June 12th-June 18th, 2023 | Upper Madison River Fishing Report

Posted on June 18, 2023 by Beartooth Flyfishing

The wait is over, fishing on the Upper Madison River has been hot to trot! With the drop of flows since the beginning of the month the River has become fishable throughout, from Raynolds Pass to Valley Garden! Streamflows this week started at 1,400cfs @ Kirby and 2,750cfs @ Cameron, by mid week a drop to 999cfs @ Kirby and 1,820cfs @ Cameron and rising by the end of week to 1,280cfs @ Cameron. The recent rainstorms we have had this past month have had a dramatic effect on streamflows and water clarity. We recommend checking the weather and streamflows daily, and planning your adventure accordingly.

Streamers and Nymphs have been the most productive methods over the past week; Some of the large #10 & #12 Bomber Caddis have been sighted with some top water action being reported. Although most action has been sub surface with Nymphs and Streamers.  The entire river is fishing well from day to day; between Hebgen Lake and Quake Lake and Raynolds Pass to Pine Butte has been quite exceptional and consistent this week. Hopefully we should be seeing Salmon Flies and Goldenstones within the next two weeks.

Here at Beartooth Flyfishing we are fully stocked and just received a shipment of our new Delektable Kaboom Stonefly Nymph patterns. They are a deadly weapon for your arsenal! Stop in and check ’em out before they are all gone!

Nymphs: Delektable FB Sparkle Kaboom Stone, Sparkle Kaboom Stone, or Kaboom Stone #6 & #8; Delektable Mega Prince Olive FB #6-#8; Delektable Hurless Nymph Gray FB #6-#8; Delektable Worm Red, Brown, or Pink #12-#14, Pat’s RubberLegs Black, Black/Brown, or Olive/Brown #4-#8; Delektable Guide Stone Brown/Yellow, Black, or Olive/Brown #4-#8; Formerly Known as Prince #12-#16; Geppert Crystal Dip Olive, Red, or Black #16-#18; BH Shop Vac Brown, or Olive #16-#18; Wire Worm Red #6-#10; ; BH PT Tungsten Soft Hackle #20; Delektable BH Prince Brandon #12-#16; BH Montana Bullet Black or Black/Red #18; Delektable JH Tungsten Spanker, Holo Olive Green, Holo Silver, or Pheasant Tail #14-#18; Delektable Lil’ Spanker Pheasant Tail, Olive, or Silver #14-#20; Delektable Lime Juice Caddis Emerger #14-#16; BH Partridge Caddis Olive #16; Delektable CDC Baby #12-#14; Psycho Prince GB Caddis Green #12-#16; BH Guide’s Choice Hare’s Ear #12- #16; Delektable TGBH Sure Strike Yellow/Peacock #12-#16.

Streamers: Delektable SS/Double/Single Screamer Olive/White, Black/Olive, White, Yellow, or Olive/Yellow #6; Zonkers Olive, Natural Copper Body, Black or White #6 & #8; Galloup’s Silk Kitty White or Black & Olive #4;  Trevor’s Sculpin Olive or Black #4; McCune’s Sculpin Olive or Tan #4-#8; Delektable Christmas Tree Original, Black, or Olive Yellow #6; Jr’s Conehead Streamer Olive #6; Dali Llama Olive/White, or Black/Olive #4- #6; Mini Loop Sculpin Olive, or Natural #6; Sparkle Shelia Sculpin #4; Wool Head Sculpin Olive #4; Sculpin the One Olive/ Natural #4; BH Dude Friendly Black/Yellow #8-#10.

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May 20th-May 31st | Beaverhead River Fishing Report

Posted on June 10, 2023 by Beartooth Flyfishing

The much anticipated opener of the Beaverhead River has arrived! After closing down the River in Mid-August of last year due to extreme low flows and low reservoir levels, anglers were wondering what to expect. Ryan, our Shop Manager was able to spend a few days on the water of the Beav’ in the past couple weeks. He is happy to report the Browns and Rainbows are fat, happy, and finicky as ever.

Water clarity is very clear to solid visibility downstream to Grasshopper Creek. Below Grasshopper Creek the River is quite dirty still. Trout have been feeding on Small Baetis Nymphs, Midge Pupae and Emergers, Smaller Caddis patterns, Scuds, Sowbugs, and Worm patterns. The Streamer bite has been pretty solid throughout the Beaverhead downstream to Henneberry. The majority of the action has been subsurface, but the die hard dry Fly Fisherman with a sharp eye can take a rising Fish here and there on a Small BWO or Midge adult.

