August 14th-August 20th, 2023 | Upper Madison River Fishing Report

The Heat is on here on the Madison River this week. We saw some of the hottest days of the year this past week with temperatures in the low to mid 90’s. How thankful we are that we had such an epic Winter now. The Madison River Basin has a plentiful amount of water to keep our River cool and ecologically safe from the August Heat.

This week’s Streamflows started at 1,050cfs@Kirby and 1,240cfs@Cameron, a slight mid-week rise to 1,130cfs@Kirby and 1,330cfs@Cameron and a drop back to 1,100cfs@Kirby and 1,280cfs@Cameron. Fishing can be challenging with flows on the rise, but quite epic when the flows drop.

Fishing this week was primarily the most productive with Small Nymphs or a Hopper/Stonefly and Small Dropper set up. The Nocturnal game is still holding strong, and we have started to see flying swarms of Ants and Tricos come off plentifully throughout the River. Hoppers have still yet to make their grand appearance, but Fish are starting to come up to the patterns regardless. Flesh, Pink, Tan, and Royal have been the color of choice for the top water Fly. We are reaching that time of the year when smaller Nymphs, #16-#20, are the most productive. Streamers are working well earlier in the morning and as an attractor for a small Nymph trailing it throughout the day.

This coming weekend, August 26th-August 27th, the 19th Annual Flyfishing Festival will be happening in Ennis, MT. Our dear Dan Delekta will be doing a fly-tying demonstration from 11:00am to 12:30pm at Peter T’s Park next to Madison Valley Bank. If you would like some more information on the festival visit the Ennis Chamber of Commerce Website.

Nymphs: Delektable Hammerhead JH Hare’s Ear, Prince or PT #14-#18; JH Napoleon Light Olive #16-#18; Delektable JH Tungsten Spanker Holo Olive, PT, Holo Silver, Holo Red or Miller Time #16-#18; BH Lightning Bug Silver or Pearl #16-#20; Blue BH Caddis Emerger Tan #16; Geppert’s Madison Purple Death #16; Geppert’s Skinny Dip Black or Brown #16-#18; Geppert’s Crystal Dip Brown, Olive or Red #16-#18; Wire Worm Red & Orange or Red #4-#8; Delektable Prince Brandon #14-#18; Bloom’s Tung Dart #16-#18; JH BH Iron Lotus #16-#18; Copper John #16-#18; Geppert’s Master or Mega Emerger #16-#18; The Fly Formerly Known as Prince #16-#18; BH Micro May Olive #16-#18; or CDC Flashback Pheasant Tail #16-#18.

Dries: Delektable Lil’ Chubby Pink, Royal, UV Olive or UV Cinnamon #16-#18; White Cloud Hopper Peach or Tan #12-#14; PMD Parachute Rusty Spinner #14-#16; Delektable Halo Royal, Mo’ River or Tan #14-#16; Delektable Secret Stone UV Dark Olive or Royal #10-#12; Transparent Ant Black or Black/Red #16; Delektable Flying Ant Minimal Cinnamon or Purple #14-#18; Hi-Vis Thunder Thighs Hopper Pink or Tan #10- #14; Missing Link Caddis Amber #16; Sparkle Emergent Caddis Grey #16; Parachute Adams #12-#16; Delektable Chubbyness Royal, Rootbeer, UV Cinnamon or Purple #12-#16; Dornan’s Water Walker September Stone, Pink or Peanut #12-#14; Yeager’s 409 Red #14-#16; Carlson’s Purple Craze #14-#18; Split-Winged Adams Parachute #16-#18; Delektable Mega2Tone Chubbyness UV Dark Olive, UV GoldenStone or UV Purple #10-#12; Delektable CDC Elk Hair Caddis Tan or Cinnamon #16-#18; Morrish Hopper Tan or Pink #12-#14; or McKnight Thunder Thighs Tan #12.

Streamers: Delektable SS Jointed Screamer Olive/White, Black, White, or Yellow; Delektable Double Screamer Olive/Black, Black, Olive, White, or Yellow; Delektable Single Screamer Black, Olive/White, Olive/Black, White or Olive #6; McCune’s Sculpin Olive or Tan #4-#6; Zonkers Dark Olive, Tan, or Natural #8; Trevor’s Sculpin Olive, Black, or Natural #4; Dali Llama Olive/White or Black/Olive #6; Galloup’s Silky Kitty Black, Tan, White, or Olive; #6; Coffey’s Sparkle Minnow Sculpin #6; Conehead Zuddler Olive #6- #8; Flash Fry Olive/Natural #6; Mini Loop Sculpin Olive or Natural #6; Galloup’s Mini Sex Dungeons Olive, Black, or Cream #6; or Mini Sculpin Black #10.

