September has arrived. The hot temperatures of July and August are exiting, and the Madison Valley is preparing for Fall. Which means Elk Bugling and Big Brown Trout beginning to color up. With Hunting season beginning and school starting back up the traffic on the river will be much less. Migratory Fish out of the lakes are beginning to enter the Madison in YNP, above Ennis Lake, and below Quake Lake to begin their annual spawning runs. The later the Season gets the more of these trophy fish enter the system. One of the favorite times of year for all the local residents of the valley.
For the dry fly enthusiasts out there, we still have Terrestrials on the menu. Flying Ants and Hoppers are still out and about and the Fall Caddis hatches have begun. Dry Fly Anglers with patience and that good ability to twitch and give just the subtlest signs of a little movement are being rewarded with some fine Trout. Helps to weed out all the little guys that love to attack as soon as anything hits the surface of the water this time of year. And it’s Blue Winged Olive time. The Fall brood is here and remember the fall hatches are a size #20-#22. BWO’s love inclement weather. So search out those days with lighter wind, some cloud cover, and even a light rain is best to bring this hatch on heavy.
If you’re after numbers, then as always having a nymph handy is helpful. We do have some weed growth throughout the Maddie after a hot July and August so paying attention to your indicators and weight is a must, or you’ll be cleaning off the green goo more so than fishing. Fishing a Dry Dropper rig is an excellent way to get the best of both worlds with a nymph beneath a Hopper or Mid-Size to Large Chubby. Streamer action has been best earlier or late as well as under cloud cover or with inclement weather conditions. With the low flows the Trout have seemed more interested in smaller patterns sparse patterns. You can leave the double and triple articulated patterns in the box for now.
YNP fishing for the Runners out of Hebgen hasn’t gotten red hot yet which is an indication of what is happening on the Madison. There are some early fish distributed throughout the Madison, the Lower Gibbon, and Lower Firehole. Swinging Streamers and Soft Hackles has been best under cloud cover or at first light and dusk. Nymphing is always better on the brighter days, and we have plenty of those right now. The occasional big runner will eat a Hopper though with a perfect presentation.
Flows have remained stable for the first half of September. 971 cfs at the beginning of August and currently at 926 cfs mid-month.
Dries: Delektable Flying Ant in Cinnamon, Black, or Red #14-#16. Bloom’s Stealth Ant Purple #14-#16. Rio’s Dry Humper in Royal Purple #16. Yeagar’s 409 Red #16. Morrish Hopper in Yellow, Tan, Olive, Pink #12-#14. Thunder Thigh’s Hopper in Yellow, Tan, Pink #12-#14.Panty Dropper Hopper in Yellow, Tan, Pink #12-#14. White Cloud Hopper in Yellow, Tan, Peach #12-#14. Rio’s Juicy Hopper in Pink #12-#14. Delektable Lil’ Chubby in UV Cinnamon, UV Caddis Green, UV Black #16-#18. Delektable BWO Teaser #18-#20. Delektable Adams Teaser #18-#20. Sparkle Dun BWO #18-#22. Parachute Adams #14-#22. Carlson’s Purple Craze #14-#22. Para Sipper BWO #18-#22.
Nymphs: Pat’s Rubberlegs in Black, Brown/Black, Olive/Black #8-#12. Delektable Guide Stone in Black, Brown/Black #8-#10. Delektable Gold BH Formerly Mega Prince #8-#10. Delektable Mega Prince Std. FB #8-#10. Delektable JH Tungsten Micro Spanker in Holo Olive and Holo Black #18. Delektable Lil’ Spanker in Silver, PT, Blue #16-#20. Spanish Bullet Black #16-#18. Splitback BWO Bead or No Bead #18-#22. Shop Vac’s #18. Physcho Prince in Purple and Yellow #16-#18.
Streamers: Delektable Screamer Single in Black, Olive/White, Badger, Olive/Black in Gold #6. Zonkers in Natural and Copper #8. Jig Zonker Copper #6. McCune’s Sculpin Olive or Tan #4-#8. Trevor’s Sculpin Olive #4. Mini Dalai Lama Olive/White #4-#10. Sculpzilla in Black, Olive/White #8.
YNP Swing Flies: Delektable Screamer Single in Olive/White, Badger, Black/Olive in Gold, White, Brown/Yellow #6. Sculpzilla in Black, Olive/White #8. Kraft’s Kreelex in
Silver/Gold/Copper #6. Skiddish Smolt in Brown or Olive #4. Lucky Bucky Soft Hackle in Orange or Black #6. Shakey Beeley #12-#14. Full Dressed Red #12-#14. PT Soft Hackle #12-#14. Rio’s Swing Fly Brown/Yellow, Orange/Black #12. Rio’s Pocket Rocket in Copper/Brown, White, Olive #4.
