Archived Upper Madison River Fishing Reports: 2009
September 30, 2009
Yes, it is snowing at Beartooth Flyfishing.
September 26, 2009
Madison River, Montana. A day of float fishing on the Madison River with my partner (we shared the float) Brian and myself, "Grandpa" John, Chairman of the Board of Beartooth Flyfishing Shop and Lodge, one of the finest fly shops in Montana with some of the best guides on the planet and one of the best fly tyers and designers of flies, my son, Dan Delekta, owner of Beartooth Fly Shop and Lodge with his wife Nancy, also an excellent fly fisher.Only a proud father and trout slayer could write this report.This Nov. will be my 87th year on the planet and I still feel like a kid fishing.
Enough of the talk and back to the float trip with our excellent guide Marty. We had a great day fishing. Grandpa John caught the biggest of the day, a huge 20" Brown Trout. We also caught a bunch of Rainbows, Browns, and Whitefish in all sizes up to 18". The flies that worked included Shiela's Sculpin #4, Pat Rubberlegs Brown #10, and the Delektable™ Lil' Spanker in Silver #18. All in all it was a great fishing day on the Madison River.
Grandpa
September 19, 2009 Two-Week Fishing Report
Changes they are a-coming … but not quite yet …
Although the calendar says the temperatures should be dropping any day now and the fall streamer action should get into full gear, Indian Summer still has a stronghold on the Madison Valley, and the dry-flies are still working.
The hopper season on the Madison has been nothing short of wonderful this year. We are at the tail-end of hopper season, with a lot of “lookers” coming up for the patterns then turning away, but some good fish are still taking the offerings, and taking them with gusto! Small dries floated in tandem with the hoppers, especially ants and attractors like Trudes, are also scoring fish. The best tandem, though, has been the hopper-dropper combo, with size 18 mayfly nymphs and caddis emergers getting most of the action.
And while the cooler weather hasn’t officially heralded the streamer season yet, some quality fish are being caught on streamers on these beautiful, pleasant days. Fishing for the last two weeks has been good...not always the biggest fish every day but lots of action, nonetheless.
The latest multi-boat group floating through the shop, Jan and Ken’s Wild Adventures, caught the majority of their quality fish on streamers, and reports of good catches on streamers have increased lately. After some weather extremes during their previous trips this season, including hail storms, Jan and Ken's Wild Adventures group finally got beautiful, settled weather last week! Noon starts and warmer afternoons made for some fun hopper-dropper fishing. Small tan- or red-bodied hoppers (Fat Albert, Parachute Hopper, Morish's Hopper, Delektable Slammers, etc…) to a sz.14 or 16 Prince, or a sz.18 Olive Hairs Ear or Delektable Lil' Spanker, kept rods bent and smiles on faces. If the dropper stopped working we would take it off and fish a single hopper if they were eating it, or tie on a piece of 5x and fish a small ant, Wulff or Trude. On the hot days the fish didn’t always seem to want to chase the streamer, so it worked best to stay on the surface most of the time. When the dry bite wasn’t on, usually between 6 and 7 p.m., we did hook a few nice fish on the size 14 Epoxy Back Olive Hare's Ear or a small Serendipity. It's always nice to fish with this group, and we can’t wait to see them again next year. They were lots of fun. Thanks Guys!
Recently, cooler mornings have lent to streamer fishing, and although most of the fish being caught in the morning have been on the bead-head nymphs trailed behind, the streamer seems to be inducing most of the chases. The Natural Zonker, Sheila's Sculpin, JR's CH Streamer in Olive/White and Olive/Gold, The White or Badger Delektable™ Screamer and the Olive or Tan McCune’s Sculpin have been the streamers of choice. Trailers have included the sz.14 and 16 Prince Nymph abd the Red Holographic Prince, along with smaller nymphs, like the Tungsten Bead and Soft Hackle Pheasant Tails, Delektable Lil' Spankers, Olive Hare’s Ears, Shop Vacs, Micro Mayflies and the Chocolate WD-40, all in 18s and 20s. No. 1 split-shot has worked with the streamer/nymph or big nymph/small nymph combos, and a BB split-shot goes on when fishing with two small nymphs. An alternative to split shot with the streamers is to try one of Dan's Beartooth Sinking Lead Core Leaders.
We've enjoyed fishing with many great groups of anglers this summer, and the Williams group was no exception. They enjoyed their day of catching and teasing trout on one of the most beautiful trout rivers in the world.
The hopper bite proved to be tricky at times, with fish slapping at the fly instead of biting it, but enough fish commited to the bite to help make the day successful. The day started with nymphs, but transitioned to hopper-dropper and hoper-small dry combos once the day got warmer. Generally, we used 4X to the hopper and 5X to the trailer; however, if there was an unusual amount of slaps or refusals on the dry, 5X went to the hopper and the trailer. The hopper patterns included Morrish's Hopper, Red Fat Albert, "Tony the Tiger" and the Flesh-Bellied Triple Deckers. The sz.8 Royal Trude also produced when nothing else seemed to work.
Fishing has been good, but you have to work harder. Flies and water that produced one day don't always produce the next. If fish aren’t eating; keep changing flies. If fish still aren’t eating try nymphs next to the rocks, then try fishing the deeper runs 10 feet off the bank. If they were only eating the small dry behind the hopper one day and not the next, try tying a smaller bead-head nymph under the hopper.
Bottom line -- be willing to change and try different things. Hoppers, nymphs and streamers; they are all catching fish right now. So load up your fly boxes with a good variety, and by all means … Go fishing!
