Madison River Outfitters Fishing Report 9/14/21
Montana
Upper Madison: There’s still a few fish looking up for terrestrial and attractor patterns, so be sure to have your hoppers, ants, and beetles when you hit the river. Watch out for small black caddis and BWO’s coming off as well. Nymph fishing has remained steady, and is a good option throughout the day. A hopper dropper rig with a tungsten bead nymph a few feet under the dry has been producing as of late also.
Flies: #12-14 Pink Thunder Thighs, #10-14 Tan Morrish Hopper, #10-12 Parachute Hopper, #14-16 Hi Viz Ant, #14-16 Arricks Ant, #16-18 Purple Parachute, #16-18 Royal Cripple, #18 Tilt Wing BWO, #16-18 Redneck, #16-18 Frenchie, #16 Quill Bullet, #16-18 Guide Dip, #16 Lake Prince, #18 ICU Midge
Hebgen: The cold mornings have slowed down bug activity, but on the days when the wind stays down there are still some callibaetis and tricos hanging around once things warm up. Fishing with leeches and wooly buggers has picked up recently. Switch up your retrieval speed until you figure out what they like. Fishing two nymphs under an indicator has been picking up a few fish too, try a turkey callibaetis or pheasant tail along with your favorite chironomid pattern.
Flies: #8 Black or Olive Simi Seal Leech, #6 Flash-a-Bugger, #6 Hot Bead Leech, #16 Callibaetis Sparkle Dun, #16 Callibaetis Sprout, #16-18 Parachute Adams, #16 Turkey Callibaetis, #16 Pheasant Tail
YNP
Gallatin: The cool nights have kept the Gallatin’s water temperatures down, so take your time getting over there and get started once things warm up by mid morning or so. Nymph fishing will provide the most consistent action, but have a couple terrestrial patterns to try out in the afternoon hours.
Flies: #14-16 Lake Prince, #16-18 Green Lightning Bug, #16-18 Redneck, #18 Zebra Midge, #12 Pink Chili Dog, #12-14 Grand Hopper, #16 Arricks Ant
Madison/Firehole: We’ve heard of a few lake run fish being caught in the park stretch of the Madison, but it’s still pretty early yet. Swinging soft hackles, stripping streamers, or nymph fishing will be your best bets. The Firehole is fishing well early in the day, but still getting too warm for fishing by the afternoon. Swinging smaller soft hackles will be most consistent, but keep an eye out for some White Miller Caddis, and maybe a few BWO’s.
Flies: #8-12 Partridge and Peacock, #8-12 Partridge and Orange, #14 Diving Caddis, #8 Simi Seal Leech, #6 Black Mini Sex Dungeon, #6 Olive Sparkle Minnow, #10-12 Sili Legs, #14-16 Lake Prince, #16-18 Pheasant Tail, #14-16 Missing Link Caddis, #16-18 Parachute Adams
NE Corner: Be sure to have a good assortment of terrestrials and attractor dry patterns, as they continue to bring fish to the surface. Watch for Drake Mackerels and small BWO’s coming off here also. As usual bring along a few tungsten bead nymphs to drop off a hopper if the action on top isn’t too hot.
Flies: #10-12 Blade Runner Hopper, #12-14 Purple Thunder Thighs, #16 Tan Chili Dog, #12 Drake Mackerel Cripple, #14 Parachute Hares Ear, #18-20 Parachute BWO, #18-20 Low Water Baetis, #16 Quill Bullet, #16 Frenchie,
Leave a comment
Comments will be approved before showing up.
Nick Toller
Author