Category: Fishing Reports

Fly Fishing the Madison River for the First Time

We have had some real fun the last few days with some fly fishers who were fly fishing the Madison River for the first time. The first was Hermon Bain, the superb Bahamian guide and owner of Hermon’s Andros Island Bonefishing. Anyone who wants a great experience bonefishing will not go wrong by lining up Hermon.

Hermon had a great time dry fly fishing with the Big Bugs and caught a nice brown on a little fly–a #14 Rusty Spinner. He missed a great salmonfly take, but sure got a great charge out of it. He won’t soon forget it.

Next were my sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Gloria and Mike Ogden, from Houston, Texas. On Gloria’s first day out, she caught an 18" Brown Trout on a Red Wire Worm–the first fish she ever caught on a fly rod. Her husband’s fish, caught on a #16 Delektable Pheasant Tail Spanker: Delektable Flies Gallery wasn’t quite that large. It was his second day fly fishing.

Brad

Fly Fishing the Madison River for the First Time

We have had some real fun the last few days with some fly fishers who were fly fishing the Madison River for the first time. The first was Hermon Bain, the superb Bahamian guide and owner of Hermon’s Andros Island Bonefishing. Anyone who wants a great experience bonefishing will not go wrong by lining up Hermon.

Hermon had a great time dry fly fishing with the Big Bugs and caught a nice brown on a little fly–a #14 Rusty Spinner. He missed a great salmonfly take, but sure got a great charge out of it. He won’t soon forget it.

Next were my sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Gloria and Mike Ogden, from Houston, Texas. On Gloria’s first day out, she caught an 18" Brown Trout on a Red Wire Worm–the first fish she ever caught on a fly rod. Her husband’s fish, caught on a #16 Delektable Pheasant Tail Spanker: Delektable Flies Gallery wasn’t quite that large. It was his second day fly fishing.

Brad

Great Times with Dad!

What fun it was to get out dodge for a few hours on Sunday and go fishing with my father on beautiful Madison! We didn’t get into the water until about 3:00pm and I was rowing for the first time (in a pontoon boat) and managed to survive with the only incident being that I lost an oar and had to chase it with my boat using one oar for about a mile until it finally snagged and I could retrieve it. What fun! I was really amazed with how far I could go down the river with one oar, still knowing that at some point I wouldn’t be so lucky anymore if I didn’t retrieve the other oar soon.

For old time’s sake I fished all dries with my dad and we did ok for a couple of rusty fisherman who hadn’t fished the river in around five years. Just goes to show what a busy schedule will do even if you live in fishing paradise. The fly’s that worked for us were a #16 Delektable Twisted Baby in Olive/Gold, # 16 sized yellow stone fly pattern (with yellow legs), # 16 olive caddis and a # 16 peacock hurl bodied stimulator. The fish would only take the smallest patterns we had and were very eager as long as they were small bugs.

I know it will be a day to remember for my dad and I both.

Jenn

Great Times with Dad!

What fun it was to get out dodge for a few hours on Sunday and go fishing with my father on beautiful Madison! We didn’t get into the water until about 3:00pm and I was rowing for the first time (in a pontoon boat) and managed to survive with the only incident being that I lost an oar and had to chase it with my boat using one oar for about a mile until it finally snagged and I could retrieve it. What fun! I was really amazed with how far I could go down the river with one oar, still knowing that at some point I wouldn’t be so lucky anymore if I didn’t retrieve the other oar soon.

For old time’s sake I fished all dries with my dad and we did ok for a couple of rusty fisherman who hadn’t fished the river in around five years. Just goes to show what a busy schedule will do even if you live in fishing paradise. The fly’s that worked for us were a #16 Delektable Twisted Baby in Olive/Gold, # 16 sized yellow stone fly pattern (with yellow legs), # 16 olive caddis and a # 16 peacock hurl bodied stimulator. The fish would only take the smallest patterns we had and were very eager as long as they were small bugs.

I know it will be a day to remember for my dad and I both.

Jenn

Palisades day use area is open. The camping area will remain closed for one to two weeks while the work is being completed.

June 30, 2010

Palisades will be closed on Weekdays until road work is completed!!

Unfortunately, the road workers experienced too many conflicts with the traffic going in and out of the day use area. Palisades will be closed on weekdays effective immediately until the project is completed. Please plan your float and fishing locations accordingly. The day use area will be open on weekends only. We will post a notice when the status changes.

