Tag: Madison river fishing guides

June 15th – 23rd | Madison River Fishing Report

This week has been a very busy one with the tourists starting to flow through and the bigger bugs crawlin’ to the banks. Guide season is now in full tilt on the Madison and there have been some nice fish being seen, caught and posed with. The Wild Adventure group has been here as well and they showed up with some guys that had never even held a flyrod….and they caught really nice fish! The river is just on right now! Our shop employees have been going out after work and doing well, gaining that shop intel you might need, so come in and pick their brains. The water is about 1,600 cfs at the West Fork and 2,640 cfs at the Cameron water gauge, and it is clearing up a little. It Is Prime Time. Hello! Be careful though, the water is still moving at a decent pace and we have those nice round slippery rocks to deal with. The bugs are looking good right now with big bomber Caddis on the rise as we approach the end of June. That is a bigger size Caddis than usual and he comes off every year right before Salmon fly season (which is a myth). There are stones moving around getting ready for the big exodus in July. The PMD nymphs are also starting to pick up a fish here and there. We have had a little cooler weather (I had ice on my guides this morning) lately but it makes for feistier, more aggressive trout, which we all like. It has been good to see a lot of you as you move through your Spring into Summer, swinging in and saying hello here and there. Please keep coming in and saying hello!!! Hopefully we can even send you in the right direction to lock in that fish that’s been haunting you in your dreams. …We all have that one…

Fly report:

Dries:

  • Big Chocolate Caddis (bombers) size 10 and 12’s Delektable Twisted Sisters and Twisted Babies in Tan/Brown or Brown are great for this too.
  • Adams size 12
  • Purple Haze size 12 through 16
  • Delektable Royal Chubbyness size 10 and 12
  • Brown Elk hair Caddis size 16 and even 18
  • Stone fly dries here and there in size 8 and 10

Nymphs

  • Delektable Mega Prince Standard and Flashback size 4-8
  • Delaktable Stonefly Candy black and orange size 8 (balanced)
  • Delektable Prince Brandon size 14
  • Delektable Pheasant Tail Lil’ Spanker size 10 (bomber)
  • Case Caddis patterns
  • Any ol’ nymph will do really

The Straum Bomb

  • Delektable Double Screamer Spawner
  • Delektable Double Screamer White
  • Delektable Double Screamer Olive with Rainbow dub
  • Delektable Double Screamer Olive/Black with Silver dub
  • Sculpzilla White size 6
  • Silky Kitty White
  • Sex Dungeon Yellow
  • Delektable Single Screamer Yellow
  • Double Boogieman Black
  • Double Boogieman Grey/Tan
  • Big streamers
  • Bigger Streamers
  • Homespun streamers

As you can see, the streamer bite has been on with this colder weather the last day or two, but the dry game is about to bump it up a notch here quick! One rule of thumb here on the Madison is that these fish will eat the dry even when there is no hatch going on or any rises to naturals. Throw them anyway. The fish have been taking the Delektable Royal Chubbyness in the smaller sizes #14 and #16 for the Bomber Caddis….and that’s a very good sign! More dries please! Well, I hope to NOT see you out on the river, but I do hope to hear that you were out there in another part of the river, HaHa. Anyways, please come in and say hey! Happy Fishing!!! -DanG

June 1st – 14th | Madison River Fishing Report

 

The season is really upon us now! As we watch the snow come down the mountains with the rain and hot weather, the river comes up.  And up. And up. We can’t help but be our trout bum selves and get in the muddy water anyway! The water is a little mirked up higher on the Madison and pretty muddy everywhere else north of the West Fork and Indian Creek. The bigger bugs and streamers have been the ticket as usual for this kind of spring weather. Don’t be afraid of a little color, the fish can see and/or feel just fine with that lateral line. Streamers and big nymphs make a little more commotion in the water and help the fish key into them a little easier. There is also a fine line of mud after the West Fork if you would like to play that game. The game of Good vs Evil, Dark vs Light, Clear vs Mirk…That will be going on for a while yet.