We have been blessed with an incredible variety of fun fisherman and fisherwoman this month. Everyone had a great time learning different techniques, catching and sometimes being teased by the wiley trout, and enjoying Beartooth Bread, along with Trout, Bikini and Monster Cookies. Thanks to our bakers extraordinaire, Elle and Vicki!
Charles P 
Marty the Montajun 
Nancy
and Dan
September 2, 2009
My big float trip on the Great Madison River in Montana with top guides Dan and Marty from Beartooth Flyshop on the Madison showing me the way, Dan's 86 year old father named "Grandpa" John and author of this report.
We floated from Ruby Creek to Varney Bridge. Dan and Marty fished hoppers and dry flies with good success. Grandpa fished with his favorite shop recommendation, beadhead nymphs, with great success hooking and catching Rainbows, Browns, and Whitefish and also missing some really big fish. All in all it was a really great float hooking and catching all day. Thanks boys!
Grandpa
August 30, 2009
This was our long awaited big day off with my girlfriend, Jeanne Williams who owns Rainbow Valley Lodge and our satellite fly shop called Odell Creek Fly Shop (Jeanne and I affectionately call it that), with our guide du jour, Dave Hall. The weather was great and the bite was on most of the day. Someone had a favorite fly they were a bit too stubborn to change but that fly did catch some nice trout most of the day. Heh, heh, heh! That's a hint. We had a blast. Thanks Dave.
Saturday August 29, 2009
No Catch n release! Our incredible shop girl, Jennifer Durham, was officially caught n kept by Tryston Reints of Jeffers, MT. He is one lucky fisherman, Jenny is beautiful, sweet, kind, considerate, and full of love n life. She fishes, hunts, is a taxidermist, a champion model builder, and has been a tireless hardworking employee for Beartooth. We want to wish the warmest congratulations to Tryston and Jenn Reints in their life together.
.
Week of August 28, 2009
’Tis the season … for extremes …
Overall, fishing has been really good lately, punctuated by some of the friendliest, most pleasurable clients a guide could ask for. But mixed in with those days of constant calls of “Fish on!,” there have been perplexing days when, despite great conditions, the bites were not nearly as consistent.
Such was the case this past week. Dan and I guided a group on the Big Hole River, with stellar results. That was followed the next day with me and Charlie on the Madison, enjoying some absolutely phenomenal fishing with our clients. The guys were whooping, hollering and laughing when we reached the take-out – what a day! … The next morning, Charlie and I couldn’t wait to get back on the Madison, with the memory of the previous day’s fishing on our minds, and a clear, warm sky beckoning to us; we were chomping at the bit to get on the water! … But it was one of “those” days ... The guys caught fish, and had a great time, but the bite was slower, much slower, than the day before. The only difference in conditions was a mild north breeze that produced a very moderate drop in air temperature, but noticeably, there was nearly a complete lack of hopper sounds on the banks. The day before, we were serenaded by a resounding chorus of “clicking” from the tasty morsels flying around all day … Such is fishing … And as the true nature of fishing, a handful of quality fish, and a day on the water in pleasant company on one of the most beautiful rivers in the world was nothing short of a wonderful day filled with great memories.
Hoppers and ants have been the flies of choice. The Morrish Hopper, along with the Delektable Twisted X in tan/brown and olive/gold, produced most of my better fish. The Delektable Cinnamon Ant, along with a variety of small Trude patterns, were also providing quality and quantity.
Marty the Montajun 
Fishing has been a bit sporadic … some days are really good, some days are more challenging. There have been a bunch of twinks, with better fish mixed in, tight to the banks and in the non-descript middle. Less action has come from the rock slicks lately, at least not ones that are eating hoppers and ants.
The Half Down Hopper has still been one of my “go to” patterns, as well as the Yeager’s 409 in red and the Neversink Trude. The # 10 Royal Trude has been producing nice fish in the morning and the Royal Wulff has been a good “go to” when fishing a single-fly rig. Tight-lining a Natural Zonker to a #14 Prince Nymph has produced some consistent action, although the bigger fish have not been taking it. A hopper pattern that has been somewhat consistent is Morrish’s Hopper, which I’ve been running in tandem with the Half Down Hopper or an ant pattern with good success.
The flows are back down below 1,000 cfs, so long, downstream drifts are a big help to fool wary, late-summer trout. The low flow has also made 4x the standard tippet with the dries, and I have been seeing a lot of spools labeled with a 5 on ‘em; I hate to drop that low but when the situation dictates …
Whether they want to look up or not, it’s finally sunny and warm, so GO Fishing!!
Charles P.
August 8-16, 2009
The Jan and Ken group was back in town for some Madison River therapy.
Four days in a row of sun, wind, rain, clouds, hail, cold, warm; a healthy dose of Montana was had by all. The group was great, catching trout, making new friends, enjoying the Madison River Valley. The smiles, handshakes, and conversations tell the story. Flyfishing takes you to some of the most beautiful places on the planet. I refer to it as soul food and highly recommend a good dose. Take 4 days in a row and let us know how you are feeling in a couple of weeks. Review the gallery of photos. You be the judge; priceless!Dan 
Bunny Fur and Hoppers…that’s about as good as it gets…The last week has been good…Really Good. Bright bunny fur has been working well in the morning (6-10:30 A.M.). Natural Zonkers, JR’s CH Streamer in Olive/White, and the Delektable™ Badger Screamer tight lined through the middle and in the deep Trenches next to the big rocks have been deadly. Try dropping some sz.18-20 mayfly emerger’s off the back of the bunnies to replicate the Trico’s, Psuedo’s, PED’s and other small mayfly’s we have been seeing up by the shop lately. The Soft Hackle Pheasant Tail and the Micro Mayfly have been my trailer’s of choice in the morning’s.
