Madison River Fishing Report for 7/3/2017
Montana
Upper Madison
Still seeing plenty of stoneflies from Betwix down through McAtee or so. The consistency of fish eating the big bugs changes day to day, the only way to know is to commit for a few miles and work water besides the banks. Mid-river drop-offs and disappearing islands are great places to find eats on the surface. Make sure to have plenty of Caddis and PMDs as well, a few favorites or the #16 Missing Link, #16 Tan Parachute Caddis, #16-18 X-Caddis, #16-18 Rusty Calf-Tail Spinner, #16 Hazy Cripple, #16-18 Parawulff, and #16 Rocky Mountain Mint.
The nymph bite last week was about as good as I can remember over the last 5 seasons. Although plenty of fish were found on #10 Black Sili Legs, our best fishing was on smaller patterns; #16 Lake Prince, #16-18 Green Machine, #16-18 PMD Loop Wing, and #16-18 Soft Hackle Hare's Ear. If you can effectively fish the mid-river slicks while drifting by, you'll find plenty of quality trout.
Yellowstone
Getting pretty darn close to stonefly fishing. Still a touch high and off-color, you're still better off nymphing and throwing streamers. As the stones fade on the Madison, start trekking over to the 'Stone.
YNP
Gallatin
A nice option to get away from the Madison. Salmons, Goldens, Sallies, PMDs, and Caddis can be found on the 'Gal. Flows are still cold, so no need to be there at daybreak. A great river to throw attractors like #12 Trudes, #12-14 Wulffs, and Humpys.
NE Corner
Worth a drive over this week, flows are temps are right around the historical average. Barring any big rain/snow storms, Slough Cr. should be in shape shortly with Lamar about 5-7 days behind. Similar to the Gallatin, the mornings could be slow until the water temps warm a bit.
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Jake Schilling
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