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August 7th-August 13th, 2023 | Upper Madison River Fishing Report

Sweet August in the Madison River Valley; the dog days of summer have set in, schools are about to begin and the River has seen less traffic this week, which if you have been lucky enough to be out there the fishing has been fantastic!

Streamflows this week started at 1,140cfs@Kirby and 1,330cfs@Cameron, flows have stayed consistent @ Kirby finishing the week at 1,130cfs and we have seen a drop throughout the week at Cameron to finish the week at 1,240cfs. Windy Point to Varney Bridge has been the most consistent section this past week. However we have had some windy days which can make McAtee Bridge to Varney Bridge challenging for anglers out of a boat. We are still waiting for Hoppers to really turn on, hopefully this warmer weather next week will finally push them down to the water, however the Ants and Beetles have been turning on. Nocturnals are still strong on top and fishing with a dropper has been quite productive.

Streamers and Nymphs have been productive, small Nymph combos or Streamer and Nymph dropper fished dead drift tightline or with an indicator. In the evenings the Caddis hatch is has been great and a Caddis with a Rusty Spinner pattern deadly.

Beartooth Flyfishing, aka The Fly Mart, is open for business Everyday 7am to 6pm, we are here to help you with all your fishing needs! Come on in and let us help you have the best adventure here in Montana and beyond.

Nymphs: : Delektable Hammerhead JH Hare’s Ear, Prince or PT #14-#18; JH BH Iron Lotus #16-#18; JH Napoleon Light Olive #16-#18; Delektable JH Tungsten Spanker Holo Olive, PT, Holo Silver, Holo Red or Miller Time #16-#18; Pat’s Rubberlegs Black/Brown or Olive/Brown #8-#10; Blue BH Caddis Emerger Tan #16; BH Madison Purple Death #16; Geppert’s Skinny Dip Black or Brown #16-#18; Delektable Guide Stone Black/Brown, Olive/Brown or Black #8-#10; Geppert’s Crystal Dip Brown, Olive or Red #16-#18; King Prince #14-#16; Lightning Bug Gold, Silver or Pearl #14-#18; Wire Worm Red/Orange or Red #6-#8; Delektable BH Prince Brandon #14-#18; Bloom’s Tung Dart #16-#18.

Dries: Delektable Lil’ Chubby Pink, Royal, UV Olive or UV Cinnamon #16-#18; White Cloud Hopper Olive, Peach or Tan #12-#14; PMD Parachute Rusty Spinner #14-#16; Delektable Halo Royal, Mo River or Tan #14-#16; Delektable Secret Stone UV Dark Olive or Royal #10-#12; Transparent Ant Black/Black or Black/Red #16; Delektable Flying Ant Minimal Cinnamon or Purple #15-#18; Hi-Vis Thunder Thighs Hopper Pink or Yellow #10-#14; Missing Link Caddis Amber #16; Sparkle Emergent Caddis Grey #16; Parachute Adams #12-#16; Delektable Chubbyness Royal, Rootbeer, UV Cinnamon or Purple #12-#16; Dornan’s Water Walker September Stone, Pink or Peanut #12-#14; Cornfed Caddis CDC Tan #16; Carlson’s Purple Craze #14-#18; Split-Winged Adams Parachute #16-#18; Delektable Mega2Tone Chubbyness UV Dark Olive or UV Purple #10-#12; Delektable CDC Elk Hair Caddis Tan or Cinnamon #16-#18.

Streamers: Delektable SS Jointed Screamer Olive/White, Black, White, or Yellow; Delektable Double Screamer Olive Black, Olive Black in Gold, Black, Olive, White, Yellow; Delektable Single Screamer Black, Olive/White, Olive/Black, White or Olive #6; McCune’s Sculpin Olive or Tan #4-#6; Zonkers Dark Olive, Tan, or Natural #8; Trevor’s Sculpin Olive, Black, or Natural #4; Dali Llama Olive/White or Black/Olive #6; Galloup’s Silky Kitty Black, Tan, White, or Olive; #6; Coffey’s Sparkle Minnow Sculpin #6; Conehead Zuddler Olive #6- #8; Flash Fry Olive/Natural #6; Mini Loop Sculpin Olive or Natural #6; Galloup’s Mini Sex Dungeons Olive, Black, or Cream #6; Mini Sculpin Black #10.