Once you start hearing hopper’s buzz the around the bank, tie on a flesh colored Three Decker, a Rainy’s Grand, a Red Slammer, a Tan Carnage Hopper, or your favorite hopper pattern and HOLD ON! Keep ‘em a couple feet off the bank or on the small shelf’s created by gravel bars in the middle and never judge a fish by the size of the strike. The biggest fish will move the smallest amount of water sometimes when eating hoppers, not to say that some big fish won’t give the classic takes, but a lot of the time they don’t even break the surface…they just suck ‘em down; never judge a book by it’s cover kinda deal. Other dries that have been working well in the afternoon include: the Delektable Flying Ant in cinnamon or black, the purple Twisted X in an eight, Half Downed Hoppers in a 12, gold Turks Tarantula’s in 12’s and 14’s and the rose Twisted X in a 16 have all been good second’s in a two fly rig. However, if I can find a single fly that is getting a good amount of attention, I will usually keep it at just the one…We had a good amount of rain and colder temps coming about in the later afternoons, and when that happened I went back to the bunny.
The lighter colored streamers weren’t producing like they were in the mornings but the darker colored ones were moving some large fish under the clouds. Olive and Black were the colors of choice during the late afternoons (4-7). The Olive MCCune’s, the Black Christmas Tree, and Shiela’s Sculpin (which isn’t olive or black, I know) have all been good producers later in the day. The small mayfly trailer’s I previously mentioned have still been working in the afternoon, but so have Prince Nymphs, Lightning Bugs, and a range of Caddis emergers. Tight to the bank or short stripped through the middle, these combo’s have been deadly under a little bit of cloud cover. So whether you’re a dry guy, a streamer guy or a nympho, you’re gonna be happy, soGO FISHING!!! Charles P. 
Photos from that week added by Nancy
We are very busy having lots of fun fishing with many wonderful people and are just catching up...sorry for the delay in our reports.August 7, 2009
The Indiana Angler group was ready for their first float…and so was the wind. The forecasted rain and lightning never showed up, which was nice, but the winds were HOWLING! We floated Ruby Creek to Varney Bridge and fished nymphs all day. Big fish were hooked right out of the shoots on a green and white streamer but that quickly died around ten. After that, we found a good amount of fish in the trenches next to rocks and about two feet off the bank-nothing in the middle. Girdle bugs and sz.14 prince nymphs were the go to bugs for the morning. Lots of 8-12 inch trout, a few 12-14’s, a handful of whitey’s all came to the boat but we also a hooked couple big fish that we didn’t see. Then we got one of the prettiest 19 in. slab rainbows I’ve seen all year, which ate a sz.6 black girdle bug next to a rock-just a gorgeous fish.
After the slab we continued to find a few smaller trout and then just before lunch we poked a beautiful 17 in. rainbow on the prince just below an irrigation diversion. After lunch we saw a lot of 10-14 inch fish again, a few medium sized fish, including a nice brown pulled out of the middle and a few more whitey’s, all on nymphs. When the girdle bug died off, caddis nymphs started to pick up (olive Hares Ear, Lime Juice, Nymphicator’s etc…) when tight lined through the middle, until we got to the Cottonwoods. 
Once in the trees we started fishing stoneflies in the shallows banks and about halfway between the cottonwoods and Varney we found a very large brown that ate our sz. 8 Delektable™ Mega Prince. As soon as the fish ate, it ran so fast that I immediately jumped out of the boat to stop moving. Even at a full stop, the fish ran until we could see our backing knot, almost surfaced itself on the bank 90 ft. upstream, turned sideways and ran for a stick and then came right back at us. I jumped back into the boat, pulled anchor and started chasing the fish. We got it to the boat and I couldn’t stop shaking for about 10 minutes…big fish get me all sorts of excited. We taped it at a true 20. If that doesn’t sound big to you, look at the picture and try measuring the next fish you assume is 20 inches. All in all it was a great day, even with wind. GO FISHING!!! Charles P.
July 29th & 30th
Wednesday and Thursday were very different days. Wednesday was cold, stormy and windy, while Thursday was warm, sunny and calm. So, we fished according to the conditions…Olive streamers and small mayfly nymphs on Wednesday and hoppers, moths, ants and caddis on Thursday. The temperature Wednesday morning was below 40, the skies were dark gray and the fish were aggressive.
Olive streamers with a small sz.18 or 20 mayfly dropper (Shop Vac, Hogan’s Red Headed Step Child, B.H. Tungsten P.T. Flash Bug, Amber Studly Nymph, etc…) tight lined with occasional strips, during the storms brought a lot of nice fish to the boat. We were fishing an 8 ft. leader with a sz. b split and would throw just slightly upstream, give two big mends to let the line sink and then bring the line tight and slowly strip in. We fished everything-off the bank, through the middle, next to rocks, etc…and didn’t seem to find the fish too concentrated in any one spot, they were spread out fairly well. And, while most of the fish took the small bead trailer, a few good fish took the streamer and I’m sure most of the fish which ate the bead were drawn in by the bigger streamer. Since we fished sub-surface all day Wednesday and I’d heard the weather for Thursday was supposed to be good, I told my clients that we’d try and work the dry the following day.
