Just another epic week of fishing on the renown Madison River!! We are coming off a very hot weekend of fishing, where the big bugs and salmon flies were in full swing. Conditions for this week were great, with water clarity, CFS level and temperatures all good. Toward the tail end of the week (Friday) water was released from Quake Lake to circulate fresh water to help the Lower Madison, in hopes of cooling down water temperatures. They have continued to release water daily since Friday and the River is looking GREAT!  The up trend in the flows did not seem to impact the fishing so far. Not only are the fishermen enjoying these new water levels but so are the fish. Things are looking just ideal on the Madison. HOT FLIES for the week: Pats Rubber Legs (Olive/Brown), Delektable Mr. Rubber Legs Hares Ear, BH Prince Nymph, Lemon Drop, Delektable Lil’ Spanker Silver, Lightning Bug Silver, Delektable TGBH Sure Strike (Yellow/Peacock), Blooms Parachute Caddis (Dark Olive), Lil’ Hottie, Delektable Chubbyness Royal, Delektable Secret Stone UV Golden and Delektable Secret Stone UV Salmon Fly.

To start off the week long time friends and fisherman Tim and Brian continued their week-long trip with Dan on the Madison. Being brothers, Tim and Brian had a little spark in them, fueled by their friendly sibling big fish rivalry. We’re glad for it because they really “brought their A game” and produced some great fish. Marty followed Dan’s trend out on the river and had a big numbers day with his clients. Overall the weather was good, the “W” factor was not an issue, and everyone was happy.

We love it when the Beartooth Family takes a day off and gets out on the river. What’s even better is when Nancy gets to let loose from the shop and go after BIG fish with her girlfriend Kim, or better known as one of the BFK’s (Big Fish Kim’s). Nancy and Kim floated with Brandon on a big float from Lyons to Mac. Kim, like her name precedes her, killed it all day long on nymphs and the “small ball” setup. She was even seen casting while eating lunch with a sandwich in her mouth and chips scattered about because you can’t catch fish if your lines not in the water. She caught HUGE whitefish and nice trout all day long. Nancy on the other hand started the day with dries but with minimal takes switched over to a nymph (Psycho Purple) under a Salmon Fly. After Pal she switched back to dries with good luck on a double caddis set up. Dan, Tim and Brian were back at it again with fish to show for. Note: Caddis hatches were seen all day long as well as PMD’s, Sallies and Stones. Salmon Flies were spread out but not to the extent of the caddis.

To finish off the week Ty fished with a father and son and Marty with Hienie and Dee. Both groups did great and a mix of different flies, both dries and nymphs, were used and successful. Hienie and friends, thanks for being so much fun and sharing fishing stories and adventures with us this past week.

A few key points to leave you on for this coming week: The Salmon Fly hatch is making its way up towards Three Dollar Bridge and will continue to move towards the park as the week moves on. Nymphs and “small ball technique” have had great success for many anglers but of course the right dries with the right presentation will work. CFS levels will continue to rise as they slowly continue letting water out of Quake Lake. Fishing continues to look up on the Madison River!

Keep Throwing Darts! Will

This weekend has been some of the best fishing we have seen so far this summer. The fish were hungry, feisty and waiting to be caught. Multiple accounts of screaming reels have echoed through the valley, which is always exciting to hear.

To start off the weekend, Emmett, his Dad, and Dan G got out on the river for a float from Lyons to McAtee. The “W” factor was relentless, but the fish were hungry. Salmon flies were all over the banks halfway between Palisades and Ruby. Fish were eating the dry but overall were gravitating towards the nymphs. Big fish poundings occurred predominantly near Palisades. HOT flies that day were: Olive and brown pat’s rubber legs and a size 16 Delektable Lil’ Spanker, Delektable Secret Salmonfly and a Delektable Screamer.

The following day, Dan G and friends hit the water running and or floating. Windy Point to Storey ditch was the play of the day. They fished an assortment of nymphs to start, most notably a lemon drop, and bomber caddis. Get yourself a larger Delektable Pheasant Tail Lil’ Spanker for the Bomber nymph, preferably a size 10. As it heated up throughout the day, a change of scenery was in order and away went the nymphs and out came the DRIES! Salmon flies and Golden Stones are what got the fish on the end of the line. Note: There were Salmon flies out, but the fish were not extremely willing to eat them.

We had the pleasure of welcoming long time friends and fishaholics Tim and Brian to the Beartooth. Big floats and swarms of fish was the name of the game, with Dan D at the helm guiding. The “small ball” game was extremely effective throughout the day with a change of dries later in the afternoon. HOT flies for the day were: Lemon Drops, Delektable Hammerheads, Delektabel Lil” Spankers, Delektable Sure Strikes, Secret Golden’s and Delektable Salmon Flies.

Keefer “The Hog Machine” floated with Dave and owned up to his name putting the hammer down on some big trout on dry flies, yeah! The Heini Group, on their final day of fishing, kept their great streak going and landed several great fish. To wrap the week up, Brandon Dan and Ian all guided the “Sunday Funday” with beautiful weather, great company, and of course LOTS of fish!!

Overall, it was a great week with a killer finish. Some notes to leave you on for next’s weeks fishing is we predict Salmon Flies will be around for another week (give or take). Salmon and Golden stone dries will continue to work but with “pitch’n and twitch’n” technique and of course, patience. Upcoming weather in the valley is predicted to be mostly sunny with highs around 84 degrees with CFS levels around 1,050 near Varney. Don’t stop fishing hard and smart!!