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July 31st – August 6th, 2023 | Upper Madison River Fishing Report

Montana’s Wild West Weather moved in this week making the first weekend of August feel like Fall! We started this week with sunny weather in the high 80’s and by Thursday we had low 60’s and rainy conditions. We are happy to have the rain and cooler weather show up in our little slice of heaven, but fishing became challenging by the end of this week with rainy and cooler conditions.

Streamflows this week started at 1,350cfs@Kirby and 1,490cfs@Cameron with a progressive drop throughout the week to 1,120cfs@Kirby and 1,330cfs@Cameron by Sunday. Fishing this week brought us some Hopper eats early in the week. Due to the rainy conditions later in the week we may see a 4-to-5-day break before we start seeing the Hopper action pick up again. Nymphs have been a solid option for consistency throughout the week. The Streamer/Nymph combo on a dead drift has been a go to for big Fish action!

Even with the rain this weekend during our Montana Hope Project Fundraiser Event the weather gods spared us, and we had the best conditions for eating Marty’s Gumbo and Dan & Nancy’s Chili! And…Vickie and Elle’s desserts were awesome! We had a wonderful turnout and had fantastic donations to help the kids! Thank you so much for all that attended and/or donated and if you didn’t but still would like to donate you can by mailing a check to us written to the Montana Hope Project (Mail to Beartooth Flyfishing PO Box 309 Cameron, MT 59720), calling us at Beartooth Flyfishing @ 406-682-7525 and we can do a donation with your credit card or mailing a check directly to the Montana Hope Project PO Box 5927 Helena, MT 59604-5927 (Note on the check “In Memory of Grandpa John Delekta”. By clicking on this link you can learn more about the Montana Hope Project Montana Hope Project Website. We were honored with a special gift of a beautiful bronze statue from the Montana Hope Project which is displayed in the front of our shop.

Nymphs: Delektable Hammerhead JH Hare’s Ear, Holo Green or PT #14-#18; JH BH Iron Lotus #16-#18; JH Napoleon Light Olive #16-#18; Delektable JH Tungsten Spanker Holo Olive, PT, Holo Chartreuse or Miller Time #16-#18; Pat’s Rubberlegs Black/Brown or Olive/Brown #8-#10; Wilcox’s Little Green Machine Chartreuse #18; Geppert’s BH Madison Purple Death #16; Geppert’s Skinny Dip Black or Brown #16-#18; Delektable Guide Stone Black/Brown, Olive/Brown or Black #8-#10; Geppert’s Crystal Dip Brown, Olive or Red #16-#18; King Prince #14-#16; BH JH Lightning Bug Pearl, Silver or Olive #16-#18; Wire Worm Red & Orange or Red #6-#8; Delektable BH Prince Brandon #14-#18.

Dries: Delektable Lil’ Chubby UV Tan, Royal or UV Cinnamon #16-#18; White Cloud Hopper Olive, Peach or Tan #12-#14; PMD Parachute Rusty Spinner #14-#16; Delektable Halo Royal, Peacock, Purple or Tan #14-#16; More-Or-Less Hopper Purple, Pink, Peach or Yellow #10-#12; Transparent Ant Black/Black or Black/Red #16; Bloom’s Stealth Ant Purple #14-#16; Hi-Vis Thunder Thighs Hopper Pink or Yellow #10- #14; Yeager’s 409 Olive or Red #12-#16; Delektable Flying Ant Cinnamon or Purple #16-#18; Parachute Adams #12-#16; Delektable Chubbyness Royal, Rootbeer, UV Cinnamon or Purple #12-#16; Dornan’s Water Walker September Stone or Peanut #12-#14.

Streamers: Delektable SS Jointed Screamer Olive/White, Black, White, or Yellow; Delektable Double Screamer Olive/Black, Black, Olive, White, Yellow; Delektable Single Screamer Black, Olive/White, Olive/Black, White, Olive, or Spawning #6; McCune’s Sculpin Olive or Tan #4-#6; Zonkers Dark Olive, Tan, or Natural #8; Trevor’s Sculpin Olive, Black, or Natural #4; Dali Llama Olive/White or Black/Olive #6; Galloup’s Silky Kitty Black, Tan, White, or Olive; #6; Coffey’s Sparkle Minnow Sculpin #6; Conehead Zuddler Olive #6- #8; Flash Fry Olive/Natural #6; Mini Loop Sculpin Olive or Natural #6; Galloup’s Mini Sex Dungeons Olive, Black, or Cream #6.

