Madison River Outfitters Fly Fishing Report 8/15/16
Montana
Upper Madison
Flows at Kirby have been level at 970cfs for a few days after peaking around 1,500. With our nights starting to cool down, the river temp has dropped below 58 degrees every night this week.
Fish are consistently eating a variety of ants, small spinners, and a few hoppers. If you're looking to throw hoppers, keep your patterns on the small side. #12-14 Grand, Morrish, and 409 Hoppers have been getting eats. More fish will be caught on the ant though, #16 Cinnamon, #18 Hi-Vis Black, and #18 CDC Ant have been reliable.
Nymphing has still been good in the mornings and later in the afternoon as the day cools down. Been trying to get the fish to eat #10-12 Stonefly patterns again, but haven't had much luck yet. The best bets have been on #16-18 Caddis and Mayfly nymphs/emergers; #16 Shop Vac, #18 Black Lightning Bug, #18 Crystal Dip, #16 Guide Dip, and #18 BWO Loop Wing.
Hebgen
Starting to get a little smokey as the Maple Fire continues to grow, but the fishing is just fine. Cool mornings may delay activity, but August mornings warm quickly. It's getting to be that time of year where it's worth spending time throwing ant patterns, not just Callibaetis.
YNP
Lamar/Soda Butte
Still a great time of year to catch the Yellowstone Cutthroat on dries. As it tends to be in August, they're getting a little smarter and want a better drift from us. Make sure to change patterns after denials, they're pretty forgiving; #14 Purple 409, #16 Rusty Spinner, #16 CDC Comparadun, #18 Vis-A-Dun, and the #16-18 Paramerger.
Upper Gallatin
Starting to feel a little skinny, but the 'Gal is still running cool and fishing. Your most reliable options will be fishing the water on the lower end of the YNP section, a few more deep holes down there. Similar to many rivers in the area, it's wise to have a wide variety of smaller patterns, especially ants.
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Jake Schilling
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