Madison River Fishing Report 10/5/21
Montana
Upper Madison: Nymph fishing continues to be your best bet out there. Stoneflies, perdigons, small dips, and small attractor/mayfly patterns have been good combos as of late. Hopper fishing is all but done for the year, but keep an eye out for fish rising to baetis, especially with this nasty weather forecasted for the next few days. Streamer fishing has been hit or miss, but should pick up with the inclement weather coming.
Flies: #10-12 Sili Leg, #14 Lake Prince, #16-18 Guide Dip, #16-18 Black Krystal Dip, #18 Loop Wing BWO, #16 Firestarter, #16 Olive Spanish Bullet, #18-20 BWO Parachute, #18-20 Tilt Wing BWO, #18 Low Water Baetis, #6 Mini Sex Dungeon Black, #6 Black Sparkle Yummy, #6 Mini Peanut Envy Olive
Hebgen: Not much has changed since last week. Hardly any bugs left so stripping buggers/leeches or nymphing under a bobber will be your most consistent methods. When stripping, change up your retrieval style and speeds until you get some grabs.
Flies: #8 Black or Olive Simi Seal Leech, #6 Flash-a-Bugger, #6 Olive or Black Hot Bead Leech, #8 Thin Mint, #16 Pheasant Tail, #14-16 Turkey Callibaetis, #12 O.S. Buzzer
YNP
Gallatin: No need to get too early of a start if you want to fish the Gallatin. Take your time and let things warm up a little. Nymphs, soft hackles, and small streamers are all in play. If the forecast stays true and we get some dark and rainy days, be watching for baetis to be coming off.
Flies: #16-18 Shop Vac, #16-18 Green Lightning Bug, #16-18 Black Krystal Dip, #18 ICU Midge, #18 Split Case BWO, #14 Partridge and Peacock, #16 Soft Hackle Hares Ear, #18 Parachute Adams, #18 Tilt Wing BWO, #18 Baetis Cripple, #8 Simi Seal Leech, #6 Olive Slumpbuster
Madison/Firehole: Soft Hackles and nymphs remain the name of the game on in the park stretch of the Madison, with a couple fish being fooled by streamers. We have been seeing a few lake fish, hopefully this weather coming pushes some more into the system. The Firehole has fished well with soft hackles, and be sure to have some small baetis dry fly patterns too.
Flies: #8-12 Partridge and Peacock, #8-12 Partridge and Orange, #14 Diving Caddis, #8 Simi Seal Leech, #6 Olive Mini Sex Dungeon, #6 Royal Sparkle Minnow, #10-12 Sili Legs, #14-16 Lake Prince, #16-18 Pheasant Tail, #, #18 Tilt Wing BWO, #18-20 Sprout Baetis
NE Corner: Similar to the Gallatin, these rivers are running pretty cold so take your time in getting over there. Watch for some Drake Mackerels and baetis to be hatching, bring some streamers patterns to throw around if nothing is rising.
Flies: #12 Drake Mackerel Cripple, #14 Parachute Hares Ear, #18-20 Parachute BWO, #18-20 Sprout Baetis, #6 Olive Sparkle Minnow, #6 Black Mini Sex Dungeon, #8 Black Simi Seal Leech
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Nick Toller
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