Madison River Fishing Report for April 12th, 2021
Dam: 778 cfs
Kirby: 897 cfs
Varney: 994 cfs
The Upper Madison has been fishing very well over the last month or so, and all the access points between Quake and Valley Garden are open for business with the exception of Ennis FAS. Flows out of Hebgen were dropped again to just under 800 cfs and we expect them to stay that way until we start to see more substantial runoff coming out of Yellowstone National Park. Hebgen lake is currently sitting at 74.5% full and the snow water equivalent of our snowpack in the Madison Range is roughly 88%, so we are all hoping for a very wet Spring in the months to come or we may be fishing at lower water levels for the majority of the Summer.
Nymphs are still the name of the game these days, and a good selection of Pat’s Rubber Legs, San Juan Worms, Zebra Midges, BWO Nymphs, $3 Dips, and Perdigons are all you need for the time being. With the drop in flows We are starting to see more fish moving into the heavier seams throughout the day, so don’t be afraid to fish some faster water in addition to the slower moving holes and buckets out there. Just make sure you have enough split shot and are getting down to their level, especially on the chillier days.
If you are looking for rising fish, you can still find them on the right day (meaning one with no wind) above the West Fork of the Madison. There are still midges to be found but Blue Winged Olives have been popping up through the surface film as well on the cloudier days. We have seen a few Skwallas around as well but the colder weather seems to have slowed them down a little bit. Look for more of them starting to hatch once the warmer weather moves in over the weekend and into next week.
Streamer fishing has been hit or miss, but we’ve had some really good success on the days where water temps start to climb above 45 degrees. Mini Dungeons, Envys, CH Barely Legals, and small sculpin imitations have been our best patterns especially during the later afternoon hours.
