Madison River Outfitters Fishing Report 8/27/2019
Montana
Upper Madison: The hopper and terrestrial bite remains strong on the Madison. A rig with a hopper and an ant or beetle dropper has pretty much been all you need. Some of our guides have even been doing a double hopper rig with one big hopper and one small one and having good success. Something to keep in mind with these cooler mornings is that it will often times take until late morning or early afternoon for the bite to really get going. The nymph bite will be pretty consistent throughout the day. As usual for this time of year, smaller nymphs in the 18-20 and a good drift is key.
Flies: #10-12 Pink/Tan/Yellow Thunder Thighs, #10-12 Morrish Hopper, #14-16 Arrick’s Ant, #16 Nyman’s Flying Ant, #14-16 Bogus Beetle, #12-16 Royal Trude, #16-18 Rusty Spinner, #16-18 Purple Parachute, #16 Lake Prince, #16-18 Shop Vac, #16-18 Red Neck, #16-18 Green/Black Lightning Bug, #16-18 Guide Dip/$3 Dip, #16-18 Krystal Dip, #16-18 Soft Hackle Hare’s Ear, #18 Zebra Midge
Hebgen: Callibaetis have been pretty consistent this past week when the wind has stayed down. The mornings have been little chilly so you can expect them to come off a little later in the morning or early afternoon. There have been plenty of trico spinners in the Madison arm and a smaller rusty spinner pattern has been working well for us. Quake lake is another fun option this time of year as well whether in the morning or evening, as long as the wind is down. If you get lucky and can find fish eating spruce moths on Quake, the fishing can be pretty lights out.
Flies: #16 Callibaetis Parachute, #16 Callibaetis Sparkle Dun, #16 Callibaetis Cripple, #18-20 Rusty Spinner, #16 Turkey Callibaetis
Gallatin: Nothing much new to report for the Gallatin. Terrestrials and attractors will fish well both in and out of the park stretch. Make sure to be on the lookout for spruce moth activity around Big Sky.
Flies: #12 Morrish Hopper, #10-12 Thunder Thighs Hopper, #14-16 Lime/Royal Trude, #12-16 Parawulff, #14 409, #8-12 Royal/Peacock/Golden Chubby Chernobyl, #14 Tan/Orange Spruce Moth
Yellowstone National Park
NE Corner: Terrestrials and attractors should have you covered. A good drift becomes more and more important at this point in the season as they have seen a lot of flies up until now. If you’re getting refusals or just can’t fool them, try a tungsten dropper off a chubby or hopper.
Flies: #10-12 Pink/Tan/Yellow Thunder Thighs, #10-12 Morrish Hopper, #14-16 Arrick’s Ant, #14-16 Bogus Beetle, 12-16 Royal Trude, #12-16 Parawulff Adams, #14 409, #12 Quill Jig, #12 Lucent Jig, #16 Olive Biot Czech
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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.
Tom Forsberg
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