Madison River
Dam: 974 cfs
Kirby: 1,030 cfs
The sub-par dry fly fishing that we described in our last report has improved with leaps and bounds over the last week, and fish have been eating midges like a champ when the wind hasn’t been ripping them off the water. Stillborn midges, Goober midges, Griffith’s Gnats, and Black or Gray CDC midges have all been taking good fish in the slower moving slicks and edges of the Upper Madison, and the majority of the hatch has been taking place been between 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.. The nymph bite is still going strong, but we heard a few reports of fish getting a little “snooty” in the more heavily trafficked areas around Raynold’s Bridge. Small $3 Dips and Zebra Midges are still doing the most damage under the surface, but don’t neglect Stonefly nymphs or San Juan Worms this time of year either. With the forecast calling for highs in the mid-forties to low-fifties this week, we should start to see water temps begin to rise into the low 40’s once again and that could improve the streamer fishing quite a bit. We are still getting good fish to eat a variety of small sculpin imitations, and most of the larger fish have been right against the bank or in the deeper tail outs.