Archived Upper Madison River Fishing Reports: 2008
December 12, 2008
Yes indeed, it has been a while since our last fishing report. Our apologies to all who were waiting. We have been so busy with shop projects, it has been a challenge getting out on the river. Our biggest shop project was to launch our Online store, yeah! We are open! To shop, click on the Online Store Tab. Yesterday, our buddy, Roger, who has been hanging out with us had a memorable day on the Upper Madison that was something to share. We did wine a bit because we remained in the shop slaving away.Stream flows remain consistent at around 760 cfs at Kirby. Upper Madison RiverIt was a warm December afternoon 30-40 degrees, no wind, sunshine, and simply beautiful with the two ranges of snow covered peaks in the background. This was one of those special days we hope to take advantage of when they come in the winter months. Truly a good day to go out fishing! The fish were hungry. Most of the action was between 2:00 and 4:00 in the afternoon. He caught about a dozen fish in the 18" to 22" range, mostly fat browns and rainbows; all having shoulders (really healthy and chunky). Roger used the standard two nymph rig with an indicator and the trailer tied about 18 inches from the lead fly. The hottest fly combination was the Delektable™ Gray Hurless Flashback #8 with a Delektable Lil' Spanker Purple #16 as the trailer. The Delektable Hurless scored the most trout. Other recommended winter flies include: All Delektables for the top fly; #8 Mega Prince; #8 Purple Hurless; #8 Olive Hurless; #8 Braided Brownstone; all with or without flashback wingcase. Bottom Delektable flies for the two fly rig: Lil' Spankers in Purple, Pheasantail, Silver, Red, and Olive in sizes #10, #14, #16, and #18; CDC Prince Nymph #10, #12, and #14; Mr Rubberlegs Pheasantail #10, #12, and #14; Twinkle Midges Black, Red, Rootbeer, and White #18, and #20. Also, we love to fish two big stone nymphs in size #8 together; Delektable Mega Prince; Hurless Stones; and Braided Brownstones. We do have a cold snap coming in. Get your shopping done so you can get out and fish later in the week when it warms up again. Call the shop if you need a report as of the moment at 406-682-7525. Have a Great Holiday Everyone and Thank You for all the support!Dan 
Marty
Nancy
Brad 
November We did a late steelhead trip in Oregon and caught some nice ones. The counts were down compared to last year. We caught more natives than before. We had fun but it was too short. Grandpa and Nancy caught some memorable 22"+ Sea Run Cutts. They were extraordinary because of the colors. The hottest fly for us was the Delektable Lime Juice #14, and #16 as a trailer fly. Our top lead flies were Delektable bugs in size #4 Copper/Gold/Black and Midnight Fire and size #10, #14, & #16 Lil' Spankers. October 4, 2008Stream flows remain consistent at around 800 cfs at Kirby. PPL has confirmed they are making progress working on engineering the placement of steel plates in front of the bays where the stoplogs are so divers can be safe to further examine it. This phase is still hoped to be accomplished before winter sets in. Float trips are reporting some good fishing results on screamers, streamers, sculpins, Christmas Trees, Delektable Lil' Spankers all colors, Delektable CDC Princes and Halloweens, Small princes as trailers, Zebra Midges, Delektable October Caddis, and a variety of stone fly nymphs. The forecast predicts some weather coming in today which should bring on more baetis(bwo) action. With that we should see Delektable Rootbeer Floats getting hot along with a variety of other baetis(bwo) patterns. A great time to fish montana, less pressure, larger fish on dries, emergers, nymphs and streamers. All the fish are putting their feed bags on before winter.
September 10, 2008 12:00 PM PPL Update
PPL was able to run a sonar down the intake channel to review the damage. They are planning to attempt a different process over this weekend, using steel and stoplogs down the front of the affected bay. We have been informed that several agencies are involved in this process with and/or advising PPL. PPL Montana
September 9, 2008 Fishing Message from Dan
Funny thing how I was able to go wade fishing on the Madison River behind the lodge today. Marty and I were scheduled to stain the outside of the lodge with an oil based product that wasn't compatable with the forecast; so Dan took a much needed casting break. I started off using a hopper with a Delektable™ Cinnamon Ant #16 as a dropper. Excellent combo! I caught around 15 or so trout from 8" to 15" along the river's edges. Because of the current big flows that resemble runoff; I wanted to fish a big water nymph combo of mine. A #8 Delektable Mega Prince and a #8 Delektable Flashback Hurless Stone got tyed on with 4 #B split shot and a large indicator. While fishing behind several large rocks off the bank, 8 fish were hooked and 4 trout in the 18" to 19" range were landed in about and hour of wading.
When the water is big, the fish hug any water off the main current that offers protection. They will pod up there. When you find one fish in these places there are usually many more. Good Luck to the fisherman. It is a great fall to fish Montana.
Dan 
September 8, 2008 2:00 PM PPL Update
Quoted from PPL's site: PPL Montana "The dam remains safe and stable, according to on-site monitoring equipment, and the river banks are containing the water flow.
A plan to install a specially fabricated steel bulkhead to reduce the flow was halted over the weekend after water pressure and turbulence from the flowing water made it impossible to install guides that would have held the bulkhead in place."
PPL engineers are researching other options at this time.
September 8, 2008 8:00 AM
Streamers are working in the Big Water
Twenty one inch Brown caught between Mac and Varney
on a Bern's Bad Boy, by artist Bern Sundell ,
September 7, 2008
Seventeen inch Brown caught on a Delektable Double
Screamer Olive Black, September 7, 2008
Put your streamer inches from the bank in the quiet water and you will
probably be rewarded. The flow of the Upper Madison remains high
at 3,490 CFS and is stable: Upper Madison Flow at
Dan 
Marty
Nancy
Brad 
September 7, 2008 11:45 AM PPL Update
PPL is making progress but are experiencing some delays with the current goal to have the bulkhead lowered sometime tomorrow (Monday). We are reminded that this process is a temporary fix and if successful is expected to stem flows back to seasonal levels. This temporary structure should help PPL in determining what permanent repairs are needed.
