These past few months this summer have been some of the best ones we’ve had in a long time!!! I hope you have been getting out and enjoying the great fishing wherever you are at. Here on the Madison we have had an epic hopper bite above all other bites thus far. It seems like every boat that comes back in is raving about how the hopper bite is getting crazier and crazier. The bite seems to be when the sun is out and shining warm. Little ones, medium ones, big ones and gigantic ones are crawling around as if the battle against the trout is upon them. They are in droves. The armies of hoppers are so big and so vast, even the king and queen cannot stop them! They are EVERYWHERE! Please call for help, please call someone who can cast. Please, we need anglers that can cast in the boat! MORE hook-ups for hoppers sakes! We need to join with the trout and become one force, one giant, unstoppable force against the little 6-legged creatures. The struggle is real, so please hop on the conclusions wave train and assume they will eat it….and throw it!!! And while you are at it, you may as well crack open a single hop brew to throw back while you are throwing that single hopper. Also, take a moment and realize where you are at, amid the hopper battlefield…surrounded by some of the newest mountains in the world, the Greater Yellowstone area, the Madison Range and the mighty Madison River. The Gateway to trout fishing heaven is here, as you step into the golden waters of Montana, we greet you, we encourage you to grab a weapon. May it be a 5, 6 or 7 weight sword of graphite or fiberglass, throw the bug with strength and honor, and you WILL be rewarded with spots and slime of fin and tail.
You have fought well and strong young angler, but ah, the battle still rages on into the night…. for, the nocturnal warriors of stone are here, and some of them are much larger than normal (salmonfly sized). They carry armor of rock about them as they are part of the stonefly regime. But fear not, they may be fast, but they are stupid and swim right into the jaws of the brown and rainbow. So, as you think of resting after casting your weapon all day, say to yourself, “Self, thy rod is wet with action, though it be of the dry caliber, it is wet and fresh of slaying. I shall keep thee wet and cast thee further and softer into the night, for, the nocturnal stones are here, and I shall not rest.”
Strength and honor I give thee. Strength and honor you need. But most of all while you are out in the dark battlefield of the night, we call the river…. keep thy rod bent with glee and realize you are winning, yes…. winning!
Hoppers that are working are as follows:
ALL
Happy Fishing!!! -Dang
Can you guess the fly of the week? Good job! Hoppers! They are flooding the valley. It is getting ridiculous. The fly bins of hoppers in the fly shops are getting low everywhere but the Beartooth! If you are wondering what the best hopper pattern is… look no further, we have the answer; it is the one on the end of your line! We have Yetis, White Clouds, Tony the Tigers, Fat Alberts, Fat Franks, Hippie Stompers, Mongos, Slammers, Yeagers, Triple Deckers, Super Dave’s, even a Joe or two and a slough of parachute hoppers to beat all. The colors vary as to what is really being eaten though; yellow, green, pink, brown, purple, red, tan, black, cream….you know, all of them. I would just ‘hop’ around from pattern to pattern if I were you. But, turns out I’m not you, so do what you will. As far as the timing goes for when they are eating them the best, the hopper bite seems to be most of the early to mid-day and really good on into the afternoon. That’s seems kind of broad as far as time goes, but every guide that is coming back in the shop is saying it has been lights out on the dry from put-in to take-out. And like I have said already this year, if you are the dry or die guy, then this is your time to shine. Some folks who are just learning are experiencing plenty of visual action, drive by trout, missed takes, and and plenty of bites. Make sure you take the time and watch what is going on to see the take. The action is fun! Enjoy! 
Hoppers, Hoppers, and more Hoppers!!! It is hopper season on the Upper Madison River… RIGHT NOW!!! I have not seen this many hoppers in the valley since …. never. Big Dan might say over eight years since…If you want to catch fish on a hopper, now is the time for just that. They are only going to be getting more and more keyed in to them day by day. Double dries are working great right now including Hoppers with different Delektable Chubbyness behind or in front. Also, the Spruce Moths are just getting going and are a good second fly. This is also the time we like to call ‘Hopper Dropper’ time. If you are not getting them on the dry, then they will most likely be eating the dropper you hang under it. PMDs, Caddis and little stones (yellow sally) are all good choices for a dropper. We have been doing well on the Crystal Dip size #16 for the Caddis. People are doing well on the Standard Prince nymph as a Caddis dropper also. I could go through all the possible Droppers you could use, but ill only list a few of the heavy hitters we have seen here in the past week.
Some of the Hoppers we’ve seen go out the door and down the hatch are as follows
The flying ant is also out there and will be working more as the summer progresses on.
This past week we have been experiencing what a fixed damn can do for your river …just like last year, it is becoming quite the epic dry fly season! The water is still up and cold and the bugs are just going crazy. PMDs , Caddis, Sallies, tale end of the Goldens and Salmons, and even the start of the Hopper. Beetles and ants are starting to work as well. So, if you are into the dry fly action more than the subsurface, this is your time to shine my friends. I hope you are all getting a chance to get out and enjoy the beautiful weather. It has been stellar conditions everyday with a very consistent afternoon thunderstorm (3-5pm). After the rain it is on again with the evening hatch. The Mayflies and Spinners are thick like a blanket. The Caddis….wow! Streamer action is pretty good as well if you get bored of all the bugs and maybe during the storm and cloud cover. We have seen some pretty good fish give it up to the streamer. We have also seen the streamer get the attention and the little nymph on the back get all the action. Do what you will with it.
begging you and telling you to use dry flies
mers
