Hebgen Dam: 716 cfs
Kirby: 779 cfs
Varney: 994 cfs
The Upper Madison has been fishing well this Winter with the usual fare of midges, small stonefly nymphs and smaller streamers. A lot of our lower elevation snow is basically gone from Ennis to Palisades due to the recent warm spell, and all the boat ramps between Ruby and Burnt Tree are open for business. It’s going to be awhile before Lyons, Windy, and Palisades are accessible to boat trailers but Ruby to Burnt is a pretty good chunk of water to have available in the first few days of March on this river. That said, the forecast is calling for temperatures dropping back into the 30’s this week so you might want to pick a shorter afternoon float or fish on foot until we get another break in the weather
We have mostly been sticking to the upper stretches between Raynolds and the West Fork and not much has changed in the way of effective patterns over the last several months — Jujubee Midges, Zebra Midges, Black Dips, BWO nymphs, and Small Pat’s Rubber Legs have all been good producers. Just make sure you are getting down on the bottom of the slowest and deepest water possible and you should do well out there. We have also seen some good dry fly action on adult midges during the late morning and early afternoon hours, and have been getting some great fish to eat Goober Midges and Harrop’s CDC Adult Midges in #20-#22. If you get the right day and fish are up on clusters then you can definitely get them on Griffith’s Gnat, Buzzballs, and the like but the single adult midges have been far more effective in terms of consistency.
Some decent streamer fishing reports have come in over the last week, which is always music to our ears. Thinner profile patterns like peanut envys and double screamers or small sculpin imitations like mini dungeons seem to be doing the most damage but don’t be afraid to try some bigger stuff if you’re fishing closer to town.
