I am not even calling this one a river report. It was questionable whether the last one was truly a river report or me just being canid about what’s happening at Montana Fish Man with no sugar coating. That is just the way I like it. Darci tells me to sugar coat things a little… Continue reading Update on Re-Opening, Guiding and staying safe while we do it, 4/24/2020….
Hebgen Dam 932cfs Old Kirby Place 1030cfs Varney Bridge 1150cfs Lower Madison 1280cfs This is not an April Fools joke. Seriously, it seems as though it should be but it is not unfortunately. Montana was recently issued Stay at Home (click link for more info) orders until April 10th and this means Guiding and Outfitting… Continue reading UPDATES….4/1/2020, Guiding on Hold till April 10th…
Hebgen Dam 880cfs Old Kirby Ranch 959cfs Varney Bridge 1120cfs Lower Madison River 1460cfs March 2d in the Madison Valley and it is really starting to feel a lot like spring. Markedly different than this time last year. At this time last year myself and others where scrambling to dig drift boats out of 3… Continue reading March 2nd, Late Winter Madison River Fishing Report
Hebgen Dam 1140 cfs Old Kirby Place 1890 cfs Varney Bridge 3190 cfs Lower Madison 3120 cfs Runoff…It’s on again. At least for a time. There is still more than average amount snow in the Madison drainage for this time of year. With daytime highs reaching into the high 70s and low 80s the Madison… Continue reading On Again, Off Again, On Again…Madison River Report 6/13
Hebgen Dam 1790cfs Old Kirby Place 1890cfs Varney Bridge 2150cfs Lower Madison 2110cfs May 1st is officially in the books and although Old Man Winter can not decide if he is done with us yet, the spring fishing has been fair to great most days and his grip on us is slowing loosening. True to… Continue reading Madison River Fishing Report 5/1
Hebgen Dam 1560 cfs Old Kirby Place 1610 cfs Varney Bridge 1810 cfs Lower Madison 2290 cfs The first major thing of note is that the flows on the Madison River have come up a fair amount in the last week and a half. This is not an early push of runoff water. This is… Continue reading Madison River Fishing Report 4/15/19
Hebgen Dam 910 cfs
Old Kirby Place 1180 cfs
Varney Bridge 1480 cfs
Ennis Dam 218 cfs
Lower Madison 1389 cfs
I’ve noticed some changes out there the past several days on the Madison River. Some good, that’s to say that the changes might benefit the angler. Some not so good, depending on how we look at it. These things are bound to happen when we spend so much time in a place bound to seasons. We anglers are just passengers along for the ride. Knowing this generally makes it easier to take the days that I can’t quite get my finger on the pulse. I can usually find some excuse for this occurrence and that makes it all the easier to accept that some days are just learning days.
All this doesn’t really mean that we had a bad day. This doesn’t really mean that the fishing was bad or that we didn’t catch some great fish. It just simply means that things are changing and that it is different today than it was yesterday. Might even change back.
The Madison Valley has seen all kinds of weather over the past seven days. 74 degrees sunny and warm or 42 degrees, snow and rain from a northern cold from, even a few day in between those two extremes. The Madison Valley is in its spring cycle and it will not be uncommon to see this back and forth over the coming months.
The Madison River will begin to react to this tussle over temperatures accordingly and will generally rise and fall with the fluctuations. The Madison saw its first small push of spring melt over the past several days (remember 74 degrees). This was promptly halted by cold northern air and rain and snow, It is still very much winter in the high country as far as temperatures are concerned. The flows stabilized and even feel a bit with the cold. This is likely to change with the next push of warmer weather and the Madison will likely rise again. So the cycle will go until most of the snow is out of the mountains.
With all this change comes bugs. As a fly fisherman I love bugs. The logic goes something like this. Trout eat bugs, therefore I love bugs. We are starting to see BWO’s or Baetis. The hatches of this beloved little mayfly happen all spring and are important as droppers fishing nymphs thru spring. The real fun show happens on the not so pretty days, the rainy days, the snow lightly falling straight down days, sometimes referred to as the nasty days. That’s code for the chance at great spring dry fly fishing. Towards the end of the April and the first of May we will start to see the first Caddis on the Madison as well. The Mothers Day Caddis also known as Brachycentrus occidentals will start to fill the air on the warmer days. Something I love about this time year is that we get to fish Caddis on the nice days and BWO’s on the “nasty days”. If we are lucky we will see March Browns in the mix as well. What a glorious time to be in Southwest Montana.
Madison River Report for March 13, 2016 River Flows: Hebgen Dam 900cfs Old Kirby Place 970cfs Varney Bridge 1110cfs Ennis Dam 116 Lower Madison 1410cs I want to give a quick shout out to Matt Carey over at Trouts N’ At Outfitters for giving much of the front of the boat the other day… Continue reading Spring has Sprung and Winter is Back…briefly
Madison Flows: Hebgen Dam 910csf Old Kirby Place 970cfs Varney Bridge 1080cfs Ennis Dam 118cfs Lower Madison 1390cfs I got to do something I have not been able to do in the 16 years that I have lived in Ennis Montana. That was to float and fish, with the emphasis on fish, from Lyons… Continue reading First Time in 16 Years
River Flows : Hebgen Dam 870 cfs Old Kirby Place 970 cfs Varney Bridge 1030 cfs Lower Madison 1290 cfs With spring still technically a little less than a month away on March 20th it feels as if it’s already here. Some of the birds we don’t see until spring are starting to show up.… Continue reading Signs of Spring, Playing Around in the Channels and the Ice