Dam: 934 cfs
Kirby: 1,010 cfs
Varney: 1,370 cfs
Steady as she goes…Fishing on the Upper Madison continues to impress over the last several weeks and we’ve been fortunate to get some much needed moisture here lately. Cooler days and some additional snow in the mountains have slowed down our Spring runoff for the time being, and flows are sitting at roughly 1000 cfs above the West Fork and hovering between 1,250 cfs – 1,400 cfs at Varney Bridge. Nymphing is still the name of the game but the streamer bite is picking up and we should start to see more caddis hatching down by town over the weekend.
Not much has changed in the way of effective nymph patterns since our last report – Pat’s Rubber Legs, Worms, Zebra Midges, JujuBee Midges, Dips, Small Perdigons, and BWO nymphs/emergers are all getting in done as long as your have enough split shot to get them down. We should start to do better on larger mayfly nymphs and caddis pupa on the lower river as we await the arrival of our March Browns and Mother’s Day Caddis that will be hatching here shortly.
Streamer fishing has been good over here too, but it’s definitely been more of an afternoon bite — Not to say you can’t get some fish to chase in the mornings, but it has just been a lot more consistent later in the day. A lot of other fishing reports tend to recommend smaller stuff, but almost all of our big fish have eaten larger articulated patterns thrown tight against the banks. Peanut Envys, Double Screamers, Dungeons and Boogie Men in Black and Olive and CH Barely Legals in Olive/White have been all been getting some great fish in the net lately.
As always, be sure to watch your step out there (or where you drop your anchor) if you plan on heading over, as there are quite a few spawning redds throughout the entire river. If you do encounter cleared gravel, be sure to walk in front of the redd rather than behind as most of the eggs wind up 3-10 ft behind the actual spawning bed.
