The fishing remains good. The hatches continue to be Caddis of several sizes and
varieties, Mayflies, PMD’s, Sally’s, and a few reports of Spruce Moths and Hoppers. The rusty PMD’s and Flavs are a regular thing. The nymph action has become smaller in size lately. The fish are still eating the dries but seem to like the nymphs more regularly.
Mice are still not
working well on the Madison, but world-record sized sculpin patterns have caught some big fish! (See Pictures for Confirmation) Small caddis and PMD nymphs have owned the game on the river for the most part, however. Pearl lightning bugs, flashback pheasant tails, shop-vacs, soft hackle hare’s ears in sizes #14-#18 have been working well. Of course, the fish change their food preferences from day to day and even hour to hour, so it’s helpful to stay on top of these changes.
If you were looking to fish larger dries during the day, the Fat Albert (Yellow/Red Thread) in #12 and #14 have risen lots of fish in the last week and caught several nice ones. Other dry options would be a parachute adams in gray, purple haze, and of course, the Delektable Halo Caddis!
Dry Fly action has been better in the evening as more and more bugs tend to come off in the afternoon. More importantly, it is high summer and absolutely beautiful in the Madison Valley.
The water is warm, wet-wading season is in full force, but make sure to wear your sunscreen and keep ice in your cooler! Nobody likes a warm beer…. Happy Fishing!
John and Nancy