- Hegben Dam: 707 CFS
- Kirby: 875 CFS
- Varney: 1110 CFS
Fishing on the Upper Madison is about as good as it gets right now, and we are getting some much needed water out of the Dam this week. Flows were increased to just over 700 cfs yesterday and we are holding at just under 900 cfs at the Kirby gauge and 1100 cfs at Varney — We could use a little more, but this is still light years better than the 600-700 cfs we saw at Kirby just a week ago. We are also happy to report that Hebgen is around 98% full, so we should have plenty of water to make it through the Summer.
Salmonflies and Golden Stones made it up river in a hurry, and the heart of the hatch is now in the upper wade section between Raynolds and the West Fork. You can still find quite a few from Lyon’s to Windy Point but they will most likely be gone in the couple of days. We have had our best action on the big bug during the late morning and early afternoon hours, and then again in the evening. Low-riding patterns like Water Walkers and Fools Golds have been some of the top producers along the shallow banks in the float section, but don’t be afraid to throw some bigger patterns like Flutter Bugs or Egg Drops in the fast stuff during the heat of the day when the bugs are flying.
If you can’t get them to eat the Big Bug then there are plenty of other options for you. PMDs, Yellow Sallies, Green Drakes, Flavs, and Caddis are out in force and fish have been far more eager to eat the smaller dry. The best window for dry fly fishing seems to be in that 10 am – 2 pm window and then again in the evening for caddis. Some of our better patterns this week have been Royal and Rootbeer Micro Chubbies in #14-16, #14-#16 Purple Hazes, #14-#18 Olive and Tan Cornfed Caddis, #16 Missing Link Caddis, #14-#18 X-Caddis, #14-#16 Rusty Spinners, #16 Nyman’s DOA PMD Cripple, Nyman’s DOA Cripple Green Drake, #16 Silvey’s Yellow Sally, and #16 Freed’s Summer Stone in UV Yellow.
Nymph wise, you can pretty much pick your poison and you’ll get some good quality fish….and a pretty healthy amount of whitefish while you’re at it. Small Perdigons, Caddis Larva/Pupa, PMD nymphs, CDC Princes, Olive Spanish Bullets, Three Dollar Dips, and Yellow Sally Nymphs are all getting it done out there. Just be sure to play around with your depth during a heavy emergence, as we are finding a lot of fish eating 6″-12″ below the surface and you can get below them pretty easily if you’re not paying attention.
Streamer fishing is an early morning game on the Upper Madison right now unless you have a rainy day. Thin profile flies like Envys and Double Screamers and small sculpin patterns are your best option during this period of low flows and you’ll want a floating line of 200 grain sinking line to pull fish out of the shallows. You can get them to chase up until 9-10 am, but once the bugs start popping it’s been pretty tough out there.