Thursday started out with a bang, we had two strikes on the flying ant before the anchor was even up, and that’s how the morning continued. Big, darker bodied hoppers and Royal Trudes as lead flies, with the Delektable™ Olive Sparkle Bug or Cinnamon Delektable Flying Ant as a trailer, brought fish up consistently all morning and early afternoon until a 1 o’clock lunch. Early morning fishing was hottest on the banks, the fish were looking for nocturnals and we were one of the first boats down-before the fish had seen a million flies cast to the bank. However, by mid morning we started to notice the fish moving to the shallows and rock slicks. We started getting less strikes on the big flies and we switched the hoppers and Trudes to orange Turk’s and small Half Downed hoppers, imitating the Spruce moths we started seeing on the river. After lunch, we started getting less strikes but were moving bigger fish. A sz.8 cream colored Slammer trailing either the Cinnamon flying ant or the Olive Delektable CDC Holographic caddis in a 14 moved some big fish. We either dead drifted the rig in the middle or were skittering the flies above rocks and which also moved a couple large fish. The day ended with a 20+ inch fish that ate the holographic caddis in the middle, ran for every rock in the river, and came to the boat twice…only to come unbuttoned just above the storey ditch takeout. That’s fishing, right? Go Fishing, Charles P.
July 25, 2009
Sometimes, the greatest joy of flyfishing is the solitude that can be found on one’s favorite waters. Other times, it’s found in the camaraderie of a group of friends, sharing in a joyous experience. The latter was the case recently. Our shop had the pleasure of guiding a dozen friends for four days, along with four of their wives one day, for some great times on the Madison River. The group was part of a “retreat” of sorts, hosted by a local ranch owner, client, and friend of the shop. Following the business of the gathering each morning, the group headed to the river for some afternoon fishing.
The fishing was, honestly, spotty, as afternoon thunderstorms conspired against the bug hatches and slowed the bite. But everyone caught fish, including the first-timers, and everyone left with huge smiles and great memories.
Thanks guys (and ladies!) for a lot of fun on the river. Good company with great clients is always the best part of our job. “Marty the Montajun”
While the bug hatches did slow a bit causing dry fly fishing to be a bit weak, the nymph game was all right if you had a rotation and weren’t afraid to stop A LOT and change your rigs. PMD nymphs, Hogan's red headed stepchild’s, and P.T.’s both standard and soft hackle all in 16’s and 18’s were all great bugs during the rain. I was fishing these either in conjunction with each other or dropped off of one of Dan’s special redback sz.14 GB CN Superflash Yellow Sally nymph’s.
When fishing small nymphs (or small dries) in tandem, I like to fish the bugs eye to eye so as not to create unwanted drag on the first bug. Just take the tippet about to be used for your dropper and instead of tying the tippet to the hook of the lead fly, tie it to the eye of the first fly. Tight lined through the mid-depth and shallow riffles in the middle of the river, fish seemed to be chasing the nymph rigs as emergers, however dead drifted through the deeper rock channels next to rocks was also deadly. And, while two small nymphs were the only real option in strong gusts of wind, hail and lightning, after the storms had subsided the dries did tend to pick up a bit; mainly the rusty spinners. Since we were doing late afternoon floats (4-9 p.m.) we would get a chance to fish the rusty spinner fall from 7-9. A sz.16 or 18 rust colored mayfly fished in the rock slicks or on the bank, behind a trude, became a great tactic and picked up a few good fish. If the spinner wasn’t working, I would trade it out for a sz.14 gray Delektable halo emerger or olive sparkle bug to match the caddis, which were also either in their spinner phase or had been knocked down by the rain.
GO FISHING!! Charles P.
June 24, 2009
The catch of the day and a lifetime for our friend, Joe Irons, is Tamela. We were very proud to share in this beautiful day. Joe was wearing a tuxedo along with a White Delektable Screamer with flowers and a rod tip, nice touch! We had not confirmed that was the fly that landed his catch but it happens to be working right now in the Madison. We had fun with our fishing buddies at the Boulder River table. Here are a few choice photos to enjoy.
Congratulations Joe and Tamela!
June 23, 2009
The warm weather has caused the bug hatches to pop. The faster, cooler water is keeping the hatches in check. This should help prolong the hatches like Dan said. Caddis are everywhere. Our buddy Marion was rowing and his wife Cindy was the queen catching this nice Rainbow on a Caddis Emerger (Delektable Lime Juice)
June 22, 2009
My initial plan last night was to float Storey Ditch to Burnt Tree, however, that changed pretty quickly when I woke up this morning to pounding rain and wind. Instead, I chose to float Varney to Town, in an effort to avoid a bit of the wind. Fishing was OK. We boated some fish on both the Bow River Bugger as well as the White Legged Black Girdle Bug. All fish caught were on a tight line, either pulling it off the bank or through the deeper, straight middle runs. While we did wade a bit right off the bat, we didn't poke any fish so the clients chose not to wade any holes past the first few outta the chutes. They wanted to chase the color black but dead drifted black bugs weren't doing it. So we fished out of the boat, and while we didn't land 100 fish, we did boat a number of 15"-18" browns with one smaller rainbow in the mix. One BB split shot was enough weight under a 9 foot leader to get into the fishes feeding lane. While all the fish we landed were all either on the Bow River Bugger or Girdle Bug, there were a few big fish that straightend a sz.14 Red Lil' Spanker.
GO FISHING, Charles P.
June 21, 2009
Father’s Day fun on the Madison River! … I had the pleasure of guiding Paul and Kevin on Sunday, and a good time was had by all.
The weather was similar to my previous float, with on-and-off rain showers and some fairly stiff wind. The rain was also throwing some color into the river from the creeks, but it had no ill effect on the fishing. The trout were hungry and ready to play.