Current flows are at 3,570 CFS. Streamer fishing remains the way to go. Also, big stonefly nymphs like the Delektable Hurless or Mega Prince should be good in the big flows.
September 4, 2008 6:00 PM
The Upper Madison remains open for day use only. Yesterday a couple boats floated the lower Upper Madison and reported spotty streamer fishing. The few fish that were caught were mostly larger (high teens-low twenties and a six incher). Today, the streamer reports were better than yesterday. We expect better streamer reports to follow. The current flows at 3,550 CFS are too high for drift boats and rafts to clear the bridges between Lyons and Palisades.
September 4, 1008 11:45 AM PPL UPDATE
PPL has informed us the engineers will be installing the bulkhead this weekend. This is a fairly involved process with multiple resources and heavy equipment. This process, once completed, is expected to block and redirect flows closer to 1,000 CFS. Starting from Friday there will be a number of large trucks and heavy equipment in the area of the dam. For the safety of everyone including traffic flow and especially because the road and area is narrow, folks are asked to not to go to the dam area unless necessary and if in the area, please park in a safe area out of the way of the heavy equipment and workers. PPL hopes to schedule a public meeting in the near future to provide more information.
September 3, 2008 8:30 AM
PPL UPDATE
PPL has informed us that their engineers are still discussing the best
method to control the flows. Decision regarding their approach and
implementation will probably take a week or more, so flows over
3,000 CFS can be expected through the weekend. PPL repeats
that they consider the dam to be structurally sound.
September 2, 2008 8:47 AM
UPPER MADISON IS OPEN FOR DAY USE
The BLM and FWP have reopened the fishing access sites along the Madison for
day use only. These sites will continue to be closed for camping until further notice.
Flow at Cameron is 3,700 CFS. Visibility at McAtee is around 12 inches.
September 1, 2008 11:35 AM
REPORT FROM PPL MONTANA
We have just been notified by PPL that there is
a crane in position at the dam and they are installing
a steel plate or bulkhead to stabilize or decrease the flow.
This will probably take most of the day or longer.
Once this bulkhead is in place a more
thorough inspection of the dam will be possible.
PPL does not consider this an emergency situation
and is working hard to provide information to
the people affected by these developments.
They will use their website PPL Montana
to provide timely information.
PPL has an Emergency Action Plan in place,
should this be needed.
September 1, 2008 9:35 AM
THE UPPER MADISON IS NOW
CLOSED AGAIN
We have just been notified by FWP and BLM
that they are reassessing the situation
and are now closing all access sites
until further notice.
September 1, 2008 8:45 AM
THE UPPER MADISON IS OPEN FOR
DAY USE ONLY
We have just been notified by FWP that they are
opening the Upper Madison for day use only--
both for driftboats and waders. People should
be mindful of possible sudden increases in flows.
The FWP will post warnings at the access sites.
No overnight camping or night fishing will be
allowed until further notice. The river is
muddy, with visibility of 12 inches or less.
Flow is 3,220 at Kirby Ranch.
We will update this site whenever we receive
new information.
September 1, 2008 8:00 AM
THE UPPER MADISON IS CLOSED
Problem at Hebgen Dam
Suddenly Triples Flow of Upper
Madison on Sunday, Aug. 31
Around midday yesterday a problem occurred at the dam, suddenly increasing the flow from 940 cfs to around 3,300 cfs:
All the campgrounds along the river and the lower areas around Jeffers were reportedly evacuated yesterday afternoon and evening. PPL Montana was reportedly pouring concrete at the dam last night. Flows have been stable through the night.
FWP has notified us that the Upper Madison is closed until further notice.
We will post additional information as it becomes available to us.
McAtee Access Site September 1, 2008:
Downstream From McAtee Bridge Sept. 1, 2008
Dan 
Marty
Nancy
Brad 
August 26, 2008
It's Ant Time on the Lower Upper
Caught between Varney Bridge and 8 Mile on a #16
Delektable Flying Ant--Cinnamon , August 25, 2008
The flow of the Madison is 948 CFS and stable: Upper Madison Flow at
An excellent discussion of Water Management of Hebgen by PP&L is on the
Madison River Fishing Company Fishing Report, August 23: Hebgen Water
Hopper patterns, ant patterns, and Spruce Moth patterns are all effective,
although Spruce Moth activity is winding down. There have been some slow
afternoons recently. Caddis are still coming off, even on the lower river.
There was a heavy caddis hatch around Varney two nights ago. Caddis hatching
on the Upper Madison in late August--just another amazing thing about this
amazing season.
You can pick your favorite hopper, ant, spruce moth, beetle, and caddis patterns
and fish dries all day--most days. It doesn't get any better than that. The nymphing
continues to be very good. The streamer fishing is improving and is starting to work in the middle of the day. With the coming cooler weather, the streamer fishing will
really start to turn on.
Recommended Flies
To see the Delektables™ go to: Delektable Flies Gallery
Dries :
Delecktable Flying Ant, Cinnamon or Black #16, #18 (sometimes ants are working right out of the gate in the morning); Turk's Tarantula Gold #12, #14; Half Down Hopper #12, #14 ; Delektable Twisted X tan #14, #12; Delektable Twisted Baby Tan/Brown #12, #14; Fat Albert-red, yellow, chartreuse #14, #12, #10, #8; Triple Decker Hopper--Pink #12, #10; Delektable Twisted X Black with Red Butt #10; Super Spider #12, #14; Delektable Sparkle Bugs, Delektable CDC Elk Hairs, and Delektable Halos #16, #14--tan and olive; La Fontaine Emergent Sparkle Pupa brown #16
Delektable Flying Ant Cinnamon
Riverborn Fly Company www.riverbornflies.com
Nymphs:
Delektable Lil’ Spanker: Silver, Red, or Pheasant Tail #16, #18; Lighting Bug #16, #18; Tungsten Beadhead Pheasant Tail Soft Hackle #16,#18; Tungsten BH Amber or Olive Studly Nymph #16, #18; BH Superflash #18, #20; WD40 Olive #18, #20; BH Tailwater Tiny Olive #18, #20; many different kinds of beaded nymphs
Delektable Lil' Spanker
Riverborn Fly Company www.riverbornflies.com
Streamers:
Delektable Screamer Yellow and Brown, Olive Black, Black, Single and Double, #6, or your favorite pattern.
