Madison River Outfitters Fishing Report 7/17/2018
Montana
Upper Madison: The salmonflies have more or less run their course throughout the river below Quake at this point. However, be on the lookout between the lakes and for a few stragglers around the Raynolds Pass/Slide area. This does not necessarily mean that you can’t fish a salmonfly or golden stone throughout the day. Many times the fish will gorge themselves during the main hatch of naturals and fishing up to a few days behind the hatch can be an effective strategy. Epeorus, PMDs, Yellow Sallies, and caddis have all been good. The caddis and spinner fishing continues to be quite good in the evenings from about dinner time until dark. The nymph bite has been consistently good with smaller nymphs in the #16 range. If you find fishing to be slow, try bumping down to a size #18.
Flies: #8-10 Salmonfly Razorback, #10 Low-Rider Golden, #14 Full Tilt Sally, #16 Rusty Spinner, #16 PMD Missing Link, #16 Tilt Wing PMD, #16 Purple Rocky Mountain Mint, #14-18 Parachute Caddis, #16 Front End Loader, #12-14 Biot Golden Stone, #16-18 Red Neck, #16 Olive Biot Czech, #14-18 Shop Vac, #16-18 Guide Dip
Hebgen Lake: We are still lacking any consistency when it comes to the Callibaetis. Some mornings they have been out in somewhat decent numbers, other mornings not so much. Damselfly and Callibaetis nymphs will be your best bet at boating fish most days.
Flies: #16 Turkey Callibaetis, #16 Callibaetis Cripple, #16 Pheasant Tail
Gallatin: The Gallatin continues to fish well with dries with the best producers being caddis and PMD patterns. Salmonflies have pretty much worked their way up through the park boundary at this point and are pretty much done.The nymph bite has been really solid using the usual suspects such as lightning bugs, green machines, and pheasant tails. Swinging soft hackles has also been effective as of late.
* 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
NE Corner: Slough and Lamar are fishing well. Soda Butte will need just a few more days to really get going. Caddis, PMDs, Drakes, and even some early season terrestrials are all in play. Streamers and/or dry droppers are good options as well if things are a little slow on top.
Flies: #10-14 Chubby, #16-18 Parachute Caddis, #14 Orange Bullet, #14 Olive Bullet
Yellowstone: The Yellowstone above the Falls is now open. Expect Drakes, PMDs, caddis and stoneflies to all be possibilities. Swinging a leech can produce good results when nothing else is happening. The water is steadily dropping but still running at about 1,000 cfs above average, so do be careful wading around over there. This stretch of the river can be deceptively strong and deep.
Flies: #12 DOA Green Drake, #12 Missing Link Green Drake, #14 Rusty Spinner, #16 Tilt Wing PMD, #8 Salmonfly Razorback, #10 Golden Razorback, #8 Simi Seal Leech
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Tom Forsberg
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