The fishing in the early morning was a bit slow, but the guys picked up some quality fish while wade-fishing selected prime holes. After a pleasant shore lunch, the fishing from the boat picked up. The latter part of the float, especially as the sun started dropping on the mountains and the light started fading as evening approached, the guys consistently scored on quality fish. A perfect ending to another great day on the Madison!
Because of the varying conditions, a wide variety of bugs caught fish, including the Delektable Screamer in Black/Olive and White, #10 Pat’s Rubberlegs in Tan/Brown and Brown, #16 Delektable Lil’ Spankers in Red and Blue, #14 Serengold in Rootbeer and #16 Delektable Lime Juice: Delektable Flies Gallery
Marty “The Montajun” Authement
Mid-June 2009 Reports
Sunday’s float was Lyon’s Bridge to Palisades; fishing was fair. Fish were chasing Zonkers, weighted with a small bead, late in the morning. Closer to noon, the fish were starting to key-in on stonefly nymphs, the Delektable™ Mega Prince Flashback and Pat’s Rubberlegs. It was a fairly even mix of brown trout and whitefish, with the occasional small rainbow. Most of the fish in the morning were found around rocks in the middle of the river and in the shallow gravelly runs. After lunch, we were finding fish closer to the banks and in the mid-depth runs close to the banks. The big nymphs slowed down a bit about after lunch, and the #14 Lil Red Spanker and the #16 Pheasant Tail Lil Spanker were the “go to” bugs until we took out around 4 in the afternoon.
I floated from Storey Ditch to 8-Mile yesterday and had okay luck fishing streamers. The water was green. Got a handful of good fish to the boat and had a good amount of unanswered tugs. I fished Olive in the morning and black in the afternoon; most of the takes were on the tight line/slow strip and came right off the bank. I couldn’t seem to get many fish to chase with a faster retrieve, so I would just cast slightly upstream, put my tip close to the water, bring in slack and just keep the line tight. The only exception was in obvious buckets, where I would put a mend in to let the fly sink into the bucket and then use my rod tip to twitch the fly downstream. My partner in crime threw nymphs a little bit and found fish in the same place (tight to the bank) using a white legged, black body, girdle bug with a sz.14 Red Copper John.
C.P.G.
Guiding on Monday was wet and chilly, with slow soaking rain and occasional heavy squalls falling on us the entire float. The fishing, however, was HOT.
We started our float at Ruby Creek, and the fish started biting immediately. I barely had the oars in the water and I was reaching for the landing net. It was just a taste of what was to come, as fishing was consistent for the entire float, which ended at Varney Bridge.
In the first stretch of the float, there were some decent trout, but the bulk of the rapid-fire bites were smaller trout and really big whitefish. As we traveled downriver, the numbers of whitefish and smaller trout dropped, and the numbers of bigger trout increased. Our best run of trout, size and numbers, came in the latter part of the float, with some of the best fish coming practically in sight of the landing.
The sun also came out in earnest, for the first time of the day, about 300 yards from the landing.
The water was flowing fairly quickly, and we were scoring with basic high-water techniques; behind rocks and islands, tight to the bank, and any and every slower run.
The fish took a combination of #6 and #8 Delektable Hurless in Olive and Grey, #6 and #8 Delektable Flashback Mega Prince, #16 Delektable Lil Spankers in Red and Blue, #16 Delektable Rootbeer Serengold, and #10 Pat’s Rubberlegs in Brown and Tan/Brown.
Another great day on the river. Get out and go fishing!
Marty “The Montajun” Authement
June 14, 2009
The fishing has been excellent for those who have been on the Upper Madison River from Quake to Ennis Lake. The cfs has been steady around 1,200 at Kirby. The clarity is perfectly clear. The water is not off color, it's clear. I guided Friday and we caught fish from start to a 19" Rainbow finish. The Delektable™ Mega Prince, Hurless Stone in Gray and Olive, and both in the flashback versions, Lil' Spankers, the Lime and Orange Juice and a variety of streamer patterns have all been working. We switched to flashbacks when the clouds came. The dry fly bite has started and will only be getting better.
Thank Mother Nature for the moisture in June and the cloud cover that promotes such great flyfishing action. We have guided trips going out every week and will keep you all informed on the bite and hatches. If you need an up to the minute report call the shop 406-682-7525 or stop by.
There have been some big bug (Salmon Fly) spottings on the Lower Madison this week so we should be seeing them up this way in the next 10 to 14 days. Big and small Caddis usually take the lead before, during, and after the big bugs.
Dan
June 7, 2009
Yes, it's snowing at Beartooth.
June 5, 2009
The Madison River is dropping, down to around 1,400 cfs. The water is clearing, and the river remains nearly void of fishermen, with a few waders in the upper section and the rare boat drifting down.
Delektable Lil' Blue Spanker
The fishing Friday, as it has been throughout the runoff, was OUTSTANDING. We wade fished for only a short time, being chased off the river by thunder boomers and the building lightning strikes on the foothills.
Our first stop was almost directly behind the lodge, and a short amount of wading produced about a dozen fish, eating the stone fly nymphs -- HARD. From there, we drove upriver, fishing a favorite spot between Lyons Bridge and Sun West, which produced several more fish in short order. The fish were still biting the stones, but a few flying bugs also prompted bites on small trailer nymphs. Our third stop was above the West Fork, where the water is really starting to clear up. Several more fish were caught there, but the stop was cut very short by the threatening weather. The precipitation is easy to cheat; that’s why God created rain jackets. But when the lightning bolts start striking the hills, it’s time to get the heck out of Dodge.