Wow! The Brown Trout is great but look at that Beartooth Custom Burled Wood Kingslayer 5/6 Wt Rod with accompanying Hardy Princess Reel! That’s how you take a picture!

Flows out of Clark Canyon are 332cfs at the Dam and 511cfs at Barrett’s. These are very wading friendly flows. Take advantage of the easier wading while you can before the higher flows kick in for the summer.

Nymphs: Delektable Lil’ Spanker Pheasant Tail #16-#20, Delektable Big Spanker Warrior #18, Splitback BWO #18-#22, Hot Bead Soft Hackle Sowbug Tan, Pink #16-#18. Ray Charles Tan, Pink, Orange #16-#20. Shop Vac Olive, or Brown #16-#18. RS2 #18-#20 Olive or Gray. Delektable Worm Red #12, Flossy Worm Red #12-#14.

Streamers: Delektable Single Screamer #6 Olive/White, Black/Olive, White, or Olive/Yellow.

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May 30th-June 5th, 2023 | Upper Madison River Fishing Report

Posted on June 5, 2023 by Beartooth Flyfishing

Let it Rain! Spring rains have blessed the Madison Valley this week with temperatures ranging in the low 70’s to mid 60’s and as always it seems that Mother Nature has the best timing. Beginning May 31st Northwestern Energy began dropping flows steadily this week from their planned flush. Streamflows this week started at 3,440cfs @ Kirby and 4,840cfs @ Cameron and incrementally decreased by the end of the week to 2,330cfs @Kirby and 3,890cfs @ Cameron. This week brought all the big water we needed to revitalize our Madison River ecosystem and sets up our Summer to be a cornucopia of phenomenal hatches and even better fishing.

By the 5th we are starting to see the feeder Streams clearing and the River is starting to get that green color we all love. Fishing has been productive through this time from Raynolds Bridge to Pine Butte and as the flows have dropped, we have received reports of people able to go under the Sun West Bridge and the Wolff Creek Bridge. Wolf Creek Bridge does have some logs and debris on the right (east) side and the only passable side is far river left. Sun West Bridge is passable on river right. We do advise caution on floating from Lyons Bridge to Pallisades, experienced rowers and those that are familiar with the bridges will still have a tight squeeze so if you are less experienced with this section we suggest waiting for this section until Streamflows drop.

Fishing this week has been the most productive on Streamers, Stoneflies and of course the Worm Hatch. Fish have started to chase the Streamer hard! As we continue on to the next week and water clarity continues to improve look for Dry Fly opportunities in between scoring huge Fish on the single or double streamer!

Nymphs: Delektable FB Mega Prince STD or Olive #4-#8; Delektable Olive Mega Prince #6-#8; Delektable FB Hurless Stone Gray #6-#8; Delektable Worm Red #12-#14, Pat’s RubberLegs Black, Black/Brown, or Olive/Brown #4-#8; Delektable Guide Stone Brown/Yellow, Black, or Olive Brown #4-#8; BH Tung Teaser Black #20; Geppert Crystal Dip Olive, Red #16-#18; BH Shop Vac Brown, Olive #16-#18; Wire Worm Red #6-#10; ; BH PT Tungsten Soft Hackle #20; Delektable Twinkle Black, or Red #18-#20; BH Montana Bullet Black, or Black/Red #18; Delektable JH Tungsten Lil’ Spanker Pheasant Tail, Olive, Holo Olive Green, or Silver #14-#20; Delektable Lime Juice Caddis Emerger #16; BH Partridge Caddis Olive #16; Delektable TGBH Big Spanker Light Olive #14-#16, Psycho Prince GB Caddis Green #12-#16; Delektable Spark Plug Stoner Egg Head Black, or Egg Head Brown #6-#8.

Streamers: Delektable SS/Double/Single Screamer Olive/White, Black/Olive, White, Yellow #6; Zonkers Olive, Natural Copper Body, Black, or White #6 & #8; Fish Wacker Mini White #6; Blooms Jig Hook Zirdle Gold, or Olive/Orange #10; TBH Balanced Leech Egg Sucking #10; Snapping Craw #8; Claws R Crawfish Olive, or Tan #10; McCune’s Sculpin Olive, Tan #4-#8; Delektable Christmas Tree Original #6; Jr’s Conehead Streamer Olive #6; Yo Dali Llama Olive/White #6; Mini Loop Sculpin Olive or Natural #6; Sparkle Shelia Sculpin #4; Trevor’s Sculpin Olive, Natural #4, Zirdle Orange, Olive, or Tan #6; Bunny Buster #6; Mini Loop Sculpin Natural #6.

