A wet and cold week on the Upper., witih plenty of wind. But if you were tough enough to stick it out, the fishing was as good as it's been this spring. Lots of folks floating Varney to town, hardly any traffic above McAtee still. If you float down low, make sure to spend some time in the channels, lots of nice Ennis Lake fish in there. Have a good range of bugs as fish are eating a wide variety of patterns, but not all at once. Be ready with #10 Black Sili Legs, #12 Brown Biot Stone, #14 Lake Prince, #14 Ram Caddis, #16 Shop Vac, and #16-20 Zebra Midges. #16-20 Griffiths and #18 Purple Parachutes have worked for the fish rising to midges, nothing technical needed besides a good presentation. If you're top water pattern can handle it, a small zebra dropper is well recommended.
A great week as spring snow brought the Gallatin's snowpack%normal to 100%, right on track. Warmer weather later in the week could bring in a little color, but I wouldn't expect the fishing to slow down at all. The best fishing above Big Sky is found in the slowest of the deep slots. Heavy Stonefly and Czech style nymphs have been the most reliable, we're sticking with #12 Tungsten Hare's Ear, #10 Tungsten Goldie, #14 Ram Caddis, and #16 PT Superflash. Streamer fishing has seen more play around Gateway on the darker, relatively warm days. Medium sized sculpins like the #2 Natural Slap-N-Tickle have been consistent.
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The Upper Madison has slowed a bit with the heat, being at it's best in the early mornings or late at night. I've been having some success throwing...
The Upper Madison is still fishing steadily, especially in the morning and later evenings. With the hot weather we had this last weekend and the hesitant water releases from Hebgen, I was getting a bit nervous about how the Madison would be fairing at this point...
Jake Schilling
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