Madison River Fishing Report for October 29th, 2020
Dam: 942 cfs
Kirby: 1,040 cfs
Varney: 1,150 cfs
Aside from some chilly weather over the last 10 days, the Upper Madison continues to fish well this October and we are officially out of the deep freeze for the time being. The forecast is calling for highs in the 50’s through next Wednesday and crowds have been relatively small, so now is a great time to hit the river if you get the chance.
Nymph fishing has been good to excellent up here, with small midges and BWO nymphs being the most consistent producers along with small Pat’s Rubber Legs, San Juan Worms, and Perdigons. As water temperatures start to climb back into the mid to upper 40’s we should start to see more BWO’s hatching again and we could be in store for some great dry fly fishing during the early afternoon hours. There should be plenty of Pseudos in the mix as well (or Iswaeon anoka if you want to geek out a bit), so make sure to have some #22-#24’s in your baetis box before you head to the river, as educated fish will generally snub a size 20 if they are selectively eating Pseduos. We have also seen fish up on midge adults and small clusters as well.
Streamer fishing has picked up on the upper stretches, but it has remained a little more difficult on the lower portions of the river below Varney. Fish have been willing to chase larger articulated patterns from the area Between the Lakes down to Storey Ditch with a lot more consistency and we have been doing well on regular and Mini Dungeons, Peanut Envy’s, Double Screamers, and Silk Kitties. Most of the fish have been eating them on a fairly fast retrieve from the early afternoon hours until dark, but we have been doing better on the slow twitch for the better part of the morning.
As always, be sure to watch your step out there if you are planning on hitting any of the surrounding rivers this time of year, as we are seeing more and more spawning redds on the river with each passing day. If you do encounter cleared gravel, please be sure to walk in front of the bed rather than behind it as most of the eggs are deposited 3-10′ downstream.
