Madison River Outfitters Fishing Report 07/18/2022
Montana
Hebgen: Fishing has been good on those calm mornings before the wind starts to pick up. Watch for fish coming up for Callibaetis, and it might be a little early still, but it never hurts to try an ant pattern on the lake. Nymphing a pair of flies under an indicator or stripping a wooly bugger or leech has been finding fish as well. Mix up your retrieval speeds until you figure out what the fish like.
Flies: #14-16 Turkey Callibaetis, #12 O.S Opal Buzzer, #16 Pheasant Tail, #14 Olive/Red Nugget, #8 Olive or Black Simi Seal Leech, #8 Olive or Black Hot Bead Goat Leech, #8 Thin Mint, #6 Black/Olive Flash Bugger
Flows:
Inflow to Hebgen Lake: 812.2 cfs
Hebgen Lake Outflow: 1010.5 cfs
Kirby Flows: 1300 cfs
** Flows as of 12 pm July 17, 2022
Upper Madison: Salmonfly fishing has come and gone on the Madison. You may still find a fish or two rising to a big bug, but you’ll most likely have more luck with a goldenstone pattern, a simple chubby or a chilidog pattern with a nymph dropper off the back.
Be on the lookout for Caddis, PMDs, and Yellowsallies through-out the day. Keep in mind water temps have been creeping up with these hot days, so do your best to fight fish quickly, and give them a little extra recovery time before letting them go.
Flies: #12 water walker golden stone, #12 tan or pink chilidog, #14 Royal Chubby, #16 sparkle dun, #16 EZ Caddis, #16 Larimer’s Yellow Sally, #16-18 Missing Link PMD
YNP
The Gallatin in YNP is fishing well. Salmonflies, Caddis, PMD’s, Yellow Sallies, and Green Drakes are all coming to play in the Gallatin. If nothing is coming up, your favorite attractor dry should find a fish or two. The Yellowstone River has been fishing well too. Find a fish rising and go get ‘em. Make sure to bring some caddis and spinners with you. If you can’t find a riser, nymphing or swinging a streamer could offer you some luck.
Water Temps on the Firehole, Gibbon, and Madison have started to be too hot for ethical fishing, so we recommend finding somewhere else to fish and come back during the fall once water temps cool back down.
Flies: #14-16 Sparkle Dun, #16-18 X-Caddis, #16 Tilt Wing PMD, #16 Front End Loader, #12 Missing Link Green Drake, #12 Perin’s Green Drake Comparadun, #12-16 Red Chubby Chernobyl, #8-10 Salmonfly Razorback, #8-10 Golden Razorback
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Peter Greubel
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