Emmett and Will 

Good fishing reports keep on coming in as the week goes on. No matter the weather factor or other variable conditions, our guides and anglers keep producing great results. The “W” factor was a BIG player these pasts two days, with gusts up to 40 mph!! If you thought that kept our anglers off the water, you are mistaken. We had both the Hienie group and the Wild Adventure ladies out on the water.

HOT flies for these days stayed very consistent with the start of the week. Lightning Bugs (Silver), Delektable Hammerhead Prince, Pat’s Rubber Legs (pictured below) and Delektable Secret Stone UV Gold (pictured below) all worked.

The Hienie train keeps on rolling with another EPIC day of fishing!! Just like the ladies they got themselves involved in fish, and a bunch of them. It’s hard to beat five consecutive days of fishing with superb results. Thanks Brandon, Gunner, Ian and Marty for a great two Days! Dan had a big fish catch with his two anglers as well to top off the day.

We had the pleasure of welcoming eight Wild Adventure ladies who showed up ready to pound some fish. Let’s just say that the ladies kicked some serious butt and caught a ton of fish with the help of our awesome guides Max, Marty, John, and Dan M. It was such a great day of fishing on the river for all the ladies and to catch fish, and a lot of them, really puts a smile on everyone’s face.

The weather for the remainder of the week looks great with the “W” factor dying down. Salmon Flies are creeping their way up the river. Man what an exciting time to be on the Madison River!!

Keep Throwing Darts! Will 

This was quite a week with a number of guide trips and groups coming through Beartooth Flyfishing. A variety of bugs and weather was the theme of the week, with the big “W” factor in play. We had Salmon Flies start moving their way up from Ennis and by Saturday had made it to the backyard. As the Salmon flies moved up, the crowd followed to chase the big bug hatch. This week we had the friends of Hienie Group and Wild Adventure Groups, both guys and girls, join us and some great friends and clients fishing. A lot of great fish were caught and as always some great memories.

Reports coming in this week have been consistent with nymph fishing and small dries producing the best results. As stated earlier reports prove that the Salmon flies slowly worked their way up the river and are now here at the shop. We expect the hatch to continue biting for the next week to ten days which means the fishing should be HOT!! Popular patterns for the week include: Parachute Caddis Olive, Delektable Chubbyness Olive/Brown, Pat’s Rubber Legs (Brown/Black), Lightning Bug (Silver), Delektable Hammerhead Prince, Sure Strikes, Lil’ Spankers (Silver), Green Shop Vac and Ranch PMD’s. With rising water temperatures “small ball” nymphing is now a good choice.
The Wild Adventure crew is back in town and wilder then ever at fishing!! We had the pleasure of welcoming this group of anglers guided by Marty, John, Ian, David, Dan D and Dan M. The boys stopped in the shop before the float, loaded up and prepared for a big fish day. Weather was just about ideal, with good water clarity and temperatures.

The Hienie Group got back on the water with their third consecutive day. The trend remained consistent with great fishing and lots of fish in the boat with Ian and Marty at the helm.

Its so great to hear positive reports and warms the Beartooth family when anglers come back after finishing grinning from ear to ear and telling us all about how great their day was. But don’t just take my word for it because these pictures paint the day. Happy fishing to all!

Keep Throwing Darts! Will 

This weeks guide report is fueled by a number of guide trips and a diversity of anglers. The big talk this past week in the valley has, yes you guessed it, been the Salmon Fly hatch. There have been several rumors floating around that the salmon flies have been scattered throughout the Madison. You know what they say; “A rumor can run round the world before the truth has time to put its boots on”.  In light of these rumors we did some scouting on the riverbanks and found that the Salmon flies earlier in the week were closer to Ennis, with scattered adults emerging along the grassy banks and by the tail end of the week (June 20^th) closer to Varney.  Also in the mix of things has been a steady caddis hatch with a variety of sizes and colors throughout the day. Also present have been PMD’s, Yellow Sallies and Golden Stones all at once. What Dan anticipated early on as a “Smorgasbord” of hatches is now happening, requiring fisherman to pay more attention and experiment with different bugs. The hatch is definitely coming faster than average from past years due to high temperatures and other variable factors, so it’s time to baton down the hatches and get ready.

We have been getting reports in all week covering each section of the river from guides, customers, and small talk around town. The trend has stayed relatively consistent with better results above and below the big bug hatch.  Water clarity has been great in many sections. Water temperature has been warming up with temperatures reaching up to 60 degrees in late afternoon at Kirby. There have been reports that nymph fishing in the morning and dry in the afternoon, when the water warms up, have produced the best results.

The hot patterns for this week have been Purple haze, and Delektable Chubbyness Royal, all size #14 and #16. Delektable Lil’ Spankers and Sure Strikes, Lightning Bugs, Prince Nymphs, Pats Rubber Legs, Golden Stones and Delektable Hammerheads have all been on fire! With anticipated water temperatures expected to be in the high 60’s by next week, a “small ball” combo will likely be a good choice. But then again if you choose the right dries they will work.

With the warm weather settling in and anticipated outside temperatures remaining in the mid 80’s with CFS levels slowly dropping, expect the Salmon Fly hatch to reach the backyard by the end of this week.
 

Some words of advice to leave you with for this week: Fish nymphs in the morning and dries in the afternoon, don’t be afraid to fish the small stuff, experiment with different flies, fish hard and as always get out there and have yourself a day on the river!

Keep Throwing Darts! Will