Dan 
Marty
Nancy
Brad 
August 21, 2008
Dan's client, Jan, with Big Brown, caught on a #14 Gold Tarantula,
between Pal and Mac, August 20, 2008.
The flow of the Madison is 951 CFS and has been stable for the past week:
Upper Madison Flow at Cameron.
Spruce moth patterns, hopper patterns, and ant patterns are all effective,
although there have been some slow afternoons recently. Caddis are still
coming off.
Spruce moth patterns continue to work well even below the tree areas---
sometimes all the way to Varney. Those moths don't seem to sink quickly
and the fish are eating them well downstream from where they are blown
into the river.
You can pick your favorite spruce moth, hopper, ant, beetle, and caddis patterns
and fish dries all day. It doesn't get any better than that. The nymphing
continues to be very good. The streamer fishing is good, if you're on the
river early or late.
SPRUCE MOTH
Recommended Flies
To see the Delektables™ go to: Delektable Flies Gallery
Dries :
Turk's Tarantula Gold #12, #14; Half Down Hopper #12, #14 ; Delektable Twisted X tan #14, #12; Delektable Twisted Baby Tan/Brown #12, #14; Fat Albert-red, yellow, chartreuse #14, #12, #10, #8; Triple Decker Hopper--Pink #12, #10; Delecktable Flying Ant, Cinnamon or Black #16, #18 (sometimes ants are working right out of the gate in the morning); Delektable Twisted X Black with Red Butt #10; Super Spider #12, #14; Delektable Sparkle Bugs, Delektable CDC Elk Hairs, and Delektable Halos #16, #14--tan and olive; La Fontaine Emergent Sparkle Pupa brown #16
Delektable Flying Ant Cinnamon
Riverborn Fly Company www.riverbornflies.com
Turk's Tarantula
Nymphs:
Pat's Rubberlegs Brown #6,#8; ; Delektable Mega Prince #6, #8; Delektable Lil’ Spanker Silver, Red, or Pheasant Tail #16, #18; Lighting Bug #16, #18; Tungsten Beadhead Pheasant Tail Soft Hackle #16,#18; Tungsten BH Amber or Olive Studly Nymph #16, #18; BH Superflash #18, #20; WD40 Olive #18, #20; BH Tailwater Tiny Olive #18, #20; many different kinds of beaded nymphs
Delektable Lil' Spanker
Riverborn Fly Company www.riverbornflies.com
Streamers:
Delektable Screamer Yellow and Brown, Olive Black, Olive and Yellow, Single and Double, #6, or your favorite pattern.
Dan 
Marty
Nancy
Brad 
August 15, 2008
The flow of the Madison is 982 CFS and has been stable, after a small rise two
days ago: Upper Madison Flow at Cameron.
Spruce moth patterns, hopper patterns, and ant patterns are all effective, although
there have been some slow days with the cooler weather recently. Caddis are still
coming off and even some PMDs.
Spruce moth patterns continue to work well even below the tree areas---
sometimes all the way to Varney. Those moths don't seem to sink quickly
and the fish are eating them well downstream from where they are blown
into the river.
You can pick your favorite spruce moth, hopper, ant, PMD, and caddis patterns
and fish dries all day. It doesn't get any better than that. The nymphing continues
to be very good. The streamer fishing is good, if you're on the river early or late.
SPRUCE MOTH
Recommended Flies
To see the Delektables™ go to: Delektable Flies Gallery
Dries :
Turk's Tarantula Gold #12, #14; Half Down Hopper #12, #14 ; Delektable Twisted X tan #14, #12; Delektable Twisted Baby Tan/Brown #12, #14; Fat Albert-red, yellow, chartreuse #12, #10, #8; Triple Decker Hopper--Pink #12; Delecktable Flying Ant, Cinnamon or Black #16, #18 (sometimes ants are working right out of the gate in the morning) Delektable Sparkle Bugs, Delektable CDC Elk Hairs, and Delektable Halos #16, #14--tan and olive; La Fontaine Emergent Sparkle Pupa brown #16; Rusty Spinner #16, #14
Delektable Flying Ant Cinnamon
Riverborn Fly Company www.riverbornflies.com
Nymphs:
Pat's Rubberlegs Brown #6,#8; ; Delektable Mega Prince #6, #8; Delektable Lil’ Spanker Silver, Red, or Pheasant Tail; Lighting Bug #16, #18; Tungsten Beadhead Pheasant Tail Soft Hackle #16,#18; Tungsten BH Amber Studly Nymph #16; many different kinds of beaded PMD nymphs
Delektable Lil' Spanker
Riverborn Fly Company www.riverbornflies.com
Streamers:
Delektable Screamer Yellow and Brown, Olive Black, Olive and Yellow, Single and Double, #6, or your favorite pattern.
Dan 
Marty
Nancy
Brad 
August 7 , 2008
THE SPRUCE MOTHS ARE HERE
The flow of the Madison is 940 CFS, has been stable for three days, and has come down from the 1,400 CFS it was two weeks ago: Upper Madison Flow at Cameron. The entire Upper Madison is in great shape.
Terrestial Time is here Big Time. Spruce moth patterns, hopper patterns, and ant patterns are red hot. Caddis are still coming off strong and even PMDs are still happening. Some salmonflies were seen laying eggs at the Wolf Creek bridge four days ago. Guides who have been on the river for more than forty years say they have never before seen salmonflies on the Float Section of the Upper Madison in August.