Some of the flies that have been working are as follows:

Dries:

  • March Browns (sz 14-16)
  • Caddis (Bomber sz 10)
  • Black caddis (sz 16-18)
  • Various Brown and Black beetles (sz 10-16)

Nymphs:

  • Pheasant Tail (sz 12-16)
  • Delektable Pheasant Tail Lil’ Spanker (sz 14-18)
  • Delektable Prince Brandon (sz 14)
  • Shop Vac (Sz 14-16)
  • Brown and Black Pat’s Rubber Legs (Sz 6-10) …mostly 8 though
  • Delektable Mega Prince Standard (Sz 4-8)
  • Delektable Stonefly Candy (Sz 8) in a few darker colors including the Bitch Creek
  • Curved hook Caddis Beadhead (sz 10-14)
  • Delektable Worm (sz 10) in red, pink and wine

Streamers:

  • Delektable Double Screamer Spawning
  • Delektable Double Screamer Black and Olive
  • Delektable Single Screamer White
  • Delektable Single Screamer Badger
  • Bow River Bugger (Sz 6)
  • Copper Zonker (Sz 4 and 6)
  • White Streamers
  • Black Streamers
  • Olive Streamers
  • Big Streamers

We hope to see you all soon, please swing in and say hello to us, the crew, for any of your flyfishing needs. Happy Fishing!!! -DANG

May 27th – 31st | Madison River Fishing Report

 

The water is high and muddy, but the Mighty Madison River is fishing considerably well! These are the times where the big streamers and the big nymphs are working the best. The bigger flies and streamers push and move through the water better than all the smaller stuff and the fish pick that up with their lateral line. The water might seem high and fast but focus on the sides of the banks and the pockets of water closer to the bank. The fish feel a little more comfortable with this color of water not having to worry about the birds and people as much. As far as the little flies and beadheads go, the guides have been putting them to them! The March brown has been a heavy hitter in a few different sizes but mostly 14’s. The BWO still picks up a fish or two here and there. Even the Squalla has been getting them in the net still. Soon we will be experiencing some warming weather and the snow will all be coming down, so get ready for the higher water and a little more color.

The flies that have been working have been steady going.

Dries:

  • Delektable Royal Chubbyness (sz 10)
  • Adams (sz 14)
  • Purple Haze (sz 14)
  • Caddis (sz 14-16)
  • Brown Drake and spinners (sz 12-14)
  • Midges (sz 18-20)

Nymphs

  • Delektable Mega Prince Standard (sz 4-8)
  • Delektable Stonfly Candy (sz 8)
  • Delektable Pheasant Tail Lil’ Spanker (sz 16)
  • Delektable Prince Brandon (sz 16)
  • Wire Worm (all sizes)
  • Wooly Buggers (sz 6 and 8)
  • Nyphicator (sz 16)
  • Prince nymph (sz 16)

Streamers

  • Any and all sizes will do, they are on it. When the bite is on, its on
  • The Delektable Double Screamers in most of the colors have been hot
  • The Delektable Single Screamers in White, Black , Badger and Black/Olive
  • Wool Heads on single hooks
  • Deer hair heads

Hope to see you out there enjoying the Big Montana Sky! Happy Fishing!!! -Dang

 

May 13th – 19th | Madison River Fishing Report

It sure feels like spring time these days with this past week spending most of its time in the 70’s and the upcoming forecast showing mostly 40’s and low 50’s for daytime highs. The creeks are on the drop at the moment after a few days of kicking in some dirty water which should be good for the fishing.It’s been mostly nymphs and streamers that are doing the bulk of the catching. Delektable Double Screamers, Trevor’s Sculpins, Sparkle Minnows and Buggers have seen their share of success out there.We’ve been fishing a good variety of nymphs as the conditions are changing almost every day. Delektable Lil’ Spankers, Copper John’s and Pheasant Tails are good for the March Browns in size #10 or #12. Smaller bugs like Delektable Ranch BWOs, Lightning Bugs, Serendipities and Princes are the Baetis/BWO lineup. Pat’s Rubberlegs, Delektable Stonefly Candy and Worms are working for the other stuff.The drop in temp seems to be keeping the March Browns and Caddis under the surface once again. Shop Vacs and other Caddis Emergers will work. If you’re dying to get some dry fly fishing in you can still find some fish eating Midges and Baetis here and there. Sipper Midges and small Adams should be all you need or try a Purple Haze.