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May 23rd-May 29th, 2023 | Upper Madison River Fishing Report

Posted on May 29, 2023 by Beartooth Flyfishing

What an exciting and adventurous week for the Ol’ Beartooth Flyfishing this week! This week we co-hosted 4 wonderful Veterans on a 3-day fishing excursion and what fun was had! Even in challenging conditions on the River and with weather not always the friendliest, they prevailed and found the true meaning of enjoying the wild Madison River! We also had our yearly high school students from the Nueva School in California and with the guidance of our fantastic guides were able to learn some new tricks and catch some nice fish! So, while we are dealing with our yearly runoff and high-water conditions, people are still catching fish, challenging their skills and enjoying the beautiful Madison Valley in the Spring! Thank you to all for the great efforts and smiles.

Catching has been most productive by targeting fish in slower water and soft pockets (back eddies on the bank, behind rocks, protected seams in the middle of the river) with a large Stonefly and smaller Nymph trailing and Streamers with smaller Nymph trailing. Dry Fly fishing is still on hold, there have been sightings of fish sipping and most likely on Baetis. Smaller Baetis nymphs have still been more effective than the dries.

This week Northwestern Energy has raised the waterflows gradually since Friday to 3,400cfs at Kirby, they will hold this until the end of the month, to help flush the River and improve our Trout fishery ecosystem. By the middle to end of next week we will see the river flows start to drop and most likely the clarity will improve. Streamflows this week started at 1,620cfs @ Kirby and 3,750cfs at Cameron and by the end of the week raised to 3,400cfs @ Kirby and 4,660cfs @ Cameron.

If the runoff has you down and unsure where to fish or how, stop on into Beartooth Flyfishing! We are here Everyday 8am-5pm, our knowledgeable staff can help you have the best fishing adventure!

Nymphs: Delektable Hammerhead GTBH Olive #14-#20; Delektable Mega Prince FB STD or Olive #4-#8; Delektable Big Spanker Warrior size #16- #18; Delektable Worm Red #12-#14, Pat’s RubberLegs Black, Black/Brown, or Olive/Brown #4-#8; Delektable Guide Stone Brown/Yellow, Black, or Olive Brown #4-#8; BH Tung Teaser Black #20; Geppert Crystal Dip Olive, Red #16-#18; BH Shop Vac Brown, Olive #16-#18; Wire Worm Red #6-#10; ; BH PT Tungsten Soft Hackle #20; Delektable Twinkle Black, or Red #18-#20; BH Montana Bullet Black, Black/Red #18; Delektable JH Tungsten Lil’ Spanker Pheasant Tail, Olive, Holo Olive Green, or Silver #14-#20; Delektable Lime Juice Caddis Emerger #16; BH Partridge Caddis Olive #16; Delektable TGBH Big Spanker Light Olive #14-#16, Psycho Prince GB Caddis Green #12-#16; Delektable Spark Plug Stoner Egg Head Black, or Egg Head Brown #6-#8.

Streamers: Delektable SS Jointed/Double/Single Screamer Olive/White, Black/Olive, White, or Yellow #6; Zonkers Olive, Natural Copper Body, Black, or White #6 & #8; Fish Wacker Mini White #6; Blooms Jig Hook Zirdle Gold, or Olive/Orange #10; TBH Balanced Leech Egg Sucking #10; Snapping Craw #8; Claws R Crawfish Olive, or Tan #10; McCune’s Sculpin Olive, Tan #4-#8; Delektable Christmas Tree Original #6; JR’s Conehead Streamer Olive #6; Yo Dali Llama Olive/White #6; Mini Loop Sculpin Olive & Natural #6; Sparkle Shelia Sculpin #4; Trevor’s Sculpin Olive, Natural #4, Zirdle Orange, Olive, or Tan #6; Bunny Buster #6; Mini Loop Sculpin Natural #6.

