Madison River Outfitters Fishing Report 8/4/20
Montana
Upper Madison: Terrestrial fishing continues to provide most of the dry fly action. Hoppers and ants have been fishing well and we have been getting a few really nice fish most days, though it would be nice to start seeing a few more natural hoppers along the banks and finding their way onto the water. The trout already seem to be a little weary of big hoppers. As our head guide Rick Welle said, “There’s a lot of hoppers the water this week and none of them are real.” The forecast this week is calling for afternoon storms, which could also hamper afternoon terrestrial fishing if you run into clouds and rain. Caddis, Yellow Sallies, and attractors have also been good to throw around either on their own or as a dropper off a hopper. Nymphing remains consistent throughout much of the day with flies in size #14-18.
Flies: #12 Tan and Pink Chili Dogs, #8-12 Tan and Pink Thunder Thighs, #14-18 X-Caddis, #14 Full-Tilt Sally, #16 Front-end Loader, #12-16 Royal Wulff, #14-16 Parawullf, #16-18 Krystal Dip, #14-16 Green Machine, #14-18 Red Neck, #16 Olive Hot Spot Perdigon, #16 HoloPoint, #16-18 Shop Vac, #16-18 Olive S.H. Hare’s Ear, #16 Shop Vac
Hebgen: The lake has slowly but surely started to get a little more consistent as far as finding big fish tracking and working the surface in the mornings and it should only continue to get better from here on out. A callibaetis parachute or sparkle dun with a turtle callibaetis dropper is still our tactic of choice for the time being.
Flies: #14-16 Turkey Callibaetis, #14-16 Flashback PT, #16 Parachute Callibaetis, #16 Callibaetis Cripple, #16 Callibaetis Spinner
Gallatin: Caddis and a few late afternoon PMDs will provide some potential dry fly activity. If that is not the case, attractors and terrestrials have been fishing really well. It sounds like a few spruce moths are starting to show in the canyon, but not much for numbers yet. Look for these to hopefully get going here quite soon.
Flies: #16-18 X-Caddis, #12 Tan and Pink Chili Dogs, #16 Parachute PMD, #12-16 Royal Wulff, #14-16 Parawullf, #12-14 Lime Trude
Yellowstone National Park
Slough/Soda Butte/Lamar: It could be a bit of a spotty week over here given the forecast, especially on Lamar and Soda Butte as these two rivers tend to muddy up much easier than Slough does when it rains. Be sure to check out the Lamar flow gauge before heading over. With clear water PMDs will be the main hatch bringing fish to the surface. Terrestrials have also been fishing really well and should be able to fool fish into rising throughout the day.
Flies: #12 Tan and Pink Chili Dogs, #8-12 Tan and Pink Thunder Thighs, #14-16 Arrick’s Ant, #16 Parachute PMD, #16 Hairwing PMD, #16-18 PMD Sprout, #16-18 X-Caddis, #14 Royal Trude
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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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