May 6th – 12th | Madison River Fishing Report

The Project Healing Waters group was in for the week and their trip was a great healing adventure! There were three different days of fishing and the group was with different people guiding them each day and at different places on the Madison. Thank you to those who helped them access the wade areas. Big Dan started the week with Brandon and Bob Frey guiding the boys. Gunnar, David Kern, and Marty helped during the rest of the week. Thank you to the guides for your help. All the boys caught fish and each had different and remarkable adventures! There were rainbows mostly, a few browns, and even a cutthroat and whitefish. They were great guys and a pleasure to be with. Our neighbor Michael donated his time as chef with his friend Mark. Thank you Michael. It was great eating and great added stories about the food and all kinds of adventures.

The water is at an all time color (a touch of murk) and VERY steady flow right around 2,100 cfs since the beginning of the month, so if you are thinking of going….you should. The west fork has just started to kick in a bit of dirty water. This is once again your chance to throw the big bugs and get funky, because the trout are just on a feeding frenzy in the spring. The weather has been cooperating and the snowpack is slowly coming down giving us a little bit of an idea as to how the outlook on the big bugs this summer is going to be. The March Browns and Caddis have started to work their way out of the depths down towards town and dry fly fishing has followed.

The bugs that have been in the queue all week are as follows:  Gray Paradrake Sz 10; Purple Haze Cripple Sz 10; Parachute Adams Sz 12; Delektable CDC Elk Hair Caddis Tan Sz 16; Goddard Caddis Sz 16; Delektable Mega Prince Olive Flash Back Sz 8; Delektable Mega Prince Standard Sz 8; Pat’s Rubber Legs in all the colors Sz 8-10 (Squalla still); Delektable Lil’ Spanker Pheasant Tail Sz 14 and 18 (BWO); Delektable Lil’ Spanker Silver Sz 14 and 18 (BWO); Delektable Prince Brandon Sz 14 and 16; Delektable Red Worm Sz 12; and Delektable Screamer Black/Olive.

The streamer bite has been on for some people who are addicted to it but for the most part they have been lethargic with the weather being a little chilly but it has been warming up and should stay in the 70’s for most of the upcoming week so hopefully we’ll be able to start speeding up the retrieves and seeing fish be more aggressive.

April 29th – May 5th | Madison River Fishing Report

Your Madison River fishing report today is brought to you by the Beartooth Flyshop boys and the letter W. If you have been out lately you have been playing in some fun weather involving the dub, clouds, cold, rain and snow. The rainbows are in full swing with the spawn, so be careful out there not to be walking on reds. That also makes for really good fishing in the spring! Right now you will find the fish you catch will be all kinds of colored up. The upper river is fishing well, the middle stretches of the river are fishing well and the lower is also fishing very well. Wherever you go, be sure to realize while you are out there, that you are alive and in it and it’s not really the fish we are all after, it is the life and opportunities the river and fish give us.              So, the bugs…                                                

 

The Stoneflies that are working: (Squalla Stones and Regular Salmon Stones)

                        Delektable Stonefly Candy UV Black and the UV Black/Rust Sz 6

                        Delektable Mega Prince Olive Flashback and Standard Sz 6-10

                        Pats Rubber Legs Black or Brown/Black Variegated Sz 8 and 10

                        Pats Rubber Legs Olive/Black Variegated Sz 10 and 12

            The Mayflies that are out: (March Brown and BWO)

                        Delektable Lil’ Spanker Pheasant tail Sz 14 and 18

                        Delektable Lil’ Spanker Silver Sz 12 and 14

                        Pheasant tail Sz 14

                        Olive Pheasant tail Sz 14

                        Prince Nymphs Sz 12-16

            The Caddis Hatch: (Mothers Day Caddis coming up)

