Dam: 853 cfs
Kirby: 988 cfs
Varney: 1,210 cfs
5/5 Update: The Upper Madison is still running clear between Quake and Lyon’s Bridge but clarity is not great from Windy Point down to Ennis Lake. The West Fork and Indian Creek and putting in a lot of dirty water, so your best bet is to head up river until conditions improve. Visibility in Ennis was about a foot this morning.
The Upper Madison has been fishing very well this month and we have been fortunate to have some warmer weather than usual over the last couple of months. Montana FWP opened up Ennis and Valley Garden a few days ago as well, so all the ramps from Raynold’s to Valley are good to go. We’ve had some great fishing in the upper wade section between Quake and Lyon’s Bridge, and the float stretch has been good to us as long as the wind isn’t ripping out of the North. All in all, the Upper Madison is a great place to fish for the time being.
There are good numbers of midges and BWO’s hatching right now, but most of the good fishing has been subsurface. Zebra Midges, Jujubees, Galloup’s BWO Nymphs, Barr’s Emergers, Juju Baetis, Smaller Pat’s Rubber Legs, Olive Hot Spots, and Baetis Perdigons have all been fishing well for us under the indicator this week. If you are looking to throw at some rising fish, head up river between Raynold’s and Pine Butte and you should find some heads poking up during the early afternoon hours as long as it’s not too windy. For midges we like Kelly’s Goober Midge and Rene Harrop’s CDC Midge Adult in #20-#22 and Nyman’s BWO Cripple, Purple Hazes, and BWO Wedgewings in #18 if you find fish up on Baetis Duns.
Streamer Fishing has been good lately too, but mostly during afternoons and evenings. Some of the better patterns over the last week have been mini dungeons, mini D&D’s, Double Screamers, Sex Dungeons, and small sculpin patterns. Fish has been a little lackadaisical first thing in the morning, so keep it low and slow until water temperatures start to climb in the early afternoon hours.
Both the Slide Inn and the North Slide are now open 7 days a week, so be sure to stop by and get the latest river update and grab a few bugs before you head out to the river.
