Fishing Report 7/10/2026
Montana
Flows/Temperatures (as of July 9th, click the name for real-time numbers )
Hebgen Outflow - 815.5 CFS
Kirby - 1070 CFS
Kirby High/Low Temps - 64°/55° F
Cameron - 1260 CFS
Cameron High/Low Temps - 68°/59° F
Upper Madison
The Upper Madison just keeps getting better. The walk/wade section has been fishing exceptionally, with clouds of caddis and some stoneflies mixed in for good measure. I spotted some salmonflies hanging around still, but it's been most productive to throw a golden stone or sally; they're probably seeing more foam salmonflies than real at this point.
Dry fly fishing, or a dropper setup, is the way to go; rises are consistent, and fish aren't keyed in on one bug in particular. With this in mind, change your fly if you aren't getting eats, and don't be afraid to dip into those terrestrials either, it's never too early!
P.S. We've got some very warm weather coming up this weekend so make sure to check water temperatures regularly, and avoid fishing in the hottest times of day.
Dry Flies - Chubby Chernobyl, Elk Hair Caddis, Carnage Hopper, Fools Gold
Nymphs - Skinny Dip, Olive Hot Spot, Shop Vac
Hebgen Outflow - 815.5 CFS
Kirby - 1070 CFS
Kirby High/Low Temps - 64°/55° F
Cameron - 1260 CFS
Cameron High/Low Temps - 68°/59° F
Upper Madison
The Upper Madison just keeps getting better. The walk/wade section has been fishing exceptionally, with clouds of caddis and some stoneflies mixed in for good measure. I spotted some salmonflies hanging around still, but it's been most productive to throw a golden stone or sally; they're probably seeing more foam salmonflies than real at this point.
Dry fly fishing, or a dropper setup, is the way to go; rises are consistent, and fish aren't keyed in on one bug in particular. With this in mind, change your fly if you aren't getting eats, and don't be afraid to dip into those terrestrials either, it's never too early!
P.S. We've got some very warm weather coming up this weekend so make sure to check water temperatures regularly, and avoid fishing in the hottest times of day.
Dry Flies - Chubby Chernobyl, Elk Hair Caddis, Carnage Hopper, Fools Gold
Nymphs - Skinny Dip, Olive Hot Spot, Shop Vac
Hebgen/Quake Lake
The lakes are in pretty similar condition to how they were last week, with gulpers coming up with the sun and targeting spent callibaetis and the occasional caddis (or ant if you're feeling crazy). I fished Quake on Wednesday mid-morning and didn't have as much luck as I was expecting, but they did come up for the callibaetis once or twice.
Dry Flies - Para Wulff Adams, Winna Spinna, Hackle Stacker
Nymphs - Ice Cream Cone, Turkey Callibaetis
The lakes are in pretty similar condition to how they were last week, with gulpers coming up with the sun and targeting spent callibaetis and the occasional caddis (or ant if you're feeling crazy). I fished Quake on Wednesday mid-morning and didn't have as much luck as I was expecting, but they did come up for the callibaetis once or twice.
Dry Flies - Para Wulff Adams, Winna Spinna, Hackle Stacker
Nymphs - Ice Cream Cone, Turkey Callibaetis
Yellowstone National Park
Gallatin - Salmonflies are sparse on the Gallatin at this point, but the risers are not. Throwing a terrestrial or a chubby, and you should be able to coax a rise!
Madison, Firehole, Gibbon - The Madison, Firehole, and Gibbon (downstream of Norris Campground) have been placed on hoot owl closures. This means that all three are closed to fishing from 2 pm to sunrise the next day. We've been over this guys, even before 2 pm, just fish the Upper Madison or Gallatin if you want better, less lethal fishing.
Yellowstone River - Goldens are flying around and fish are rising on both them and drakes (specifically in cloudier conditions). Once you find a riser, though, throw the rotation of different flies at it until it eats. Don't give up!!
Northeast Corner - Getting to fishable conditions! A dry dropper might be necessary, but I'm sure those cutthroats would go for something big, bright, and bushy for lunch right about now. Some drakes are floating around Slough right now, I'd check that out if I weren't so in love with the condition of the Upper Madison right now.
Madison, Firehole, Gibbon - The Madison, Firehole, and Gibbon (downstream of Norris Campground) have been placed on hoot owl closures. This means that all three are closed to fishing from 2 pm to sunrise the next day. We've been over this guys, even before 2 pm, just fish the Upper Madison or Gallatin if you want better, less lethal fishing.
Yellowstone River - Goldens are flying around and fish are rising on both them and drakes (specifically in cloudier conditions). Once you find a riser, though, throw the rotation of different flies at it until it eats. Don't give up!!
Northeast Corner - Getting to fishable conditions! A dry dropper might be necessary, but I'm sure those cutthroats would go for something big, bright, and bushy for lunch right about now. Some drakes are floating around Slough right now, I'd check that out if I weren't so in love with the condition of the Upper Madison right now.
Some of the great fish our clients have caught this week!
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Nina Lett
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