Upper Madison River Fishing Report

This is the reach to fish right now, and it isn't close. Flows are sitting at 988 cfs at Kirby with a water temp of 58.5 degrees at first light this morning, which is about as good as it gets for the middle of August. Hebgen keeps this water cold and steady, and while the rest of southwest Montana wrestles with warm afternoons, the Upper just keeps producing. The one asterisk is that FWP has hoot owl restrictions from Eight Mile FAS down to Ennis Lake, closed 2 pm to midnight. Above Eight Mile you can legally fish all day, but I wouldn't. On sunny days the fishing falls off by late afternoon anyway, and the fish you hook at 4 pm near Ennis are fighting in the warmest water of the day. Start early, fish hard until early afternoon, then go find shade and a cold beer in town. The morning bite has been the whole story this week. There are still nocturnal stoneflies around, so the first couple hours are big-bug time. A size 6 rubber legs dead drifted through the deeper runs is still picking up good fish, and trout have been moving well to bigger rabbit-strip streamers along the banks and drop-offs before the sun gets on the water. Once it brightens up, the game shifts to terrestrials and small nymphs. The hopper fishing has been hit or miss, honest truth. Some days they crush a tan Morrish Hopper tight to the bank and some days they refuse everything on top, but the nymphing underneath has been strong and consistent enough that I'm running hopper-dropper as the default rig regardless. Caddis are still around mornings and evenings and fish have been eating them in the riffle corners, so keep a Never Sink Caddis in the box. Clarity is excellent top to bottom. We're into peak terrestrial season and the ant and beetle fishing should keep improving as August wears on, especially on the flatter glassy water where a hopper gets refused. Fish are podded up in the deeper slots and buckets rather than spread across the shallow riffles, which is normal for this time of year, so don't waste drifts on thin water. Cover the guts of the runs and the seams where fast water shoulders into slow. The wade water between the lakes and from Raynolds down through Three Dollar Bridge is fishing well early but seeing plenty of boots, so if you want elbow room, look at the access points between Lyons Bridge and Varney and work the less obvious water. Floaters have been doing well from Lyons down to Varney, and the Varney to Eight Mile stretch fishes fine in the morning before the restriction kicks in. Expect dam releases to bump a bit as air temps climb over the next couple weeks, which will actually help water temps on the lower end near Ennis. One quirk of this river worth knowing if you don't fish it often: Upper Madison trout eat and spit fast. The broken water gives you a short drift window and these fish don't hold a fake bug long, so if your indicator so much as hesitates, set. You'll snag some rocks. That's the cost of doing business here, and it's a lot cheaper than missing the fish of the day.

Tactics for today

Rig the morning like this: 9 foot 3X fluorocarbon leader, foam hopper up top, and trail a size 16 caddis pupa about 30 inches behind it. Once the sun gets high, swap the dropper to a 16 or 18 attractor nymph like a Duracell or a $3 Dip. Long leaders and fluoro genuinely matter in this clear water. When you fish the rubber legs through the deeper runs, put it under an indicator with enough split shot to tick bottom, and instead of picking up at the end of the drift, let it swing out at the tailout. The grab on the swing has been surprising people all week. Don't let slack build between your indicator and your flies, because a quick hook set is everything on this river. If you're throwing streamers, do it at first light on the banks and shelves, and mix up the retrieve. Dead drift it like a dying sculpin through the first run, then strip it through the next. Olive and white has been the color this week.