Spruce moth patterns are working well even below the tree areas--- at least all the way to Storey. Those moths don't seem to sink quickly and the fish are eating them well downstream from where they are blown into the river.
You can pick your favorite spruce moth, hopper, ant, PMD, and caddis patterns and fish dries all day. It doesn't get any better than that. The nymphing continues to be very good. The streamer fishing is good, if you're on the river early or late.
Recommended Flies
To see the Delektables™ go to: Delektable Flies Gallery
Dries :
Delektable Sparkle Bugs, Delektable CDC Elk Hairs, and Delektable Halos #16, #14--tan and olive; La Fontaine Emergent Sparkle Pupa brown #16; PMD cripples, emergers, and Rusty Spinner--all #16, #14; Kingreys's Li'l Hottie #16,#14; Delektable Twisted X tan #14, #12; Parachute Madame X Peacock #12, #10, #8...and Hoppers: Half Down Hopper #12, #14 (a great spruce moth pattern); Turk's Tarantula Gold #12, #14; Fat Albert-Chartreuse has worked the best this past week, but yellow, red, and tan are also working #12, #10, #8; Delecktable Flying Ant, Cinnamon or Black #16, #18 (sometimes ants are working right out of the gate in the morning)
Half Down Hopper
Delektable Sparkle Bug
Riverborn Fly Company
Delektable Flying Ant Cinnamon Delektable Flying Ant Black
Riverborn Fly Company www.riverbornflies.com
Nymphs:
Pat's Rubberlegs Brown #6,#8; Delektable Mr Rubberlegs Yellow Olive, #6,#8,#10 and Epoxy Back Yellow Olive #6, #8, #10 Delektable Hurless Olive, Gray #6, #8; Delektable Mega Prince #6, #8; Delektable Lil’ Spanker Pheasant Tail or Silver or Lighting Bug #16, #18; Tungsten Beadhead Pheasant Tail Soft Hackle #16,#18; Tungsten BH Amber Studly Nymph #16; many different kinds of beaded PMD nymphs
Delektable Lil' Spanker
Riverborn Fly Company www.riverbornflies.com
Streamers:
Delektable Screamer Yellow and Brown, Olive Black, Olive and Yellow, Single and Double, #6, or your favorite pattern.
Dan 
Marty
Nancy
Brad 
July 10, 2008 THE SALMONFLIES ARE HERE
McAtee Bridge July 6, 2008
The flow of the Madison is 1,940 CFS and has been stable for the past 5 days: Upper Madison Flow at Cameron. The Hebgen Conservation Pool is 100% full and the reservoir outflow now exceeds the inflow, so the last big wave of the melt is now over.
The Upper Madison has cleared up, with the West Fork adding only a little green. Indian Creek turned from brown to green yesterday, so the entire river is fishing very well now. This has resulted in enormous pressure throughout the entire river. Salmonfly Madness is upon us.
It's a good idea to line up your shuttle early in the day or even the day before. There is no longer any shuttle service at the West Fork. The three shuttle services in the Valley have not been able to keep up with the demand the last several days.
The major part of the salmonfly hatch is now between Palisades and Varney.
The surface salmonfly activity has been only sporadic so far. Nymphing is what has really been red hot--with large stonefly patterns, caddis emerger patterns all the way from size 14 to size 6, and PMD nymphs, size 16 and 18.
The heaviest part of the salmonfly hatch has resulted in very slow catching. The fish are gorging themselves on the nymphs washing into the current as they work their way to land and are getting full quickly. Marty was guiding just below Mac on Monday when the salmonflies were so thick they were hitting him in the face and landing everywhere in the boat. They then went for about 4-5 hours without catching a fish. So it is a good idea to try to be above or below the major part of the hatch, if you can be smart enough and lucky enough to do that.
There is a smorgasbord of hatches coming off now, in addition to the salmonflies--several species of caddis, most of them dark brown to chocolate, several species of PMDs, as well as pale evening duns, golden stones, yellow sallies--with marked variability as to where on the river they are happening. So have a lot of bugs in your arsenal and keep cycling to find out what they're eating.
The streamer fishing is quite good, if you're on the river early or late.
Recommended Flies
To see the Delektables™ go to: Delektable Flies Gallery
Nymphs:
Delektable CDC Baby--definitely a hot fly right now--#14 all the way to #8; Pat's Rubberlegs Brown #6,#8--also hot; Delektable Mr Rubberlegs Yellow Olive, #6,#8,#10 and Epoxy Back Yellow Olive #6, #8, #10 Delektable Hurless Olive, Gray #6, #8; Delektable Mega Prince #6, #8; Delektable Lil’ Spanker Silver or Lighting Bug #16, #18; Tungsten Beadhead Pheasant Tail Soft Hackle #16,#18
Delektable CDC Baby
Riverborn Fly Company www.riverbornflies.com
Delektable Lil' Spanker
Riverborn Fly Company www.riverbornflies.com
Dries :
Your favorite Salmonfly dries--keep trying; Orange attractors; PMDs, Little Yellow Sallies, Caddis--with the caddis varying all the way from size 8 to 16, in dark brown and tan. Delektable Halos, Delektable Sparkle Bugs, Delektable CDC Elk Hairs #16, #14, or bigger...and Yellow Stones, Bruce's California Blonde; PMD cripples and emergers #16
Delektable Halo
Riverborn Fly Company www.riverbornflies.com
Delektable Sparkle Bug
Riverborn Fly Company www.riverbornflies.com
Delektable CDC Elk Hair
Riverborn Fly Company www.riverbornflies.com
Streamers:
Delektable Screamer Yellow and Brown, Olive Black, Olive and Yellow, Badger, Single and Double, #6, Conehead Bow River Bugger Olive #4, or your favorite pattern.
