Madison River Outfitters Fishing Report 10/23/2018
Montana
Upper Madison: Head to this stretch of river if you’re looking to lose some of the crowds in the Park and between the lakes. Nymphing will be most consistent, but there has been some good dry fly fishing to be had as well. Look for fish rising to midges and baetis in the slicks, especially as we get some stormy weather throughout the remainder of the week.
Between the Lakes: This stretch is providing some of the best and most consistent fishing at the moment. We have been catching good numbers of fish and also good sized fish that have made their way up form Quake. Nymphing has been the best way of getting fish to the net with patterns such as Sili Legs, San Juan worms, and smaller midge and baetis patterns. Throwing a streamer around can be a really good way to locate some of the larger fish in this stretch as well.
Flies: #16-18 Red Neck, #16 Olive Biot Czech, #18 Shop Vac, #18 Guide Dip, #16-18 Green Machine, #18 Black Krystal Dip, #16-18 ICU Midge, #16-18 Black/Green Lightning Bug, #18-20 Zebra Midge, #6-10 Sili Legs, #6 Sparkle Minnow
Gallatin: With current water temps, afternoon is really the only feasible time to be fishing the Gallatin right now. While you could run into some dry fly fishing with small baetis, it has been pretty spotty. Nymphing will provide the best results with small midge patterns and even some rubber legs as well.
* Our special thanks to the crew over at Gallatin River Guides for providing us with the most up-to-date info on the Gallatin.
YNP
Madison in YNP: Unseasonably warm and sunny weather combined with heavy angling pressure has made for a rather tough past week of fishing on this stretch. Look for some of the cold, wet weather we are slated to get starting tomorrow to help improve things going forward. Nymphing will be your most consistent method from a fish catching perspective, however we really enjoy fishing streamers and soft hackles this time of year. Generally speaking, we usually like throwing streamers around on cloudy days and swinging soft hackles when it’s bright out.
Flies: #8-10 Partridge & Peacock, #8-10 Partridge & Orange, #6 Sparkle Minnow, #8 Simi Seal Leech, #8-12 Black Sili Legs, #14-16 Red Neck
Firehole: For dry fly fishing, look for White Miller caddis on sunny afternoons and baetis on cloudy days. Soft hackles are always a sure bet here as well.
Flies: #20 CDC Biot BWO, #12-14 Partridge & PT, #12-14 Partridge & Orange, #8 Simi Seal Leech
** This will be our final fishing report newsletter for the season. We would like to thank everyone that came out to see us this season and also those that just like to read about what’s happening in the area we all love. We appreciate it and we will see you all again come spring!
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Tom Forsberg
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