                        Delektable Prince Brandon Sz 16

                        Delektable CDC Prince (CH) Sz 14-16

                        Prince Nymphs Sz 14-18

                        Pheasant Tails Sz 14-18

            The Worm hatch:

                        Red Wire Worm

                        Red/Orange Wire Worm

                        Delektable Worm Red Sz 12

            The Streamer bite:

                        Trevor’s Sculpin Black

                        Trevor’s Scuplin Olive

                        Delektable Single Screamer Black/Olive

                        The One Sculpin Black

                        Sheila Sculpin

So as far as the future goes, we can expect the Mother’s Day Caddis about to pop starting on the lower working their way up. So get your dry game ready, because when its on it is really on. If you have any bug questions or questions about the Upper Madison, stop in at the Beartooth Flyshop and see us! We are OPEN 8am-6pm now and will be open later as the season starts to pick up. Feel free to give the shop a call anytime for anything!

Well, that’s it for now, get out there!

Happy Fishing!!!

-Dang

January | Madison River Fishing Report

January has been a cold month and we are glad to see it leave as it means we are one month closer to Summer. With that being said, January did pose some great fishing if you were able to take advantage of the rare days with warm enough weather. Even Dan himself braved a very pleasant day in January. The river was predictably stable with about 1,000 cfs flowing at the Kirby gauge. The fishing has pretty much been the same game as December, Nymphs being number one and Dries working on select days. The river is starting to look very slushy down towards Ennis.

The nymph game is working well, we have mainly been only using Stoneflies but you could also you use Midge patterns to the same effect. The flies we have been using are Delektable balanced Flashback Mega Princes, Delektable Standard Flashback Mega Princes, Delektable Hurless Stones, Delektable Stonefly Candy, Delektable Twinkles, and Zebra midges.

The dry fly bite has taken a while to come back but can at those times when you see clear blue skies or cloudy over cast conditions coupled with the important part which is less or no “W”. Know that the midges will be hatching in full force and the fish will be looking at the surface of the water to eat them alive. The flies we have been using are the Griffith’s Gnat, Adams Midge, R.B. Midge, and Galloup’s Goober Midge. You could also try a Delektable Teaser pattern in Adam’s or Purple.

It has been easy fishing but it hasn’t been easy weather. So if you are part the brave few put on those waders with plenty of layers underneath and find some eager trout in the river. 

August 13th – 19th | Madison River Fishing Report

Flows are pretty consistent with last week’s report, we’re sitting at 1,160 c.f.s. below Hebgen Lake, 1,230 c.f.s. at Kirby and 1,240 c.f.s. down at Varney. We’re looking forward to the predicted cooler air temps over the next couple of days to put the fires down and keep the fish happy.

The hopper bite has been pretty darn good in the afternoons. Ants and some attractor patterns have also been fishing well. Our top recommended dry flies are Mongo Hoppers, Panty Dropper Hoppers, Yeti Hoppers, Bloom’s Stealth Ant, Delektable Flying Ants, Delektable Secret Stones in smaller sizes, Delektable Chubbyness’ and Purple Hazes.

 

The nymphs have been fishing well; especially earlier in the mornings before the terrestrials start moving around. Delektable Lil’ Spankers, Delektable Hammerheads, Formerly Known as Princes, Lightning bugs, Serendipities and Pat’s Rubberlegs have all been getting some nice fish out there.

Streamers are picking up some nice fish especially earlier and later in the day, and trailing a little nymph behind a big meaty fly is a good call during the heat of the day. We’ve had success on Copper bodied Zonker, Olive Trevor’s, Sheila’s Sculpins, Delektable Screamers, Conehead JR’s and Zuddlers.

 

It’s been an awesome August thus far for the fishing on the Upper Madison so if you have the chance you better take advantage! Stay tuned for more reports and be sure to stop in or call the shop with any questions or fishing stories!