June 27, 2010

My girlfriend Jeanne Williams, owner of the Rainbow Valley Lodge and I had a great day off with Gunnar Folsom as our guide. Our days off are few and far between so we really make the most of them. The weather was sunny, warm, and light on the "W" factor. The river was pretty clean in most places. We did see some light dirt kicking in at Ruby and at Indian Creek but it was so light, you could see through it. The water temps were pretty cool. The fish bite was never consistent but there were some really nice trout to be caught. If you were on the river that Sunday, you would have certainly heard us. Both of us like to scream and giggle when we get a fish bite and we talk to the fish. When we land a nice one, watch out and plug your ears! There were some very gracious folks along the river who survived our screams, thank you.

We did not see any of the Big Bugs on our float from Windy to Storey. One day later one or two were spotted in that stretch but nothing to announce yet. We saw Caddis in different sizes, and Yellow Sallies in various sizes.

The bugs that worked included an assortment but no one fly worked for a long period of time. The twigs and branches on the bottom took some of our bugs. We learned quickly to pull up the flies and not leave them in too long to get snagged. The Delektable™ Hurless in Gray #6 or #8 was possibly my best bug. The other bugs that worked for a short time were the Pat’s Rubberleg in Brown #6, Delektable Stoners in Black/Orange and Brown #6, Delektable EH Twisted Wire in Red and Green #14, Delektable Lil’ Spanker in Red and Green #14 as a trailer to the big bug, a couple different Caddis emergers, the Delektable Badger Screamer caught my nicest trout, and a brief dry experience with two bites on the Delektable Royal Teaser behind a Twisted "X". I tried some Salmon flies with a dropper and no reply. The Whitefish really wanted the Prince Nymph..

You can see we caught some really nice trout. There was a quiet spell in the afternoon and we have heard mixed reports of others having that quiet spell at different times, some later, some earlier. There was no steady pattern. We really had a great time and hope to get out again soon, maybe in a month or two. FYI, as of the writing, the dirt is gone. Thanks Gunnar for taking good care of us. Thanks to Ed and Dan for covering for us back at the shops.

Nancy

Palisades day use area is open. The camping area will remain closed for one to two weeks while the work is being completed.

• River Flow Information for the Upper Madison River
• Interactive Map of the Madison River.
• For up to the minute fishing reports or to get more information on a particular location, please call the shop directly at (406)682-7525.

If I’m dreaming, don’t wake me up!

I’ve been fishing the Madison River for over 20 years, and I can easily say the last three days has been one of the best runs of guiding and fishing I have ever seen. It just doesn’t get any better!

And it doesn’t matter the fishermen’s preference; dries or nymphs, they’re all working. There were stretches where the dries worked better than the nymphs, and vice-versa. But there were also big chunks of the days when both worked equally as well … So many bent rods … So many fish … So many photos … So many smiling fishermen …

The three-day run was with seven clients on a four-boat float. At one point on the third day, the digital cameras were getting passed around as fishermen were comparing pictures of 20-plus-inch trout … Every boat was scoring lots of fish, and lots of big fish … What a day!

Punctuating the action below the water was all the insect life above the water. Small caddis, large Caddis, a variety of Mayflies, Yellow Sallies, Golden Stones and even a smattering of Salmon Flies; the air was teeming with activity. The Salmon flies have been around but not showing a big enough hatch to make noteworthy and report separately. The Salmon Flies are now from Varney up to Lyons. They have not visited the lodge and the front porch which is when we usually announce their presence. The other bugs around the Salmon Flies are what really made the week and they are still out there hatching away.

The list of flies that worked and could work is huge, so let’s talk food groups. On the dries: Stoneflies, especially Goldens, got a lot of attention, along with Mayflies in #16 and #14, and Caddis in #16 and #12. We even tried a large Royal Trude for a little while, for “old times” sake, and it didn’t disappoint. For the nymphs: Caddis and Mayflies in #16 and #14, and Prince Nymphs in #14 and #12 all worked well. But the real “kicker” was Yellow Sally nymphs in #16 and 14, which caught the most, and the biggest fish.

Am I dreaming? Heck no! … It’s the Madison River, the hatches are in high gear, and the fishing is great! … It’s time to go fishing!

Marty

If I’m dreaming, don’t wake me up!

I’ve been fishing the Madison River for over 20 years, and I can easily say the last three days has been one of the best runs of guiding and fishing I have ever seen. It just doesn’t get any better!

