fly fishing has been great to just downright ridiculous over the last ten days. The bulk of our Salmonflies are between Ruby and Quake Lake, as are the golden stones and yellow sallies, and fish have been up on them in a big way. Flavs, PMDs, both species of Epeorus, five different species of caddis, and even green drakes can be found throughout the Upper river– Simply put, the Madison is as good as it is going to get all year, and I would stop what I was doing right now and head up here as soon as possible. Evening caddis and eperorus spinner falls have also started up in the wade section, so be sure to have a variety of X-Caddis and rusty spinners if you plan on fishing until (or after) dark. Streamer fishing has slowed down a little over the last week, but you can still get a good tug if you plan on heading on really early or late in the evening. If you’re looking to nymph up some runs I wouldn’t be without a few rubberlegs, but people seem to be doing best on yellow sally nymphs, caddis larva/pupa, and PMD emergers.
