Madison River
Dam: 749 cfs
Kirby: 799 cfs
Varney: 875 cfs
Fishing continues to improve on the Upper Madison and I think it is pretty safe to say that Fall has officially made its presence known in this little corner of the world. We are seeing good numbers of Pseudos and even a few larger BWOs when the wind hasn’t been ripping them off the water, and we should start to see more in the way of fish actually podding up on them over the next week or so. Streamer fishing has been great most mornings, but the 20-30 mph winds and bright sun has made afternoons a little more inconsistent as of late. When the clouds roll in and actually stay put, the bite has been some of the best we’ve seen in recent years. Some of our better patterns over the last couple of weeks have been Boogie Men, Dungeons, Peanut Envys, Double Screamers, and Barely Legals. If streamers aren’t your thing, then running an indicator is your best bet out there. Black or Brown rubber legs in #6-10 has been a staple over the last couple of weeks, and we’ve been trailing a variety of baetis nymphs, serendipities, caddis larva, and midge pupa with good success. A natural or black zonker trailing a small beadhead (PTs, lightning bugs, soft hackles, etc.) is still the code cracker in the float section when all else fails.
