Madison River Outfitters Fishing Report 08/01/22
Montana
Hebgen: Not much has changed on the lake over the last week. Still hit or miss fishing out there, but seems to be getting better, especially in the early morning hours. Keep an eye out for fish rising to callibaetis and tricos on calm mornings. Searching around with an ant pattern can be effective if fish aren’t coming up. Nymphing a tandem rig with a callibaetis and chirnomids can be worth your time as well.
Flies: #16 Callibaetis Sparkle Dun, #16 Callibaetis Sprout, #14-16 Turkey Callibaetis,#16 Parachute Adams, #16 Rusty Spinner, #12 O.S Opal Buzzer, #16-18 Pheasant Tail, #14 Olive/Red Nugget, #8 Olive or Black Simi Seal Leech
Flows:
Inflow to Hebgen Lake: 921.1 cfs
Hebgen Lake Outflow: 1051.2 cfs
Kirby Flows: 1220 cfs
** Flows as of 12 pm July 31, 2022
Upper Madison: Keep an eye out for a few PMD and mayfly spinners hanging around late morning. Hoppers, ants, and beetles have had some fish looking up the past few days, and a hopper dropper setup isn’t a bad option right now. Nymphing a two fly set up will be your best bet if you are looking for numbers. Perdigons, stoneflies, and smaller mayfly/caddis/attractor patterns have been good as of late.
Flies: #16-18 X Caddis, #16-18 Rusty Spinner, #16-18 ParaWulff, #12-14 Pink Thunder Thighs, #12-14 Tan Morrish Hopper, #14-16 Arricks Ant, #16 Nyman’s Flying Ant, #16 Olive Quill, #16 Holo-Point, #14-16 Prince Nymph, #14-16 Biot Golden Stone, #16-18 Redneck, #16-18 Krystal Dip, #16-18 Pheasant Tail
YNP
Gallatin: Cold water keeps the Gallatin both in and out of the park a solid option. Still some PMD’s, Caddis, and Spruce Moths out, but attractor and terrestrial patterns will be the name of the game here. If you aren’t getting much action on the surface, tie on a dropper nymph a few feet underneath a hopper or a bigger attractor dry fly.
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. Instead look towards the Yellowstone River where the water level is coming down slowly and the fishing has been good on small mayfly imitations.
Flies: #12-14 Purple Thunder Thighs, #16 Tan Chili Dog, #14 Tan Spruce Moth, #16 Hi-Viz Ant, #14 Red Foamulator, #12-14 Royal PMX, #14-16 Para-Wulff, #16-18 Redneck
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Also in Madison River Fishing Report - Upper Madison River Fishing Report - Greater Yellowstone Area Fishing Reports
Madison River Outfitters Fishing Report 5/8/2025
Hebgen & Quake Lakes: The ice is now officially gone on both Hebgen & Quake. Its been very hit or miss but if you can time it right and get a day with little to no wind, the chironomid fishing has been pretty solid. Streamers have been moving some fish on the less than ideal condition days. Smaller midge nymphs like buzzers and ice cream cones have been the ticket though as of late.
Madison River Outfitters Fishing Report 4/18/2025
Hebgen: The Lakes are both still fully iced over and will most likely continue to be for some time.
Peter Greubel
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