Delektable Screamer Olive Black
Riverborn Fly Company www.riverbornflies.com
Dan 
Marty
Nancy
Brad 
June 25, 2008
The flow of the Madison is 2,740 CFS and rising: Upper Madison Flow at Cameron. Hebgen Conservation Pool is 99% full. PPL plans to increase the flows out of Hebgen to match the inflows over the next several days. With the very hot weather predicted for this weekend and with all the input from the West Fork and the creeks, the flow below Indian Creek may well approach or exceed 5,000 CFS before the major part of the melt is over.
These high flows and the mud from the West Fork and Indian Creek have made fishing very difficult below the West Fork. These conditions have markedly increased the fishing pressure above the West Fork, where the fishing remains good to excellent.
Once this runoff subsides-- probably in early July-- the fly fishing on the Upper Madison is going to be spectacular--especially the dry fly fishing.
There is some dry fly action above the West Fork with little yellow sallies and big caddis. Once the bug hatch starts on the float section, which is just days away, the dinner bell will ring and we'll be able to catch fish again, even in the dirt. Once we get the mixture of PMDs, caddis, and stoneflies, the float section of the Upper Madison is going to bust loose. But we're all waiting for that to happen now. Once it happens, it's going to be good all summer.
The streamer fishing is spotty.
Recommended Flies
To see the Delektables™ go to: Delektable Flies Gallery
Nymphs:
Delektable™ Hurless Olive, Gray #6, #8; Delektable™ Mega Prince #6, #8; Pat's Rubberleg Brown #6,#8; Delektable Big Red #6, Delektable Worm, Red or Brown #8; Red Wire Worm #6, #8; Hogan's Red Headed Step Child; Delektable Lil’ Spanker Red and Silver #16, #18; Tungsten Beadhead Pheasant Tail Soft Hackle #16,#18
Delektable Lil' Spanker
Riverborn Fly Company www.riverbornflies.com
Delektable Braided Flashback Big Red
Riverborn Fly Company www.riverbornflies.com
Dries :
Nothing now in the float section, but when it starts, or now above the West Fork: PMDs, Little Yellow Sallies, Caddis--with the caddis varying all the way from size 8 to 16, in dark brown, olive, and tan.
Streamers (might be worth a try) :
Delektable Screamer Olive Black, Olive and Yellow, Single and Double, #6, or your favorite pattern.
Delektable Screamer Olive Black
Riverborn Fly Company www.riverbornflies.com
Dan 
Marty
Nancy
Brad
June 18, 2008
The flow of the Madison is 2,390 CFS and rising: Upper Madison Flow at Cameron. The warm weather of the last few days has started the melt again, with the West Fork and Indian Creek spitting in mud. The muddy strip from the West Fork is still well defined at the Sun West bridge and then colors the entire river by the Wolf Creek bridge. Temperatures are predicted to reach the high 80s by Saturday.
All this has resulted in real crowding at Lyons. Dan planned to launch at Lyons today and found himself 14th in line, so he went from Raynolds to Pine Butte instead. The water was crystal clear and the action was great on big nymphs. Marty floated today from Lyons to Ruby, with Grandpa and Gene. They had excellent results with the Delektable Lil' Spanker, in red and in silver, even over near the left bank below Lyons, in the discolored water.
Once this runoff subsides-- in late June or early July-- the fly fishing on the Upper Madison is going to be spectacular--especially the dry fly fishing.
There is no dry fly action, but this heat may change that quickly.
The streamer fishing has become spotty, with the recent drop in flow, the sunny days, and the cold water coming into the river mid-day from the melt.
Recommended Flies
To see the Delektables™ go to: Delektable Flies Gallery
Nymphs:
Delektable™ Hurless Olive, Gray #6, #8; Delektable™ Mega Prince #6, #8; Pat's Rubberleg Brown #6,#8; Delektable Big Red #6, Delektable Worm, Red or Brown #8; Red Wire Worm #6, #8; Hogan's Red Headed Step Child; Delektable Lil’ Spanker Red and Silver #16, #18; Tungsten Beadhead Pheasant Tail Soft Hackle #16,#18
Delektable Lil' Spanker
Riverborn Fly Company www.riverbornflies.com
Delektable Braided Flashback Big Red
Riverborn Fly Company www.riverbornflies.com
Dries :
When it starts, think March Brown patterns, PMDs, and Caddis--with the caddis varying all the way from size 8 to 16, in dark brown, olive, and tan.
Streamers (worth a try) :
Delektable Screamer Olive Black, Olive and Yellow, Single and Double, #6, or your favorite pattern.
Delektable Screamer Olive Black
Riverborn Fly Company www.riverbornflies.com
Dan 
Marty
Nancy
Brad
June 11 , 2008
The flow of the Madison is 2,350 CFS and has been dropping for the last 6 days: Upper Madison Flow at Cameron. The water clarity is around 18 inches above the West Fork and around 12 inches below. It is snowing outside the Beartooth Lodge as this report is being written. Warm weather in the seventies is predicted for this weekend, which should start the dry fly fishing--big time.
If you don't already have plans to fish the Upper Madison this summer or fall, make them now. Once this runoff subsides--probably sometime in June-- the fly fishing on the Upper Madison is going to be spectacular--especially the dry fly fishing.
Marty and Brad fished above the West Fork on Saturday afternoon, in the muddy, high flow water. Marty caught a lot of fish, fishing big nymphs tight to the bank. The hottest nymph was the #6 Delektable Braided Flashback Big Red. They were also hitting the Delektable Hurless Stone and Delektable Mega Prince. Marty caught his fish on a rebuilt 60 year old Granger bamboo rod that Dan and Marty had just finished rebuilding. Both of these were caught on the Big Red:
Fishing has been very good with nymphs between the lakes. Please be careful of the pea gravel spawning beds. The water is somewhat discolored, but the fish are feeding actively. Notice the color of the water behind fly fisherwoman Catalina and her Bow. This was caught on a #14 Hogan's Red Headed Step Child:
The streamer fishing has also been excellent. Two boats within the last two days have scored heavily on the Delektable Screamer Olive Black, and a full range of other colors and styles, between Lyons and Mac. Streamer fishing is also hot between Varney and Town.
