The Madison begins at Madison Junction, where the Firehole and the Gibbon meet, and runs about fourteen miles west through the park to Hebgen Lake. It is the least like the rest of the river of any reach: slow, weedy meadow water fed by geothermal springs, with its own permit and tackle rules, season dates that change partway down it, and the fall run every streamer angler in the region circles on the calendar.
West Yellowstone — Today's Report
Thursday, November 12, 2026
Live Data
Updated Nov 12, 6:03 AM MST
West Yellowstone Fishing Report
Yellowstone Park to Hebgen Lake
Water Temp (West Yellowstone)45.5°F
Flow Rate (West Yellowstone)303 CFS
Water ClarityExcellent
First, the regs, because they changed and a lot of people are still confused. The Madison from the Montana-Wyoming state line downstream to the park boundary near the West Entrance is open year-round now. That covers the Barns Pools and Baker's Hole, which is exactly the water where the fall run happens, so no, the run does not end with a season closure on this stretch anymore. Above the state line it's a different story. Madison Junction down to the line, which includes Nine Mile Hole, Cable Car Run, and Seven Mile Bridge, closed October 31 under the new 2026 dates and won't reopen until May 1. You'll still see old websites saying the park closes the first Sunday in November. Ignore them. Check the regulations page if you want the full breakdown. On the water itself, the gauge at West Yellowstone read 303 cfs this morning at 45.7 degrees. That's low, honestly a little skinnier than I'd like for moving fish, and it's been hovering around 290 to 300 since late September. The Firehole's geothermal load keeps this water several degrees warmer than anything on the Montana side, which in summer is a curse but in November is a gift. At 45.7 degrees these fish are still active, still moving, still eating. Run-up browns and rainbows out of Hebgen pushed in hard through October and there are still fresh fish trickling into the Barns Pools and Baker's Hole with every weather change. The mild stretch we've had this week slowed the push a bit, fish move best on nasty days, but there are plenty of holdover fish stacked in the deeper buckets. The browns are well into their spawn now, so you'll see redds on the gravel. Walk around them, don't fish to paired-up fish on clean gravel, and focus on the deep runs and tailouts where the rainbows and pre- and post-spawn browns stack to eat eggs and whatever else drifts by. Clarity is gin clear at these flows, which cuts both ways. You can spot fish, and they can spot you. Light is everything out here right now. The first two hours of the morning and the last hour of light have been producing the grabby fish, and cloudy afternoons fish nearly as well. Bright midday sun at 300 cfs means spooky fish and long casts. Remember the tackle rules, because they're strict and they're different from Montana. The Madison inside the park is fly fishing only. Not artificial lures only, fly fishing only, and lures are flat-out prohibited. Barbless hooks required. You need a Yellowstone National Park fishing permit, your Montana license means nothing past the boundary sign. This window, late fall on the year-round water, is one of the two times a year this reach really shines, the other being June before the geothermal load builds. Right now it's the best shot at a genuinely big brown anywhere in this report.
Tactics for today
Swing streamers through the Barns Pools on a sink tip or a light two-handed rod, classic step-down coverage, cast across, mend once, let it come around slow, and hang it at the end of the swing. Half the eats come on the hang. If the swing goes quiet, rig a deep nymph rig with the Rubber Legs up top and the Lightning Bug or Shop Vac behind it and dead drift the guts of the run. At Baker's Hole, work the deep outside bends and let your flies tick bottom. Pinch every barb before you string up, rangers do check this water in November. And keep an eye on the weather, the next real cold front will push a fresh wave of fish up from Hebgen, so if you can time your trip to the day after a storm, do it.
The Firehole arrives warm. Geothermal input keeps this reach well above the Upper Madison year-round; only the Lower below Ennis Lake matches it in high summer. That warmth is why it fishes beautifully in June and again in October and is often unfishable in between.
The water is flat, smooth and weedy. Long glides and undercut banks, none of the boulder pockets you get on the Upper. Fish see everything, so your drift and your approach matter more than your pattern.
The fall run is the reason most anglers come. From late September, browns and rainbows push up out of Hebgen Lake into the park water. The bottom of the reach stays open year-round, so that fishing carries on past the October 31 close that applies upstream.
Access
Madison Junction: The top of the reach, where the Firehole and Gibbon join.
Nine Mile Hole: Classic run, and one of the most-fished pieces of water in the park.
Seven Mile Bridge: Pullouts either side; good access to the meadow water.
Cable Car Run: Below Seven Mile, holds fall fish well.
Barns Pools: Below Cable Car Run, upstream of Baker's Hole. Traditional fall-run water.
Baker's Hole: Near the west park boundary, downstream of the Barns. Campground access, and the bottom of the reach.
Access along this reach is from pullouts on the West Entrance Road rather than formal fishing access sites. Everything is wade or walk-in, and there is no floating inside the park.
When it fishes
Year-round: state line down to the west boundary:The Madison from the Montana–Wyoming state line downstream to the park boundary near the West Entrance is open all year. This is the Baker's Hole and Barns Pools water, which is exactly where the fall run happens.
May 1 to October 31: Madison Junction down to the state line:Since 2026 this stretch opens May 1 — earlier than the park general season — and closes October 31.
Midsummer (July–August):Water temperature climbs well past the rest of the river. Expect closures, and expect the reach to be a dawn proposition at best when it is open at all.
Fall run (late September onward):The main event. Browns and rainbows move up from Hebgen into the lower, year-round water. Streamers and big nymphs, and it holds together well past the October 31 date that closes the upper part of the reach. What hatches when on this reach: the Madison River hatch chart.
A Yellowstone National Park fishing permit is required. A Montana fishing license is not valid inside the park and is not accepted.
The Madison, the Firehole, and the Gibbon below Gibbon Falls are FLY FISHING ONLY. Artificial lures are prohibited on these streams. That is stricter than the parkwide artificial-lures rule, and stricter than Montana state regulations.
Hooks must be barbless, or the barbs pinched down.
The Park Service closes water on short notice when it gets too warm. Check current closures before you drive up.
No fishing from a boat anywhere on this reach.
Seasons differ by section within the park. Confirm dates against the NPS fishing page before you go.
Reading the gauge
Readings come from USGS gauge 06037500, Madison River near West Yellowstone, at the downstream end of the park reach. Flows here are a fraction of what the river carries downstream: a few hundred CFS against a thousand at Kirby and roughly fifteen hundred at McAllister, because this is the Madison before Hebgen Lake and the tributaries below it.
When is the Madison River in Yellowstone open to fishing?
It depends on the section. The Madison from the Montana–Wyoming state line downstream to the park boundary near the West Entrance is open year-round. Above that, Madison Junction down to the state line opens May 1 (a 2026 change, earlier than the park general season) and closes October 31. The Park Service also closes water mid-season when temperatures get too high, which happens most summers.
Do I need a Montana license to fish the Madison in the park?
No. You need a Yellowstone National Park fishing permit; a Montana license is not valid inside the park. The tackle rules differ too. The Madison inside the park is fly fishing only, with barbless hooks, so a spinning rod that is legal below the boundary is not legal above it.
When does the fall run start on the Madison in Yellowstone?
Browns and rainbows begin moving up from Hebgen Lake in late September and the run builds through October. The lower part of this reach, state line down to the west boundary, is open year-round, so the fall fishing does not stop on October 31 the way it does on the water above the state line.
Why is the Madison so warm inside the park?
The Firehole River, one of the two forks that form the Madison at Madison Junction, drains a geyser basin and carries geothermal heat. That warmth is why the reach fishes early and late and struggles in midsummer.
