Madison River Fishing Report for July 6th, 2023
Dam: 1,070 cfs
Kirby: 1,340 cfs
Varney: 1,760 cfs
The Upper Madison has started to come into its own this week, and we are seeing good numbers of aquatic insects hatching from top to bottom. You can find salmonflies and golden stones between the West Fork of the Madison and Storey Ditch and fish have started to key in on them a little better over the last several days. The first 8-10 days of the hatch were pretty tough on the lower river, as was fishing in general, but a combination of lower flows and more stable fronts have finally got the big bug bite going. Water Walkers, Egg Drop Salmonflies, Henry’s Fork Foam Stones, and Flutter Bugs in sizes 4 – 8 have been our go-to’s and we are finding most of our fish tight to the banks. In addition to the big stoneflies, you can expect to see tons of caddis, PMDs, yellow sallies, Epeorus, Green Drakes, and Flavs and the best time period for dry fly activity seems to be after 10:00 am or so.
If you can’t get them to look up, the nymph bite has started to get good around here as well. Olive Caddis Larva, $3 Dips, Tungsten Yellow Sallies, PMD Barr’s Emergers, Small Perdigons, and CDC Princes have all been productive patterns as of late. Most of the fish are moving to the slicks and faster seams during the late morning and afternoon hours so make sure to cover all likely holding areas and you should do well out there.
Streamer fishing has been surprising good lately too. Generally speaking, our toughest streamer fishing on the Madison is usually when the bulk of our insects hatch in the first two to three weeks of July. That said, we have had good reports on bigger articulated patterns this week in both the float and wade sections, so don’t hesitate to string up your sinking line if that’s what you’re in to. Some of the better patterns right now are CH Barely Legals, Silk Kitties, Mini Dungeons, Envys, and Double Screamers.