And it doesn’t matter the fishermen’s preference; dries or nymphs, they’re all working. There were stretches where the dries worked better than the nymphs, and vice-versa. But there were also big chunks of the days when both worked equally as well … So many bent rods … So many fish … So many photos … So many smiling fishermen …

The three-day run was with seven clients on a four-boat float. At one point on the third day, the digital cameras were getting passed around as fishermen were comparing pictures of 20-plus-inch trout … Every boat was scoring lots of fish, and lots of big fish … What a day!

Punctuating the action below the water was all the insect life above the water. Small caddis, large Caddis, a variety of Mayflies, Yellow Sallies, Golden Stones and even a smattering of Salmon Flies; the air was teeming with activity. The Salmon flies have been around but not showing a big enough hatch to make noteworthy and report separately. The Salmon Flies are now from Varney up to Lyons. They have not visited the lodge and the front porch which is when we usually announce their presence. The other bugs around the Salmon Flies are what really made the week and they are still out there hatching away.

The list of flies that worked and could work is huge, so let’s talk food groups. On the dries: Stoneflies, especially Goldens, got a lot of attention, along with Mayflies in #16 and #14, and Caddis in #16 and #12. We even tried a large Royal Trude for a little while, for “old times” sake, and it didn’t disappoint. For the nymphs: Caddis and Mayflies in #16 and #14, and Prince Nymphs in #14 and #12 all worked well. But the real “kicker” was Yellow Sally nymphs in #16 and 14, which caught the most, and the biggest fish.

Am I dreaming? Heck no! … It’s the Madison River, the hatches are in high gear, and the fishing is great! … It’s time to go fishing!

Marty

My initial plan last night was to float Storey Ditch to Burnt Tree, however, that changed pretty quickly when I woke up this morning to pounding rain and wind. Instead, I chose to float Varney to Town, in an effort to avoid a bit of the wind. Fishing was OK. We boated some fish on both the Bow River Bugger as well as the White Legged Black Girdle Bug. All fish caught were on a tight line, either pulling it off the bank or through the deeper, straight middle runs. While we did wade a bit right off the bat, we didn’t poke any fish so the clients chose not to wade any holes past the first few outta the chutes. They wanted to chase the color black but dead drifted black bugs weren’t doing it. So we fished out of the boat, and while we didn’t land 100 fish, we did boat a number of 15"-18" browns with one smaller rainbow in the mix. One BB split shot was enough weight under a 9 foot leader to get into the fishes feeding lane. While all the fish we landed were all either on the Bow River Bugger or Girdle Bug, there were a few big fish that straightend a sz.14 Red Lil’ Spanker.

GO FISHING, Charles P.

After a morning of work, and staring out the windows at an absolutely gorgeous, sunny day, the boss said “no mas!”. We had lunch, wrapped up a couple minor projects, then loaded up the truck and headed to the river for some wade fishing.

As usual, it was the right call. That’s why he’s the boss. The fish were as happy to see the beautiful weather as we were; and oh boy, were they biting! We started our trek with a very short drive, straight down the hill behind the lodge. It wasn’t long before the “woo-hoo!”s started, as rods bent, time and again, with hungry Madison River trout, punctuated with majestic leaps into the crisp air.

After a good run of fish behind the lodge, we started working our way up the river. A handful more trout accepted our offerings at another of our favorite holes, then we made the move to our third stop. We again fished in solitude, with no other waders in sight. And like the first two stops, the fish were hungry and eager, the only difference being, they were even hungrier. Dan, “The Man,” caught 10 trout in one section; six of them coming from one hole … My ears are still ringing from the whooping and hollering.

My highlight of the day, along with the beautiful trout I was landing, was the fact that I was catching them on my favorite wading rig; a 60-year-old Granger bamboo rod, rebuilt by Dan, and a 50-year-old Hardy reel … Catching wild trout on the Madison River with vintage gear … Priceless!

The bugs the trout just couldn’t refuse were the Delektable™ Olive Flashback Hurless #6, Delektable Grey Flashback Hurless #6, Delektable Brown Stoner #6, Delektable Red Worms Gone Wild #8 and Delektable Lil’ Spanker #14 in Red, Silver and Pheasant Tail: Delektable Flies Gallery

Oh, and the reports we are still hearing about the Madison being blown-out. Well, for lack of a better term, they are blown-out, of proportion. Just check out the water in the pictures. It’s not muddy. There is a stain, but with good clarity … And, as I may have mentioned already, the fish are biting — hard! Customers who stopped at the shop for a shuttle called later today to confirm their good fishing results and success with the same flies we used and streamers too..

So grab your gear and go fishing!

Marty