June has arrived in the Madison Valley, and it has been a Stormy start. After receiving more precipitation in recent weeks than we saw all Winter, the River is running with healthy flows, and abundant insect hatches which are creating excellent early-Summer fishing. Caddis are active in the upper stretches, while PMD’s are emerging more consistently closer to town. Cooler, rainy days have delayed large Stonefly and Golden Stone activity, but we expect it to pick up in the coming weeks. Streamer fishing during low-light conditions remains a strong option for moving larger Trout.
River flows in early June reached just below 1,000 cubic feet per second at the Kirby monitoring station, and 1,200 cubic feet per second at the Cameron monitoring station. However, days of rain and additional late snowpack in the high peaks have resulted in bumps to 1,200 CFS at Kirby and greater than 1,400 at Cameron. Higher flows will taper as additional rain is expected throughout the month of June. We are grateful for all the moisture coming later to help our Trout. 🙂 Madison river flow rates can be viewed using The U.S. Geological Survey stream gauge at Cameron (Madison River near Cameron MT – USGS-06040000) and Kirby (Madison River at Kirby Ranch nr Cameron MT – USGS-06038800).
Dry fly fishing has been productive on the Upper Madison, especially during late-afternoon Caddis hatches when fish are feeding on emerging and adult Caddis. Smaller Pale Morning Dun Emergers should remain effective as Summer progresses and temperatures rise.
Nymphing with Caddis, Mayfly, and Stonefly patterns imitating BWO’s, PMDs, and Baetis—whether under an indicator or as dropper flies—continues to be a reliable way to produce strong catch numbers throughout the Upper Madison River.
Beartooth Flyfishing is located at 2925 US-287 North in Cameron, MT 59720. We are open Monday through Sunday from 8 AM to 6 PM. Stop by and visit us in the valley for free coffee, a current selection of proven flies, and plenty of fishing stories and advice from the Beartooth Flyfishing crew and family.
Nymphs: Delektable Sparkle Kaboom Stone #6 – #10; Delektable Guide Stone Black, Black/Brown #6 – #10, Pat’s Rubberlegs Black Black/Brown #6 – #10; Delektable BH Prince Brandon #8 – #16; Delektable Stoner Black Egghead #6; BH Lightning Bug Silver #16-#18; Delektable Balanced Stonefly Candy UV Brown/Gold #4-#8; Pat’s Rubberlegs Brown or Black #4-#8; Tungsten BH Jiggy Blow Torch #14-#16.
Dries: Delektable Mega 2 Tone Chubbyness Royal #8 – #10; Purple Haze Parachute #16 – #18; Geppert’s Crystal Dip #16 – #18; UV Goldenstone #10 – #12; Delektable Lil’ Chubby Olive UV, Cinnamon, Royal #14 -#18; Delektable CDC Elk hair Caddis Holo Olive, Purple, Olive or Tan #14 – 16; Delektable Twisted Baby Yellow With a Red Butt #12 – 16; Delektable Halo Tan, Royal #14 – #16.
Streamers: Dali Lama Olive/White #6-10; Delektable Screamer Single Olive/White, Yellow, White, Olive/Black or Badger #6; JR’s Conehead Streamer Olive #6; Delektable SS Jointed Screamer Double or Single Screamer Olive/White, Black/Olive, White #6; Zonkers Olive or Natural Copper Body #6 & #8; McCune’s Sculpin Olive #4-#8; Delektable Christmas Tree Original #6.
