Madison River
Dam: 1,430 cfs
Kirby: 1,700 cfs
Varney: 2,190 cfs
Visibility has improved on the Upper Madison over the last few days, and we are now holding at just over two feet and green. Fishing continues to be very productive in the wade section with nymphs and streamers, and we’ve even had a few good reports from the dry fly crowd with BWOs in the slower pockets and slicks when the clouds have moved in. PPL did raise the water from 1,250 to 1,430 cfs yesterday, and the afternoon bite seemed to slow down a bit as a result, but we should be good to go again by tomorrow or Thursday at the latest. Not much in the way of effective patterns has changed…brown and black pat’s rubber legs, san juans, baetis nymphs, and Hydropsyche larva have all been doing their fair share of damage. Olive and black Sex Dungeons, double screamers, butt monkeys, and various sculpin imitations continue to pull out some of the better fish along the banks, so don’t leave your streamer stick at home if you decide to come up this way.