The fish were hungry and eager, and literally every bug we tied on caught fish. Our bug list for the day included a Delektable™ selection of the #6 Gray Hurless, #6 Olive Hurless, #6 Mega Prince Standard Flashback, #16 Lil' Red Spanker, #16 Lil' Blue Spanker and the #16 Rootbeer Seringold: Delektable Flies Gallery
While we were driving around and wading, our newest shop geek, Charles P, fished for only a few minutes behind the lodge on his lunch break, and caught a huge rainbow on his third cast, which took a Delektable Badger Screamer behind a large rock, cast from the bank. We're told there was a photo but it was not saved?? Charles P also floated the river on Thursday with his father. The day started slow but picked up, big time, in the latter part of the float when they started throwing streamers.
We also got a report from a good friend who floated Lyons Bridge to McAtee Bridge on Friday, and absolutely pounded fish on streamers. He didn’t keep a fish count, but he was almost giggly, calling the day one of his best ever; and this guy can really fish, so to be one of his best, it had to be an absolutely incredible day.
GO FISHING!!!
Dan
, Marty
, and Charles P
Late May Early June Continued...
I fished Tuesday and Wednesday on the upper river and it was phenomenal. I also did very well yesterday, Monday, while fishing a short time during lunch. I don’t have much to add to Dan’s latest report except on Wednesday, with the water seeming to clean up just a little bit, the fish seemed to start spreading out a bit; off the bank and into deeper, more descript runs. They were still on the bank, just not as many. In addition, the fish seemed to eat more small bugs. The # 6 Delektable Mega Prince in Olive, the Delektable worm in Red and Orange, and most importantly, the # 14 Lil' Red Spanker were all unstoppable: Delektable Flies Gallery Fishing started out very strong, with the fish biting the big bugs and worms. There was a noticeable slow-down around noon, then the # 14 Lil' Red Spanker came out and the bite was back on. At the end of the day, fish were eating caddis emergers, and the # 18 Serengold and Green Sparkle Pupa both popped a few fish.
I hadn't heard many reports lately on the lower river, so on Sunday night, after work, I drove down to check it out. The CFS below Ennis Lake was 4,110; IT’S ABSOLUTELY HUGE DOWN THERE, SO BE CAREFUL!! There were only a few bank runs, rock slicks and inside corners that weren’t so fast as to be unfishable. Luckily, because of the perception that the river is blownout and unfishable, even on a Sunday, there were hardly any people there. I fished one inside corner, probably three runs total, and hooked 17 fish in two hours. Red and orange worms were king. While it was light out, the # 18 Soft Hackle Pheasanttail hooked a few fish, but seemed to lose most of ‘em cause the fish were bending the little hook in the big water. I caught all rainbows while there was light on the water, but as soon as the shade hit the water, I got only browns. The only fish that ate a stonefly nymph all afternoon was a 19-inch brown, the biggest fish of the afernoon, that ate the # 6 Brown Pat’s Rubberleg.
Embrace the dirt and GO FISHING!
Charles P.
May 26, 2009
With the high, dirty water, the Madison River is blown-out and unfishable … NOT!!!
We have learned to “embrace the dirt,” and fishing this fast, colored water is one of our favorite times of the season to be out on the river. The fishing is great, and there is almost no one on the river.
We went out yesterday on the upper river, floating from wade spot to wade spot, and we literally caught fish at EVERY stop we made. We lost an accurate count, but we hooked roughly 60 fish, all while being the only boat on the river … What a day!
The day was also punctuated with a strong midge hatch, followed by a respectable March Brown hatch and a smattering of Caddis. Multiple fish were spotted rising, and twice fish were literally leaping out of the water as they were chasing bugs.
The key to “fishing the dirt” is simple. The high, fast water has the fish concentrated in any and every spot of calmer water, along the banks and behind rocks and other obstructions. Next, you have to get the flies down to them, and you have to get them down quickly, which means split-shot; and if one split-shot isn’t getting them down, then two or three might be needed. But once the depth of the drift is right …Fish on! And because the fish are concentrated, it’s common to catch multiple fish in every hole.
The flies that worked best for us were the Delektable™ Hurless Nymph in Olive and Gray Flashback, and the Delektable™ Lil’ Spanker in Red.
Delektable Lil' Spanker Red
Just be careful when fishing during these higher flows. The water is higher and moving fast and extreme caution when wading is recommended for all fishermen, no matter what their experience level. Dan is crazier than most when he's wading, I wouldn't follow without assistance.
Dan and Marty
May 23, 2009--Fishing the Dirt
Upper Madison River Flows are at 2,240 cfs.
The higher flows are a result of run-off and managing flows. We recommend caution floating during these higher flows. Extreme caution is recommended around bridges, especially at Wolf Creek Bridge, where the clearance is a tight pucker.
Marty and I ventured out to fish after work for a couple of hours. We fished the Upper Madison River below Three Dollar Bridge. The river had a foot to a foot and a half of clarity. We hooked around a dozen fish, landing eight.
The flies that worked for us were Delektable™ Hurless Stones: 
Delektable™ Big Red:
Dan's new stonefly patterns for 2010 and a #12 Lime Juice:
We've had a number of good fishing reports in the dirt using Double Screamers in Black, Stonefly Nymphs, Lil' Spankers in Red, Red Worms and Egg patterns. All the Delektables can be seen in the Delektable Flies Gallery
The higher flows mean the fish are being pushed hard against the bank and behind rocks, islands and other obstructions; the few places in the river where the fish can take a break from the swift current. Fish tight to the shorelines, and through the entire runs of slower pools; often the tails of the pools are the best. Extra weight may be needed to compensate for the higher, faster water, to get the nymphs down to the strike zone. If the bugs are floated through prime water without a strike, add a split shot about a foot above the first fly. If the strikes still don't come, add another. The key is to get the bugs down to where the fish want them.
