Madison River Outfitters Fly Fishing Report 6/6/2017
Montana
Upper Madison
The common theme in the shop this week is, "Don't let the high water turn you away." Flows at Kirby Ranch are currently above 2,400 cfs, water color is a mix of milky green/brown. Expect flows to stay high for another week or two (at least) as our snowpack continues to melt off for the summer. Your best fishing is still right along the banks, you'll find fishing this is more productive than trying to wade out to any slicks. That being said, there's even a few fish rising in the afternoons! Mostly smaller to medium sized trout, but good to see as caddis have been out in decent numbers.
The majority of traffic is downstream of the dam to the West Fork bridge, but don't sleep on floating Lyons to Windy. Stick close the banks and spend time on the ends of islands.
For nymphing, plan on fishing a lot of stoneflies. Our favorite is still the #8-10 Black Sili Leg and #10 Golden Biot Stone, but it doesn't hurt to be creative and try other colors. After stones, you'll want #14 Caddis Pupas, #14-16 Olive Hare's Ear, #16 Tung. Frenchie, and #16 Tung. Rainbow Warrior. Get down fast. Also, yes, San Juan's will find fish.
Hebgen
Midges and a few Callibaetis are making our cars, mostly windshields, filthy. As always with Hebgen, find time when the wind is down. When conditions allow, a dry-dropper rig is a very fun way to spend your mornings/evenings. Try a #16 Purple Parachute or #16 Midge-Caddis with a #14-16 Peacock Chironomid nymph below.
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Gallatin
Just over 4,00 cfs. If you've never tried white water rafting, this is the time.
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Yellowstone Nat'l Park
Madison
Hopefully in better shape soon. Currently high and dirty, the river in our backyard will be best fished nymphing or swinging for a least another week. Caddis and PMD's will be in better numbers soon, hopefully aligned with lower, clearer flows.
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Firehole
Currently high and tea-stained colored flows. Caddis and a few mayflies are out, but don't count on great dry fly fishing quite yet. Look for slow, mellow areas and you may stumble upon fish consistently working the surface. A Firehole staple, don't forget about swinging soft hackles when the dry-game is tough. Our favorite soft hackles for this river are the #12-14 Green and #12-14 Orange.
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*photo by Chris Daniel*
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Jake Schilling
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