Recommended Flies
To see the Delektables™ go to: Delektable Flies Gallery
Nymphs:
Delektable™ Hurless Olive, Gray #6, #8; Delektable™ Mega Prince #6, #8; Pat's Rubberleg Brown #6,#8; Delektable EggHead Midnight Fire #6, Delektable Big Red #6, Delektable Worm, Red or Brown #8; Red Wire Worm #6, #8, Hogan's Red Headed Step Child
Delektable Hurless Stone Flashback Gray
Riverborn Fly Company www.riverbornflies.com
Delektable Braided Flashback Big Red
Riverborn Fly Company www.riverbornflies.com
Worth a Try: Delektable™ Lil’ Spanker Pheasant Tail or Lil' Spanker in Red, Silver, Olive #18;#16,#14; Tungsten Beadhead Pheasant Tail Soft Hackle #20; Delektable™ Twinkle Midge and Zebra Midge #20,#18; WD40 Olive #20
Dries (not likely) :
Snowshoe Cripple BWO #18; Q’s Loopy Cripple Stacker BWO #18; Snowshoe Baetis #20; Adam’s Midge Cluster #20; Stalcup’s Hatching Midge #20 (Split Wing Adams #12 ) March Brown Parachute #14; Klinkhammer #14
Streamers:
Delektable Screamer Olive Black, Olive and Yellow, Single and Double, #6, or your favorite pattern.
Delektable Screamer Olive Black
Riverborn Fly Company www.riverbornflies.com
Dan, Marty, Nancy, Brad
June 4 , 2008
The flow of the Madison is 3,450 cfs. The inflow to Hebgen is 2884 cfs. The Conservation Pool is 87% full. The flow out of Hebgen is 1,984 cfs and has increased steadily over the last four days. This is a different river than it's been for the last decade.
If you don't already have plans to fish the Upper Madison this summer or fall, make them now. Once this runoff subsides--probably sometime in June-- the fly fishing on the Upper Madison is going to be spectacular--especially the dry fly fishing.
Dan and Marty fished above the West Fork on Saturday afternoon, in the muddy, high flow water. They caught a lot of fish, fishing big nymphs tight to the bank--Delektable Hurless Stone, Delektable Mega Prince, Delektable Braided Flashback Big Red. Marty caught a 20" brown on the Delektable EggHead Midnight Fire:
Wade fishing and fishing from the bank is the way to go now. How many can throw a fly from a boat 4 to 6 inches from the bank--and keep it in there--consistently and accurately? If you're in a boat, get out to fish this dirt. Fish eat a whole bunch in the dirt. There's a lot of food coming at them. They've been in the winter mode for a long time. They're hungry. A lot of nutrients are coming at them that they don't usually see--a lot of worms, with the earthworms being washed from the banks, joining their aquatic cousins--orange, red-banded, brown-banded. It's a smorgasbord. The stoneflies are active, because they will be hatching pretty soon, so they're getting dislodged into the current.
So fish the upper Madison from Hebgen to Quake Lake and from Quake Lake to the West Fork, and below. Fish have been eating in dirty water for millions of years. They know how to do it.
Recommended Flies
To see the Delektables™ go to: Delektable Flies Gallery
Nymphs:
Delektable™ Hurless Olive, Gray #6, #8; Delektable™ Mega Prince #6, #8; Pat's Rubberleg Brown #6,#8; Delektable EggHead Midnight Fire #6, Delektable Big Red, Delektable Worm, Red or Brown #8; Red Wire Worm #6, #8
Delektable Hurless Stone Gray
Riverborn Fly Company www.riverbornflies.com
Delektable Braided Flashback Big Red
Riverborn Fly Company www.riverbornflies.com
Worth a Try: Delektable™ Lil’ Spanker Pheasant Tail or Lil' Spanker in Red, Silver, Olive #18;#16,#14; Tungsten Beadhead Pheasant Tail Soft Hackle #20; Delektable™ Twinkle Midge and Zebra Midge #20,#18; WD40 Olive #20
Dries (not likely) :
Snowshoe Cripple BWO #18; Q’s Loopy Cripple Stacker BWO #18; Snowshoe Baetis #20; Adam’s Midge Cluster #20; Stalcup’s Hatching Midge #20 (Split Wing Adams #12 ) March Brown Parachute #14; Klinkhammer #14
Streamers:
Delektable Screamer Olive and Yellow, Single and Double, #6:
Riverborn Fly Company www.riverbornflies.com
Dan, Marty, Nancy, Brad
Upper Madison River Fishing Report (29-May-08)
May 29, 2008
The net inflow to Hebgen is approximately 10,000 cfs, with the Conservation Pool 87% full. The flow out of Hebgen is 1,774 cfs and has increased steadily over the last three days. The flow near Cameron is 2,430 cfs and rising.
If you don't already have plans to fish the Upper Madison this summer or fall, make them now. Once this runoff subsides--probably sometime in June-- the fly fishing on the Upper Madison is going to be spectacular.
Dan wade fished on Sunday below McAtee, near Palisades, and near the Sun West Ranch--in the very muddy water. He hooked over 20 fish and landed over 10, in about 5 hours of fishing--with only 6 to 8 inches of visibility. They were taking Delektable Flashback Hurless Stones and Mega Princes, #6 and #8', and that was all they were taking.
Fish real tight to the bank. Dan spooked a bunch of fish wading up the banks, where they were under the banks and they couldn't be reached with casting. The fish were actually underneath the banks, which is actually very common in these high water conditions. Dan saw some BWOs and March Browns come off, but he didn't fish any dries.