I love fishing the off-colored flows and we will be headed back to the Madison in the next 2 or 3 days. Keep checking our reports for updates.
Dan
Opening Day 2009--May 16
The third Saturday of May -- opening day since the mid-1990's for the Madison River from Quake Lake to McAtee Bridge -- has become a traditional father/son fly fishing outing for "Grandpa" John, 86, and Dan Delekta, 51. The duo had a perfect Saturday, fishing Delektable™ Hurless Stones in Olive and Gray. Also, one of Dan's new stonefly patterns, a prototype for 2010, was working; love that R&D! They floated an 8-mile stretch with a blend of wading and float fishing. The boys hooked and landed almost 30 Madison River fish.
FISHING REPORT FOR EARLY MAY 2009
CFS: Stable at 1230 Upper Madison River
Fish seem to be a little confused with the weather (like the rest of us) and fishing reports have been sporadic; they are eating but making us work a little harder for it. The ‘ol Big Bug/Small Bug nymphing combo has been the best method from most of the reports and when I say small, I mean small. Mayfly nymphs #'s16-20 and midge larvae or emergers (like the Delektable™ Twinkle) #’s 18-22 trailing under a # 4-8 stonefly nymph has been the best bet. An Olive or Grey #6 Delektable Hurless with a #18 beadhead Pheasant Tail has been one of the few consistently good setups. With the thermometer reading below 32 most nights still, low early morning water temps. have resulted in slower mornings. Warmer, overcast, afternoons have seen the fish activity picking up from 1- 5 p.m., the late afternoon clouds have resulted in good hatches of baetis everywhere from Town to MacAtee, BWO's have been spotted on the Beartooth porch and caddis have been seen from Town to 8-mile and are moving upriver every day. If the standard nymph rigs aren’t working, try tight-lining a #2 Zonker to a #16-#18 Delektable Spanker in Silver, Pheasant Tail, or Blue for the mayflies, and a #14 Green Spanker for the caddis.
Lower temps have led to increased visibility on the Yellowstone and better reports from the Big Hole, with a noticeable decrease in pressure on the Upper Madison as a result. However, we are starting to see more and more wade-fisherman between Town and Varney --boat fisherman should remember that these fishermen have the right of way. Please do your best to leave other fisherman’s holes alone. A little bit of etiquette goes a long way on an increasingly pressured river.
More difficult fishing has made me change tactics with good results. Increased leader and dropper length has made a big difference in the last ten days. If the average 7-9 foot leader isn’t working, try going to a 10-12 foot leader with 18-28 inches between your first and second bug. This is using tippets from 2X-4X. It’s a little harder to manage, especially in the wind, but it has seemed to increase the number of fish in the boat. The trick with long leaders is picking up less line before re-casting and making less false casts. If you are used to picking up 15 feet of floating line and making three false casts, try picking up ten feet of line and making one false cast, this will reduce the chance of tangles with the added leader length.
GO FISHING, Charles P.
Other Suggested Patterns:
# 4-8 Delektable Braided Stonefly Nymph Brown/Tan
# 4-10 Pat’s Rubber Legs in Brown and Black
# 4-6 Kaufmann Double Bead Stonefly Nymph in Grey and Olive
# 4-6 Red and Orange Delektable Worm.
# 14-18 Lightning Bug
# 12-16 Hares Ear
# 16 One Man Party
SPRING 2009 FISHING REPORT
The fishing has been excellent for those that have spent time fishing Southwest Montana this Winter and Early Spring. The Squalla Stonefies, BWO's, and Midges will dominate our bug hatch imitations the month of April. The fly patterns we like to fish for April are as follows.
Stonefly nymphs: In sizes #6, #8; Delektable Hurless Std and Flashback Gray and Olive; Delektable Mega Prince Std and Flashback; Delektable Braided Brownstone Std and Flashback; Delektable Hurless Stone Purple Flashback; Pats Rubberlegs in Brown and Olive/Brown; Morrish's W.M.D. Claret; Double BH Stone in Black and Hare's Ear.
The BWO Nymph's and other Smaller Nymphs we like to fish in April are as follows: Delektable Rootbeer Floats in Dark Gray, Red, Chocolate, and Gray in sizes #16 and #18; Delektable Lil' Spankers in Red, Olive, Silver, Purple, and Pheasantail in #14, #16, and #18 sizes; Delektable Mr Rubberlegs Pheasantail in sizes #12, #14, and #16; Tungsten BH Soft Hackle Pheasantail in size #16, #18, and #20; BH WD-40's in Black, Olive, Gray, and Chocolate in #18 and #20; Tungsten BH Studlys in Amber and Olive sizes #16, and #18; Tungsten BH Flashbugs in sizes #16, #18, and #20; Tungsten BH Olive Epoxy-Back in #18 and #20; Black BH WD-40 Olive #18 and #20; BH Lightning Bug Silver in size #16, #18, and #20; BH Soft Hackled Bob in Copper and Red #14, #16, and #18; Tungsten BH Copper Bob in Red, Copper, and Olive in size #14, #16, and #18; Delektable CDC Prince and Regular Prince in sizes #8 through #18; and Delektable CDC Halloween in sizes #8 through #16.
BWO Dry Flies: Split-Winged Parachutes in Adams, BWO, and Purple Haze sizes #18 and #20; Standard Parachutes in Adams, BWO, Purple Haze and Irresistable Adams in #18 and #20; Snowshoe Baetis #20; CDC Budding Emerger #18 and #20; Snowshoe Emerger #20; Quigley's Loopy Cripple BWO #18; RS-2 Emerger in Olive and Chocolate in #18 and #20; Baetis Paracripple #18; BWO Klink Parachute #18; Brooks Sprout BWO Emerger #18 and #20; and BWO Captive Dun #20.