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July 24th-July 30th, 2023 | Upper Madison River Fishing Report

The heat has been turned up on the Upper Madison this past week but unlike much of the rest of the world, the temperature drops at night, and we have the water to help keep our River ecosystem cool and our trout healthy! Fishing has been unpredictable this week and has us all changing our tactics to accommodate a hearty catching experience.

We have started to see Hoppers and other Terrestrials start to be productive this week especially on the flats and below Varney.  It’s really been a color game from day to day with Peach one day, Green the next and Tan the next. Remember that Terrestrials can be as good, if not better subsurface. Fishing a Hopper and a dropper can give you an attractor and float your Nymph in the perfect water depth for maximum success! Nymphs and Streamers have been the most consistent this last week with a variable success with Rusty Spinners, Chubby’s, Delektable Lil’ Chubbies, and Parachute Adams.

As for next week, the forecast looks like some serious rain to help cool us all down and with that Streamer and possibly some evening dry fly action after a storm. But if the rain has got you down and you need to dry out, we got you covered at Beartooth Flyfishing! This coming weekend, August 5th & 6th Noon to 5PM, we are celebrating our 10th Annual Montana Hope Project Fundraiser! We will be serving Marty’s famous Gumbo, Dan & Nancy’s Chili along with cookies and pies from Elle at Elle’s Belles and Vickie Noack at Country Bumpkin Bakery. We also will be having fly tying demonstrations and casting clinics as the weather allows! For a $50 donation you can get all the food you can eat and support a great cause to help Montana’s Families.

Dries: Delektable Lil’ Chubby UV Tan, Royal or UV Cinnamon #16-#18; White Cloud Hopper Olive, Peach or Tan #12-#14; PMD Parachute Rusty Spinner #14-#16; Delektable Halo Royal, Peacock, Purple or Tan #14-#16; More-Or-Less Hopper Purple, Pink, Peach or Yellow #10-#12; Transparent Ant Black/Black or Black/Red #16; Bloom’s Stealth Ant Purple #14-#16; Hi-Vis Thunder Thighs Hopper Pink or Yellow #10- #14; Yeager’s 409 Olive or Red #12-#16; Delektable Fly Ant Cinnamon or Purple #16-#18; Parachute Adams #12-#16; Delektable Chubbyness Royal, Rootbeer, UV Cinnamon or Purple #12-#16; Dornan’s Water Walker September Stone or Peanut #12-#14.

Nymphs: Geppert’s Skinny Dip Brown, Pearl or Black #14-#18; Psycho Prince GB Purple or Green #14-#16; BH Micro May Olive #16-#18; Delektable Lil’ Spanker Red or Silver #14-#18; Beaverhole Special PMD #16-#18; Duracell Bomb JH UV Black 2.5 #16; Delektable Lil’ Spanker Red, Purple, PT, Olive or Silver #14-#18; BH Lemon Drop #14-#18; Delektable TGBH Big Spanker Warrior, Olive or Light Olive #16-#18; Geppert’s Lightning Bug CH Black, Gold or Silver #16; Delektable Guide Stone Black or Olive/Brown #10-#12; Pat’s Rubberleggs Olive/Brown or Brown/Black #10-#12; Formerly Known as Prince #14-#16.

Streamers: Delektable SS Jointed Screamer Olive/White, Black, White, or Yellow; Delektable Double Screamer Olive/Black, Black, Olive, White, Yellow; Delektable Single Screamer Black, Olive/White, Olive/Black, White, Olive, or Spawning #6; McCune’s Sculpin Olive or Tan #4-#6; Zonkers Dark Olive, Tan, or Natural #8; Trevor’s Sculpin Olive, Black, or Natural #4; Dali Llama Olive/White or Black/Olive #6; Galloup’s Silky Kitty Black, Tan, White, or Olive; #6; Coffey’s Sparkle Minnow Sculpin #6; Conehead Zuddler Olive #6- #8; Flash Fry Olive/Natural #6; Mini Loop Sculpin Olive or Natural #6; Galloup’s Mini Sex Dungeons Olive, Black, or Cream #6.

