Tag: Dry Fly
June 26th – July 2nd|Madison River Fishing Report
Well, the big bug bite is on!! Salmon flies have made their way up to and past the shop here and the cooler temps have been slowing them down for us all to enjoy a little longer. Evening caddis hatches have also been KILLER, we definitely recommend an early dinner and getting right back out on the water to experience it. Also expect to see PMD’s, Yellow Sallies, Golden Stoneflies and a few Drake’s out there.
Dry fly fishing has continued keep a smile on everyone’s faces throughout the river. Whether its caddis, mayflies or the salmons and golden stones the fish have been looking up. We recommend having some Delektable Peacock Halo’s in a #16, Olive Delektable C.D.C. Elk Hair Caddis in either a #14 or #16 and earlier in the day it’ll be nice to have a Smoke Jumper PMD emerger or two on a #16 hook. As for the big foamy stuff we’ve been fishing the Delektable Secret Salmon (#6 or #8) and Secret Golden Stone (#10 and #12). They’ve also been liking a small (#14 and #16) Delektable Chubbyness off the back of those big dries as well, either purple or royal for the color. 
Streamer fishing has continued to be put on the back burner due to the all you can eat insect buffet out there. If you’re one of those people that can’t help but to strip the meaty stuff off the banks I’d recommend starting small, something like a Sheila’s Sculpin or a Delektable Single Screamer in white or badger. 
Nymphing has been good as well with all the bugs being so active. The One Man Party and the Shop Vac are doing great for the caddis, sizes #14 and #16 for both. As for the mayfly nymphs we’ve been having good results on Purple Psycho Prince’s, Delektable Pheasant Tail Lil’ Spanker’s in #16, and Red Thread Prince Nymphs in either a #14 or #16.
As always call or stop by the shop for an up to the minute report and HAVE FUN out there!!!
May 9th -13th|Madison River Fishing Report
We hosted a group of Project Heali
ng Waters Vets this week, what a treat to meet these good men who need to get out and fish and spend time in Montana. Our neighbor Mike was gracious enough to be our cook for the week. Thanks Mike. We have been serving up some pretty awesome meals for breakfast and at night with fishing during the days. Dan provided tying clinics in the evenings.
To help the boys get into fish we have been doing a variety of experiences with floats down the river and wading most of the float. Also, we took them on the wade only sections as the river got more off color. The West Fork started kicking in the dirt and for the past four days we have had a split river between the West Fork and Sun West Bridge then dirtier water below to Ennis. The bugs remain the same as we have listed, we just got more creative with the technique. Wading this week has been much more productive than float casting. With wading, you can focus on a bucket or under a bank and find a place where they will eat. Floating is tougher because you have no time to spend on the spot while the water flow is faster. You can see by the pictures there were fish to be caught. We appreciate the help of the guides Bob Frey, Marty, Ian, and Dan. We really enjoyed the company here at the lodge and hope to host the Vets annually. We have done this now for a few years.
A small group of the guys went on a tour of Yellowstone Park and they had a great time seeing lots of wildlife including: Elk, Bison, a Grizzly and her cubs (from a distance with binoculars), Moose, and Big Horn Sheep. They got it all in a short visit.
Today the current CFS jumped up to 2,620, the water out back got dirtier and is dirtier as you get closer to town. This is a time we want to caution folks in boats as getting under and through the Sun West Bridge and the Wolf Creek Bridge is tough, maybe impossible. You will need to walk the boat under the left (West) side if unsure and rafts may have a challenge fitting underneath either bridge at this CFS. The water is flowing pretty fast so wading is also more challenging. Bring your wading staff for help.
So our guests got the best of it this week and it’s a good day for traveling. Thanks to all who helped us take care of a great group of guests.
The Delektable Crew
May 1st -8th|Madison River Fishing Report
Well Spring has sprung here on the Madison
and we’re very sorry we haven’t got a report out to you in a while as we’ve had our hands full getting the season started and getting ready for our Project Healing Waters Guests. The good news is the fishing hasn’t ceased to amaze. Very typical spring conditions means the fish are EATING after a long winter. What’s on the menu? Sculpin, BWO’s, Caddis and March browns. The streamer bite has picked up big time since our last report with Trevor’s sculpin in olive or natural, The Delektable Double Screamer in olive/black or badger, Sculpzilla’s and anything else that imitates 
those mottled little trout snacks that swim around..
The water has been starting to come up and as of this writing the CFS is about 2,450 but don’t let that scare you, with less than a foot of visibility out back (increasing as you go up river) we’re experiencing some epic days on the water but it requires different techniques. You’re going to want to tread carefully with lots of fish being tight to the banks they’ll be easy to spook from careless wading.
Nymphs are going to be producing the numbers as usual, Delektable Stoners in black or brown especially the Egghead ones in a size #8 hook, Delektable Lil’ Spankers in sizes #14 or #16 of the Pheasant Tail variety, size#14 Lightning Bugs and of course the worms, bigger and redder the better. The color redhead is also good in Delektable Big Spankers that have tungsten beads.
On the top side we’ve been getting 
them on size #14 Adams flies, Delektable Halo’s in peacock #16, Delektable CDC Elk Hair Caddis in a #16 and Pheasant Tail cripple’s in #14. Evenings have been best for dry fly fishing so don’t be afraid to stick around till the sun isn’t!! This does require choosing special spots where you can tease them up to the fly and hopefully where you find a bucket with a bit of clarity.
As always call or stop by the shop for an up to the minute report and all the bugs you’ll need to stick ‘em!