Midges Underwater Wet Flies: Delektable Twinkles in Red, Black, Gray and Miracle in #18 and #20; BH Zebra Midges in Red and Black #18 and #20; and BH Midge Mogie in Black and Red #18 and #20.
Midges Dry Flies: Adams Midge Cluster #20; R.B. Midge#20; Black Sipper #20; Hi-Viz Griffiths Gnat #18 and #20; Gulper Special #18 and #20; and Brooks Sprout Midge Black #20 and #22.
San Juan Worms, Eggs, and Attractor Wet Flies: Delektable BH Worm in Red, Wine, and Pink sizes #8, #12, and #16; Steel Worm Red in sizes #6 and #12; Glo Bug Eggs in Cheese, Apricot, Champagne, and Orange Roe in sizes #10 and #12; and Delektable Sex Fly in size #10 through #16.
Streamers: Delektable Screamers in single and jointed double size #6 Black/Olive, Brown/Yellow, Badger, Olive, Yellow, Black and White; Silvey's Sculpin Leech #4 in Olive, Tan, Gray, and Black; Zonkers in Natural, Olive, and Yellow in sizes #6 and #8; Lead-Eyed Big Horn Bugger #6 in Brown/Yellow; Bow River Buggers in Black, Olive, and White size #6 and #8; J.J.'s Specials in size #4 and #6; Scupzilla in White, Olive, and Black; Zuddler in Black, Olive, and White in size #4 and #6; Yellow Yummy in #4 and #6; and Big Gulp Sculpin in Olive, Tan, and Black size #4.
The above April Fly selections are available through Beartooth Flyfishing at our Fly Shop and are in stock. If you would like Dan to put together a special selection of flies for April or any other time of the year, just call the shop at 406-682-7525.
Dan 
February 24, 2009
Don't Forget! The Upper Madison will be closed from Quake to McAtee from March 1 until the third Saturday in May. This is your last week in 2009 to experience some really sweet winter catch and release fishing on that stretch. Our shop is open during winter hours Monday through Saturday and sometimes Sunday from 9:00AM to 5:00PM. Dan will be tying flies on Satuday February 28th at Troutfitters in Bozeman starting at noon.
Once again our buddy Roger enjoyed supplying this new fishing report. Dan, Nancy, and Jenn are busy in the shop building rods and working on the shopping cart.
Today was Chinook like weather: mid 40's; sunny; and almost Spring like with hardly any wind. Afternoon fishing in Montana with warm temperatures in mid-February is always special. Catching trout was excellent, so it turned out to be an exceptional day of fishing. Walking downstream I was using one of my favorite 2 nymph rig combinations: a #8 Delektable Mega Prince, Olive, on top with a #14 Tungsten Epoxyback Pheasant tail as a dropper. The fish were hungry, including nice Trout and huge Whitefish, with every cast producing. It seemed like the Bows were taking the larger nymph, while the Browns and Whitefish were taking the dropper. Dan gave me a lesson earlier today on double hauling and mending while testing some of the newly built Beartooth Custom rods. This gave me some new confidence to experiment with my casting and try dry flies. Besides, I had already caught plenty on nymphs and sited Midges hatching on the surface but no noses in site. Working back to the car and casting upstream, with the beautiful weather, I started to cast dry flies. Using Illusion Fluorocarbon 4X and 5X, along with a size #12 Parachute Adams up front as an indicator, trailed by a size #20 Midge emerger, I came up with 2 16" and 17" Rainbows. Both took the Midge fly in the skinny ripple water. This was a great surprise as the sun was setting on a wonderful day.
February 5, 2009
We returned from Andros and found we missed some really great fishing on the Upper Madison during January and now. Keep in mind folks, the Upper Madison will be closed from Quake to McAtee from March 1 until the third Saturday in May. This is your opportunity to experience some really sweet winter catch and release fishing. Our shop is open during winter hours Monday through Saturday and sometimes Sunday from 9:00AM to 5:00PM. Our buddy Roger supplied this report happily.
The conditions were overcast, warm for Montana winter around 41 degrees and windy. He experienced a hatch of midges around 3:00 to 4:30. The fish were not feeding on the surface. He would have tried dries but it was too windy. Stream flows remain about the same at around 826 cfs at Kirby. Upper Madison River
It was a great day catching plenty of nice trout and his first winter whitefish. He was fishing bucket water casting 35-40 feet of line out with a two nymph rig and indicator and no additional weights. The takes were more at the bottom of the bucket in the riffle at the 3/4 swing of the flies.
The flies he used included: Morrish's WMD (Weapon of Mass Destruction) in Claret #8; Delektable Mega Prince Olive Flashback #6; Epoxyback Tungsten Copper-Copper #14. The best fish was a 191/2" Brown Trout, guides would say with shoulders. He caught a monster Whitefish. The browns were taking the small trailer fly and the Rainbows were predominantly taking the larger Delektable Fly. Most of the Rainbows were between 16-18 inches and great fighters.
Thanks for the report Roger. Sounds like a fun day. Dan will be supplying a bonefish update soon.
Archived Upper Madison River Fishing Reports: 2010
Archived Upper Madison River Fishing Reports: 2008
Interactive Map of the Madison River.
** These links open new browser windows. If you have popups disabled they will not work properly.
For up to the minute fishing reports or to get more information on a particular location, please call the shop directly at (406)682-7525.