Fishing Locations

The Upper Madison river has been fishing well this last week with the fairly consistent flows with the exception of the recent cold snap, in which it has dropped significantly for the time being. We can expect this to rise again with warm weather approaching. It's currently running at 1850 cfs with water temps averaging around 50 degrees. Down lower, fish your big stones, big caddis pupa, and streamers. Keep an eye out for caddis popping throughout the day and into the evening. An olive elk hair caddis will get the job done for the rising fish. The West fork is still dumping a little bit of mud, but i think the bulk of it is over. Clarity is still fine all the way down until town.  Nymphing has been the most consistent producer with worms, stones, and smaller mayfly nymphs being the best options. There are also some caddis up this way so keep an eye on the soft water and you may be rewarded with some great dry fly fishing. Additionally, Look for the salmon fly hatch to start in Ennis this week. It may be Wednesday or Thursday, but with the forecasted weather and the nymphs already staged to go, it is going to happen soon! Do not head this way without a few big orange dries in your box!  Be mindful when wading certain sections of the river, even at low flows, this is a difficult one to maneuver.  ** The bridge construction at Varney access began on March 29th and will run through December 2019. Text Varney to 22828 for construction alerts. ** Varney bridge is no more. They will be leaving a small hole that you can sneak a boat through. The access point will still be open for put in and take out. 

Text "Troutfitters" to 313131 for automatic fishing report updates right to your phone.

Fly Pattern Suggestions

Dries| Griffiths Gnat: 16-20, purple haze: 16-20, Matts Midge: 18, Royal Wulff: 16-18, Renegades: 16-18, Purple Para Wulff: 16-18-20, Quigley's Cluster: 14-16,

Nymphs| Zirdle Bug Black: 6, Mega prince: 8-12, Delektable Hurless: 6-10, Lightning Bug Purple or Silver: 16-18, SH Thorax Bead, Tan: 14-16-18, SH Copper John: 14-16, Green Machine PT: 18-20, King Prince:12-16, Coppertone: 6-8, Pat's Rubberlegs: 6-8-10, Copper John Black and Blue: 16-18-20, Green Machine: 16-18-20, Eggs: 8, crystal dip: 16-18 three dollar dip:16, Worms: 12-16

Streamers| Smoke N Mirrors Cream #4, Sparkle Minnow Smoke #4, Complex Twist Bugger White Size #4, Sex Dungeon Rust, Yellow, Black: 2 Silvey's Sculpin Black: 2 Conehead JJ Special: 2-4 Home Invader Yellow, White: 2 Zonkers White, Olive, Natural/Copper: 4-6, Double Screamer Streamer Olive/Black: 2 Circus Peanut Olive: 2 Sculpzilla Black, Dark Olive: 4-8, 2 Dolly Llama white, 8 Baby Gonga white

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More USGS Water Data