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May 16th-May 22nd, 2023 | Upper Madison River Fishing Report

Posted on May 22, 2023 by Beartooth Flyfishing

NOTICE from Northwestern Energy for Friday May 26th, 2023:

Hebgen Dam flow increasing May 26 to enhance Madison River trout spawning gravel

NorthWestern Energy will increase the volume of water releases from Hebgen Dam to flush fine sediments from Madison River gravel to enhance the quality of spawning gravels that support the healthy wild trout fishery.

Hebgen Dam outflows will gradually increase over several days to coincide with peak runoff in the West Fork Madison River and other tributary streams.

The flow release increase is planned to begin May 26 and will continue through the end of May. River recreationists should be aware of the changing conditions and take appropriate precautions. 

To protect the outlet of Quake Lake from erosion, the Madison River flows will be maintained at about 3,500 cubic feet per second at the Kirby Ranch stream gage.

We would like to announce a new member of our team, Ryan Thomas (RT)! He is a total fishaholic, out fishing everyday and totally embracing the Western Montana Way! Give him a big Montana welcome when you come in.

Is it summer already? Sure feels like it this last week, with temperatures ranging from the low 70’s early in the week and climbing to the high 70’s later in the week.  Streamflows started this week at 1,310cfs @ Kirby and 2,180cfs @ Cameron; 1,480cfs @ Kirby and 2,750cfs @ Cameron by mid-week and 1,770cfs @ Kirby and 3,350cfs @ Cameron by the 22nd. Warmer temperatures are bringing runoff to our valley, but the high and off-color conditions have not deterred the trout from biting!

We have not seen unfishable conditions here on the Madison, quite the opposite fish can be more attainable. The higher flows push the trout into the banks and behind rocks, which means that you can catch them right at your feet and they can’t see you! Streamers and large nymphs are the way to go right now, dries have been more challenging as the trout have such a variety right in front of them, looking up isn’t as appealing right now.

As for next week be aware of the notice above, that will be starting on Friday May 26th, 2023. Plan your trips accordingly. Please check in with us at Beartooth Flyfishing for up-to-date conditions, call 406-682-7525. We are here 7 days a week from 8am to 5pm!

Nymphs: Delektable Hammerhead GTBH Olive #14-#20; Delektable FB Mega Prince Std or Olive #4-#8; Delektable Big Spanker Warrior size #16- #18; Delektable Worm Red #12-#14, Pat’s RubberLegs Black, Black/Brown or Olive/Brown #4-#8; Delektable Guide Stone Brown/Yellow, Black, or Olive Brown #4-#8; BH Tung Teaser Black #20; Geppert Crystal Dip Olive or Red #16-#18; BH Shop Vac Brown or Olive #16-#18; Wire Worm Red #6-#10; ; BH PT Tungsten Soft Hackle #20; Delektable Mega Prince STD FB #4-#8;  Delektable Twinkle Black or Red #18-#20; BH Montana Bullet Black or Black/Red #18; Delektable Lil’ Spanker Pheasant Tail, Olive, or Olive Green #14-#20; Delektable Lime Juice Caddis Emerger #16; BH Partridge Caddis Olive #16; Delektable TGBH Big Spanker Light Olive #14-#16, Psycho Prince GB Caddis Green #14.

Streamers: Delektable SS Jointed/Double/Single Screamer Olive/White, Black/Olive, White, Yellow #6; Zonkers Olive, Natural Copper Body, Black, White #6 & #8; Fish Wacker Mini White #6; Bloom’s Jig Hook Zirdle Gold, Olive/Orange #10; TBH Balanced Leech Egg Sucking #10; Snapping Craw #8; Claws R Crawfish Olive, Tan #10; McCune’s Sculpin Olive #4-#8; Delektable Christmas Tree Original #6; JR’s Conehead Streamer Olive #6; Yo Dali Llama Olive/White #6; Mini Loop Sculpin Olive & Natural #6; Sparkle Shelia Sculpin #4; Trevor’s Sculpin Olive, Natural #4.

Dries: Purple Haze Parachute #18; Parachute Adams #18-#20; Delektable Chubbyness Royal or Olive Brown #14-#16; Delektable Lil’ Chubby Royal or UV Rainbow #16-#18; Delektable Curved Hook Ranch BWO #16; Etha-Wing Dun BWO #20-#22; Q’s Loopy Cripple Stacker BWO #18; Gulper Special #18-#20; Adams Split Wing Parachute #16-18; Adam’s Midge Cluster #18-#20; Delektable CDC Elk Hair Caddis Holographic Olive #16; Etha Wing Caddis Olive #16.

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