Madison River
Dam: 1,010 cfs
Kirby: 1,090 cfs
Varney: 1,200 cfs
It’s nice to see a little more water in the ditch, and word on the creek is that we can expect to see a little more coming out of the dam in the next week or so. That being said, higher flows and colder temperatures at night have lowered the peak water temps at least three degrees or so, which were getting a little high throughout the later part of August. Most of the aquatic insects in the river are done for the year, but we are still seeing decent numbers of caddis above Raynolds in the evenings. However, it is unlikely you will see much in the way of bug activity below the bridge until the blue wings and midges start showing up on more overcast days. Terrestrial fishing has been day to day in the float section, with smaller hoppers like the #10-12 golden Morrish and #12 Rainy’s hopper being the top guns for the time being. We have also had some great days on black and cinnamon ants during the afternoon. If you plan on putting in below Lyon’s anytime soon, make sure to bring some flying honey ants with you because when they start flying, fish start getting silly, and there shouldn’t be any mystery as to what they are exploding on the surface for. We’ve had our best luck on Kelly’s Cinnamon or Brown Ant Acid in size 14 as well as Nyman’s foam flying ant in size 14.
The wade section has been far more consistant these days, especially with nymphs. The water has been a little cooler up here, so there’s no need to be on the river before 8:00 a.m. unless you want to throw some streamers, but we have been doing very well on Hydropsyche Caddis larva, midges, and BWO nymphs throughout the day. Again, the hopper bite has been day to day up here, but some folks came in the other day with big grins on their faces and returned to the counter a minute later with a fist-full of #8-#10 Grand Hoppers…enough said. Trailing a #16 black or brown ant behind a hopper is probably your best bet right now if you’re looking to throw dries above Lyons.
And now for the fun stuff…Streamer fishing has really picked up over the last few days, and our guides have returned with some very happy clients and stories of angry brown trout. Early and late has been the most consistent, but we’ve also had a few days where the afternoon was incredible as well…shouldn’t be long before we start to see more browns coming up from Ennis Lake and into the float section. Sex Dungeons, Peanut Envys, Double Screamers, and T&A Bunkers have been the ticket, so don’t be afraid to start stringing up your sinking lines and start hunting.
