Madison River Fishing Report for June 5th, 2020
Dam: 2,410 cfs
Kirby: 3,260 cfs
Varney: 4,300 cfs
Flows on the Upper Madison continue to rise and we should start to see them level off once it hits 3,500 cfs at the Kirby Gauge above the West Fork. Floating under Sun West and Wolf Creek Bridges is still a no go, so you don’t want to put a boat in at Lyon’s Bridge until we start to see water levels get below 2,700 cfs (or lower if you are in a high sided boat/raft). Visibility is around 8″-10″ above the West Fork and will only get worse the further you go downstream towards Ennis; however, the sub-surface fishing is still good in the upper wade stretch.
While the fishing has been a little more inconsistent with the bump in flows each day, you can still go out there and catch a handful of quality fish if you target the right water. Nymphs are still the way to go out there, as the streamer fishing has been a little slower in the sun, and Pat’s Rubber Legs in Black and Olive/Brown, Hot Pink San Juan Worms, Purple Lightning Bugs, Olive Caddis Larva, and Darker Mayfly Nymphs have been some of our best patterns over the last week. Obviously a lot of the traditional holding water on the Madison is blown out due to the high volume of water, but if you do find soft pools or slicks you can rest assured that a lot of fish are holding in there. Just keep working those areas until you figure out what they’re eating and you should do well.
As we mentioned earlier, the streamer bite has been a little more inconsistent this week but we are still getting some really nice fish to eat if you put your time in. Most of the browns have been within 8″ of the bank, and larger articulated patterns like Dungeons and Boogie Men have seen the most action. Black and Olive have been the most consistent for us, especially when you have a little bit of cloud cover or in the evening hours.
As always, we are right in the middle of the spawn for our resident rainbows so please watch your step out there. If you do encounter cleared gravel, please remember to walk in front of the spawning redd rather than behind it as most of the eggs end up settling 3′-10′ behind the actual redd.