Hebgen Dam: 1,130 cfs
Kirby: 1,300 cfs
Varney: 1,530 cfs
It’s been a hot one out there ladies and gentlemen, but the Upper Madison continues to hold its own and we’ve been having some pretty good fishing out there lately. Water temperatures are starting to get into the 69-70 degree range by 3:30 pm, so the best windows for fishing have been from dawn until 3 pm and then again from 7:30 pm until dark for evening caddis and spinner falls. Right now we have a hoot owl closure from the Ennis boat ramp down to Ennis lake, meaning that this section is closed to fishing after 2 pm and does not open again until midnight. If warmer water temperatures persist we may see hoot owl closures from Eight Mile down to the Ennis Lake, but it is highly unlikely that we will see one upstream from there this year. Also worth noting is that the small section between Yellowstone National Park and Hebgen Lake is also on hoot owl regulations.
There are still a few Golden Stones fluttering around the upper stretches, but the big bugs have come and gone for the most part and it is time to start focusing on the smaller dries. There are still tons of Caddis, PMDs, Yellow Sallies, Epeorus, and even a few Green Drakes and the best window to get in on the action seems to be in that 8:30 am – 12:30 pm slot for the time being. Most of the bugs are thickest from Quake Lake down to Palisades, but you can still find a lot between Pal and Story Ditch…numbers start to dwindle quite a bit once you get below Cameron Flats though. Some of our better patterns this week have been Corn Fed Caddis in #16-18, Micro Chubbies in #14-18, X-Caddis in #16-18, Rusty Spinners in #14-16, PMD Cripples, Freed’s Summer Stone Sally, Silvey’s Yellow Sally, Purple Hazes, and Cutter’s E/C Caddis in #16-18. As previously mentioned, you’ll have a tough time getting them to look up much after 3 pm so it might be a good idea to take an afternoon nap, grab an early dinner, and head back out for evening caddis from 7:30 pm until dark.
The nymph bite has also been good lately, particularly in the upper stretches. Caddis Larva, Hares Ear Jigs, Blow Torches, PMD Emergers, Small Perdigons, Olive Bullets, CDC Princes, Dips, and Soft Hackles have all been good choices out there. Fish have been holding on the faster seams and pockets of the river so make sure you have enough weight on and you should get more than your fair share of opportunities. We have been doing well running dry-dropper rigs with small chubbies as well as double nymph rigs under the indicator.
Streamer fishing is still on the back burner for the time being, but if you get the itch to strip up a big one you’ll do best from dawn until 8:30 am and then again once the sun goes down. Once the bugs start to dry up our bigger fish start chasing down small sculpin and baitfish with more regularity.