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July 17th-July 23rd, 2023 | Upper Madison River Fishing Report

Notice: FWP has stated Hoot Owl (Closed fishing from 2pm-12am) restrictions for the Lower Madison River from the confluence with the Jefferson River to Warm Springs Fishing Access Site. In addition to the Lower Madison, other rivers have gone under these regulations. See FWP Waterbody Closures for more information.

Greetings from the banks of the Madison River here at Beartooth Flyfishing! At the peak of the Summer season, the fishing has been excellent this week with manageable flows, warm weather, and little rain. With consistent morning and evening hatches of PMD’s, Caddis, Yellow Sallies and now the start of Terrestrials; the Dry Fly Fishing and Nymphing has been excellent. Although it is not peak season, those willing to throw Streamers can find larger predatory Fish in the undercut banks or deep pockets during the day, but the best action is at first or last light.

With Streamflow pulsing this week, flows have been interchanging to keep our fishery cool and help the Lower Madison below Ennis Dam. Streamflows started this week at 1,270cfs @ Kirby and 1,570cfs @ Cameron, with minor daily fluctuations throughout the week and ending the week at 1,310cfs @ Kirby and 1,460cfs @ Cameron. With the pulses and drops of flows from tributaries North of the West Fork we have seen it be a bit more challenging to find the fish; but trust us they are still out there!  

This week’s higher air temps, into the mid 80’s and 90’s, Trout have been holding in deep pocket water around boulders and gravel bars during the day and shallow riffles during the early mornings and evenings.  With sunny days in the forecast, manageable flows and consistent hatches, the fishing should continue to stay good in the coming weeks as the terrestrial hatches begin to really turn on!

Dries: PMD Parachute Rusty Spinner #16-18; Purple Haze Parachute #16-18; Wulff Irresistible #16; Delektable Halo Peacock, Purple, or Tan #14-18; Delektable Chubbyness Royal, Rootbeer, UV Caddis or Olive Brown #10-16; Cornfed Caddis CDC Olive or Tan #16, Delektable Twisted Baby Yellow w/ Red Butt #16; Delektable CDC Elk Hair Caddis Purple, Tan or Olive #16-18; Delektable Twisted X Brown #14-#16; “X” Caddis Tan or Olive #16-18; Elk Hair Caddis Tan or Olive #16-18; Delektable Sparkle Bug Pale Olive or Tan #14-#16,

Nymphs: Formerly Known as Prince #12-18; Tung Drop Yellow Sally #14; Delektable BH Prince Brandon #12-18; Jig Hook CDC Flashback Pheasant Tail #16-18; BH Lemon Drop #12-18; BH Tungsten Jig Yellow Spot #14-18; BH Jig Hook Olive Lightning Bug #16-18; Duracell Bomb JH UV Black #16; Crack Back Bullet Jig Cream #16-#18; Delektable TGBH Sure Strike Sally or Black/Purple #14-#18; BH Shop Vac Olive or Brown #14-#18; Tungsten BH Jiggy Frenchie #18; Crack Back Bullet Jig Olive #16; Jig Hook BH Iron Lotus #16-#18; Geppert’s Crystal Dips Black, Brown or Crystal #14-18; 3 Dollar Dip Crystal, Brown #16; Geppert’s Skinny Dip Brown, Black or Crystal #14-16; Geppert’s Mega Emerger #16-#18; Gepperts Emerger PMD #16-#18; Delektable Guide Stone Olive/Brown or Black/Brown #8-#10.

Streamers: Delektable SS Jointed Screamer Olive/White, Black, White, or Yellow; Delektable Double Screamer Olive/Black, Olive/Black Gold, Black, Olive, White, Yellow; Delektable Single Screamer Black, Olive/White, Olive/Black, White, Olive, or Spawning; #6; McCune’s Sculpin Olive or Tan #4-#6; Zonkers Dark Olive, Tan, or Natural #8; Trevor’s Sculpin Olive, Black, or Natural #4; Dali Llama Olive/White #6; Galloup’s Silky Kitty Black, Tan, White, or Olive; #6; Coffey’s Sparkle Minnow Sculpin #6; Conehead Zuddler Olive #6- #8; Flash Fry Olive/Natural #6; Mini Loop Sculpin Olive or Natural #6; Galloup’s Mini Sex Dungeons Olive, Black, or Cream #6.

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