With Quake Lake being pretty dirty right now, 8 inches of visibility is still plenty from Quake Lake down.
Wade fishing is the way to go now. How many can throw a fly from a boat 4 to 6 inches from the bank--and keep it in there--consistently and accurately? If you're in a boat, get out to fish this dirt. Fish eat a whole bunch in the dirt. There's a lot of food coming at them. They've been in the winter mode for a long time. They're hungry. A lot of nutrients are coming at them that they don't usually see--a lot of worms, with the earthworms being washed from the banks, joining their aquatic cousins--orange, red-banded, brown-banded. It's a smorgasbord. The stoneflies are active, because they will be hatching pretty soon, so they're getting dislodged into the current.
So fish the upper Madison from Hebgen to Quake Lake and from Quake Lake to the West Fork, and below. Fish have been eating in dirty water for millions of years. They know how to do it.
Recommended Flies
To see the Delektables™ go to: Delektable Flies Gallery
Nymphs:
Delektable™ Hurless Olive, Gray #6, #8; Delektable™ Mega Prince#6, #8; Pat's Rubberleg Brown #6,#8; Delektable Worm, Red or Brown #8; Red Wire Worm #6, #8
Delektable Hurless Stone Gray
Riverborn Fly Company www.riverbornflies.com
Delektable Worm Red
Riverborn Fly Company www.riverbornflies.com
Worth a Try: Delektable™ Lil’ Spanker Pheasant Tail or Lil' Spanker in Red, Silver, Olive #18;#16,#14; Tungsten Beadhead Pheasant Tail Soft Hackle #20; Delektable™ Twinkle Midge and Zebra Midge #20,#18; WD40 Olive #20
Dries (possibly) :
Snowshoe Cripple BWO #18; Q’s Loopy Cripple Stacker BWO #18; Snowshoe Baetis #20; Adam’s Midge Cluster #20; Stalcup’s Hatching Midge #20 (Split Wing Adams #12 ) March Brown Parachute #14; Klinkhammer #14
Streamers:
Delektable Screamer Olive and Yellow, Single and Double, #6:
Riverborn Fly Company www.riverbornflies.com
Dan, Marty, Nancy, Brad
May 21, 2008
The Upper Madison from Windy Point down is blown out. The flow near Cameron is 1,940 cfs. The release from Hebgen is stable at 972 and the net inflow to the reservoir is around 1500.
Some hardy souls are floating from Lyons Bridge to Windy Point and fishing the right bank, for the five or six miles before the muddy water from the West Fork discolors the entire river, but Dan did not think that would be worth it, so didn't take his Dad out on Opening Day--the first Opening Day he has missed in many years. Those who fished on Opening Day above the West Fork had a good day.
It is time to fish the upper Madison from Hebgen to Quake Lake and from Quake Lake to the West Fork. This water will remain fishable regardless of the runoff and even if the release from the dam increases. Quake Lake may become slightly discolored, but not enough to affect the fishing down to the West Fork.
The good news about this rapid melt is that a substantial amount of the snowpack has melted and the chances are good that the fishing will be good by the middle of June. Indian Creek didn't even start flowing hard until yesterday. It took all those days of heat to get the melt really started and a lot of the lower elevation stuff has come down. The high water is not a problem. The Madison fishes well in conditions of high flow, as long as the clarity is reasonable.
Recommended Flies
To see the Delektables™ go to: Delektable Flies Gallery
Nymphs:
Delektable™ Hurless Olive, Gray #8; Delektable™ Mega Prince #8; Pat's Rubberleg Brown #8; Delektable™ Lil’ Spanker Pheasant Tail or Lil' Spanker in Red, Silver, Olive #18;#16,#14; Tungsten Beadhead Pheasant Tail Soft Hackle #20; Delektable™ Twinkle Midge and Zebra Midge #20,#18; WD40 Olive #20
Delektable Hurless Stone Gray:
Riverborn Fly Company www.riverbornflies.com
Dries:
Snowshoe Cripple BWO #18; Q’s Loopy Cripple Stacker BWO #18; Snowshoe Baetis #20; Adam’s Midge Cluster #20; Stalcup’s Hatching Midge #20 (Split Wing Adams #12 ) March Brown Parachute #14; Klinkhammer #14
Streamers:
Delektable Screamer Olive and Yellow, Single and Double, #6:
Riverborn Fly Company www.riverbornflies.com
Or:
Your favorite big or medium stonefly nymphs, BWO nymphs or dries, midge nymphs or dries, or your favorite streamers.
Dan, Marty, Nancy, Brad
May 14, 2008
The Upper Madison from Quake Lake to McAtee bridge will open this Saturday. This will be a welcome event for both anglers and fish, especially the fish from Varney down, who have seen an enormous amount of pressure the last several weeks. It would certainly be good if the FWP would leave Lyons to Town open all year. This would have little, if any, effect on the spawning conditions for the Rainbows and would relieve some of the pressure from Varney down during the early Spring--a great time to fish the Upper Madison River.
The flow on the Upper Madison is around 1000 cfs and stable. Water clarity is very good. This should make for excellent conditions for Opening Day. The warm weather predicted for this weekend will probably change that soon, as the high snow begins to melt. As the melt increases and the West Fork discolors the river, the river will still remain clear down to the West Fork.
The vagaries of the lower elevation snow melt have affected the fishing recently. It's been pretty slow up at the Beartooth Fly Shop, because of the closure of the "Upper Upper". So we have taken advantage of the opportunity to get out and do some fishing, before all the activity of the regular season begins. Sunday (the 4th) Dan, Marty, and Brad took an afternoon float from McAtee to Varney. We had some great action on nymphs--large stoneflies and small Lil' Spankers and Dan caught one fish on a dead drifted Delektable Christmas Tree streamer. But Dan gave up fishing the streamer after awhile and went back to nymphing. The "Fly of the Day" was a Lil' Spanker-red-#18.
