Madison River Fishing Report for July 21st, 2022
Dam: 1,060 cfs
Kirby: 1,260 cfs
Varney: 1,560 cfs
The Upper Madison is still fishing well with dries and nymphs and we are starting to see some better streamer fishing on the lower parts of the river. Warmer temperatures and bright sun have made some afternoons a little tough, but we are still getting in some great fishing throughout the morning, early afternoon, and evening hours. The forecast is calling for highs in the mid to high 80’s through next week, so feel free to take a break from the afternoon heat and head back out around 7:00 pm for the evening caddis hatch.
Salmonflies and Golden Stones have come and gone but the upper and middle sections of the river are still exploding with Caddis, PMDs, Yellow Sallies, and Epeorus. From Cameron Flats down to Ennis the aquatic insects are starting to dwindle in numbers, but there have been good numbers of nocturnal stoneflies starting to make their presence known and small terrestrials have been bringing fish to the surface with more regularity this week. Fishing with small dry flies has been best from 9:30 a.m. until around 1:00 p.m. and we have been doing well on a variety of caddis such as Butch Caddis, Missing Links, Corn Fed Caddis, and X-Caddis. There are also a good number of yellow sallies still filling the skies in the late morning to early afternoon hours and fishing a small stimulator like Silvey’s Yellow Sally trailing a smaller PMD or Caddis Pattern has been key for some really nice fish as of late. Other attractor patterns like small royal PMX’s, Cripple Royal Wulffs, Micro Chubbies, and Purple Hazes are also great options.
Nymphs are still getting it done out there, but you will definitely get your fair share of whitefish and smaller trout as well. Olive Caddis Larva, Caddis Pupa, FFKA Princes, $3 Dips, Perdigons, Sally Nymphs, and PMD emergers have all been great choices again this week. With ideal flows at both the Kirby and Varney gauge fish can hold just about anywhere right now, so be sure to check out everything from the banks to the middle of the river and anything in-between that looks fishy.
As we mentioned earlier, streamer fishing has started to pick up with bigger articulated patterns early in the morning, but it has been hard to get them to chase much after that in the upper portions of the river with so much bug activity going on. If you are looking to put together a full morning and early afternoon of streamer fishing you will do best by heading to the lower sections of the river between Storey and Valley Garden. Some of our better patterns lately have been Peanut Envys, Double Screamers, Mini Dungeons, and barely legals, and fish have been more than willing to chase down a fast strip throughout the early morning hours.