July 9th – 15th | Madison River Fishing Report

  

Man, it’s tough to believe it’s already the middle of July. It’s almost as tough to believe that almost 3 weeks after the word got out about salmon flies and goldens hatching we are still getting them on the big dries on the upper end of the river. Flows are still way above historic average; in fact we saw an increase in flow out of Hebgen Dam just yesterday. She’s moving at about 1,400 cubic feet per second below Hebgen, just under 1,600 at Kirby and by the time you get to the Varney gauge we’re reading just under 2,000 c.f.s.

The dry fly fishing continues to impress as PMD’s, Caddis, Yellow Sallies and Flavilineas have been hatching consistently. It’s been best earlier and later in the days but if you work hard enough you can get some fish on top throughout the day. We’ve had good luck on a variety of the small Delektable Chubbyness’ as well as Delektable Twisted Babies, Delektable CDC Elk Hair Caddis, Purple Hazes, Lil’Hotties, Trudes and Wulffs.

Most days the nymph bite is of course, fantastic. Delektable Lil’ Spankers, Delektable Sure Strikes, Serendipities, Prince Nymphs, Two-Bit Hookers, Lemon Drops, Pat’s Rubberlegs and Psycho Princes have all caught their fair share of fish as of late. Fish any of those in tandem under a bobber, on a tight line or under a dry fly and you’re bound to get into a few fish.

We’ve had some success on streamers, especially first thing in the morning when the water is nice and cold. Our favorite flies have been Zonkers, McCune’s Sculpins, Sheila’s, and Delektable Screamers. The fish are hanging out around the boulders waiting for a good meal, just make sure you’re ready to set the hook!

 

Our annual Montana Hope Project fundraiser is less than two weeks away and we’re looking forward to seeing everyone come out. As always, Captain Marty will be making his famous Gumbo and Dan will have his Elk Chili along with all the snacks and deserts you could ask for. Mark your calendars now for July 28th and 29th to have a good time for a great cause.

June 17th – July 1st | Madison River Fishing Report

  

We saw a 1,000 c.f.s. increase in flow out of 

Hebgen on the 19th  which made things tough for a few days but the bite only improved from then till now. We’re down to about 1,200 c.f.s. below Hebgen and 1,500 c.f.s. down at Kirby. It looks like we’re seeing the light at the end of the tunnel with all the wet weather and Summer should be setting in any day now.

SALMON FLIES are here and the fish have been eatin’ ‘em pretty well. Along with the big bugs came the Yellow Sallies, PMDs, Golden Stones, and the Caddis are still all over the place. Dry Fly fishing has been better and better as the days go by. Our favorite patterns have been Delektable Secret Stones in Royal, UV Salmon and UV Goldenstone, Delektable Mega 2-Tone Chubbyness and Delektable Twisted X’s in yellow have been great for the Sallies. Half-Down Stones have also been fishing well along with Stimulators, Bloom’s Parachute Caddis and Lil’ Hotties. It’s shaping up to be a dry fly season for the books so take advantage!

The nymph fishing has been outstanding. We’ve had lots of success on soft hackle stuff lately like Delektable Hammerheads, Soft Hackle Hare’s Ears and Soft Hackle Copper Johns. Along with those the standard Mayfly and Caddis patterns have been successful. Things like the Delektable Lil’ Spankers, Lightning Bugs, Prince Nymphs and Psycho Princes are good bets. Any of them can be fished under a big dry or in tandem under an indicator. Some folks have scored with two small nymphs while others have used a larger Stonefly Nymph up top and a small nymph behind. Depending on the flows, a B or BB shot might be needed above the first fly.

The streamer bite has been a bit more inconsistent as of late but with other techniques being so productive I guess we’ll have to be okay with that. With that being said we have picked up a fish here and there on smaller sculpin patterns.

What a great time to be out on the Upper Madison, we hope you’re all enjoying the excellent fishing and if there are any other tips we may have to offer don’t be afraid to call or stop by the shop to ask 406-682-7525.