On Tuesday (the 6th) the boys went out again and had a very slow day. The warm days on Sunday and Monday had increased the melt, put some cold water into the river, decreasing the temperature and slightly increasing the flow, and this made both the insects and the fish lethargic. Starting off, we had absolutely no action on nymphs, so we switched to streamers. We had some slow action on streamers, but got several very nice size fish. We didn't catch a fish on a nymph until late in the afternoon, when Dan caught a nice brown on one of his Delektables in Development--a brown stonefly pattern, which he had tied that morning and will be available next season. Here it is:
Below Varney it was almost all streamer action, with the Delektable Double Screamer--Olive and Yellow--catching the most fish. There was a moderate baetis and midge hatch late in the afternoon and one fish was caught on the surface on a #20 Adams Cluster. Things had definitely improved by the next day , when Gunnar went from Storey to 8 Mile and his clients boated over 20 fish (from 12" to 20"), on the same Olive and Yellow Delektable Screamers.
Recommended Flies
Delektable Flies can be viewed in the Delektable Flies Gallery under the
Beartooth Products tab
Nymphs:
Delektable™ Hurless Gray #8; Delektable™ Mega Prince #8; Pat's Rubberleg Brown #8; Delektable™ Lil’ Spanker Pheasant Tail or Lil' Spanker in Red, Silver, Olive #18;#16,#14; Tungsten Beadhead Pheasant Tail Soft Hackle #20; Delektable™ Twinkle Midge and Zebra Midge #20,#18; WD40 Olive #20
Dries:
Snowshoe Cripple BWO #18; Q’s Loopy Cripple Stacker BWO #18; Snowshoe Baetis #20; Adam’s Midge Cluster #20; Stalcup’s Hatching Midge #20 (Split Wing Adams #12 ) March Brown Parachute #14; Klinkhammer #14
Streamers:
Delektable Screamer Olive and Yellow, Single and Double, #6:
Fly from Riverborn Fly Company
Or:
Your favorite big or medium stonefly nymphs, BWO nymphs or dries, midge nymphs or dries, or your favorite streamers.
Dan, Marty, Nancy, Brad
This is our first Fishing Report on the web, so I would like to start by talking about the Seasons of the Upper Madison River and then the detailed report for May 4, 2008 will follow. We hope you enjoy our Reports. We aim to be accurate, honest, timely, detailed, and entertaining. We will update the Upper Madison Fishing Report at least weekly.
The Upper Madison River has been my year round fly fishing home for over 25 years. The seasons and rhythms are ingrained into my soul. I would like to break these seasons up into categories for our Fishing Reports. The current season, as of May 4, 2008, is going from Winter conditions into Spring. Our Winter fishing starts in November and can last into April. During the November to April periods, stonefly nymphs in sizes 4 to 10 dominate, medium size nymphs in sizes 10 to 14 work and the ever present midge hatch in sizes 18 and 20—both dry and wet—work.
The Spring season begins with the first big stonefly hatch of the year--the skwalas, which can start at the end of March and last into April. The BWO mayflies and the midges overlap the skwalas and continue into April or the first part of May. The next mayflies to show up are the March Browns, which can start in April and continue into May. Then there is the famous Mother’s Day Caddis Hatch. Good luck finding the 3 to 5 day period that they come off. The Mother’s Day Caddis Hatch can start from the end of April through the second week of May. The Spring time fishing has always been my favorite—the first big hatches start, the weather is getting warmer, and water conditions are stable during March, April, and May.
The next best season for me is June and the first part of July. Stonefly nymphs and dries can dominate in sizes 4 to 12, along with caddis dries and wets in sizes 8 to 16, and mayflies in sizes 12 to 16, depending on water flows and temperatures. Streamers are especially good during high water periods. This is the time of salmonflies, golden stones, caddis—from big to small, and mayflies—from big to medium. This smorgasboard of hatches continues until the middle to end of July, when the PMD mayflies, caddis, and nocturnal stones dominate.
Late summer brings tricos, small caddis, small PMDs, flying ants, and yes, my favorite late summer hatch—the wind blown hoppers.
Fall fishing starts when Mother Nature decides to cool down. September and the Fall BWOs take over. Streamer fishing and BWOs dominate until October turns into Winter.
Then what I like to call the Winter Season starts, from November until April. Stoneflies, nymphs—4 to 12, medium sized nymphs—10 to 14, and midges, wet and dry, dominate.
These seasons are a general outline and are subject to snowpack and weather conditions that change on a moments notice—welcome to Montana. Also, with over 2000 different fly patterns in our shop, we will leave the fly selections to one’s own imagination.
Dan
May 4, 2008 Report:
We like a “Big/Little” rig, with a Delektable™ Hurless, Delektable™ Mega Prince, or a Pat’s Rubberleg, followed by a Delektable™ Twinkle Midge or a Delektable™
Lil’ Spanker. If fish are rising, which is not happening very often, try a midge or baetis cripple or emerger.
Recommended Flies
Delektable Flies can be viewed in the Delektable Flies Gallery under the
Beartooth Products tab
Nymphs:
Delektable™ Hurless Gray #8; Delektable™ Mega Prince #8; Pat's Rubberleg Brown #8; Delektable™ Lil’ Spanker Pheasant Tail, Red, Silver, Olive #18;#16,#14 Beadhead Pheasant Tail Tungsten Soft Hackle #20; Delektable™ Twinkle Midge and Zebra Midge #20,#18; WD40 Olive #20
Dries:
Snowshoe Cripple BWO #18; Q’s Loopy Cripple Stacker BWO #18; Snowshoe Baetis #20; Adam’s Midge Cluster #20; Stalcup’s Hatching Midge #20
Or:
Your favorite big or medium stonefly nymphs, BWO nymphs or dries, midge nymphs or dries, March Brown imitations, or your favorite streamers.
Interactive Map of the Madison River.
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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.