The flow of the Madison is 3,450 cfs. The inflow to Hebgen is 2884 cfs. The Conservation Pool is 87% full. The flow out of Hebgen is 1,984 cfs and has increased steadily over the last four days. This is a different river than it’s been for the last decade.
If you don’t already have plans to fish the Upper Madison this summer or fall, make them now. Once this runoff subsides–probably sometime in June– the fly fishing on the Upper Madison is going to be spectacular–especially the dry fly fishing.
Dan and Marty fished above the West Fork on Saturday afternoon, in the muddy, high flow water. They caught a lot of fish, fishing big nymphs tight to the bank–Delektable Hurless Stone, Delektable Mega Prince, Delektable Braided Flashback Big Red. Marty caught a 20" brown on the Delektable EggHead Midnight Fire:
Wade fishing and fishing from the bank is the way to go now. How many can throw a fly from a boat 4 to 6 inches from the bank–and keep it in there–consistently and accurately? If you’re in a boat, get out to fish this dirt. Fish eat a whole bunch in the dirt. There’s a lot of food coming at them. They’ve been in the winter mode for a long time. They’re hungry. A lot of nutrients are coming at them that they don’t usually see–a lot of worms, with the earthworms being washed from the banks, joining their aquatic cousins–orange, red-banded, brown-banded. It’s a smorgasbord. The stoneflies are active, because they will be hatching pretty soon, so they’re getting dislodged into the current.
So fish the upper Madison from Hebgen to Quake Lake and from Quake Lake to the West Fork, and below. Fish have been eating in dirty water for millions of years. They know how to do it.
Recommended Flies
To see the Delektables™ go to: Delektable Flies Gallery
Nymphs:
Delektable™ Hurless Olive, Gray #6, #8; Delektable™ Mega Prince #6, #8; Pat’s Rubberleg Brown #6,#8; Delektable EggHead Midnight Fire #6, Delektable Big Red, Delektable Worm, Red or Brown #8; Red Wire Worm #6, #8
Delektable Hurless Stone Gray
Riverborn Fly Company www.riverbornflies.com
Delektable Braided Flashback Big Red
Riverborn Fly Company www.riverbornflies.com
Worth a Try: Delektable™ Lil’ Spanker Pheasant Tail or Lil’ Spanker in Red, Silver, Olive #18;#16,#14; Tungsten Beadhead Pheasant Tail Soft Hackle #20; Delektable™ Twinkle Midge and Zebra Midge #20,#18; WD40 Olive #20
Dries (not likely) :
Snowshoe Cripple BWO #18; Q’s Loopy Cripple Stacker BWO #18; Snowshoe Baetis #20; Adam’s Midge Cluster #20; Stalcup’s Hatching Midge #20 (Split Wing Adams #12 ) March Brown Parachute #14; Klinkhammer #14
Streamers:
Delektable Screamer Olive and Yellow, Single and Double, #6:
Riverborn Fly Company www.riverbornflies.com
Dan, Marty, Nancy, Brad
Upper Madison River Fishing Report (29-May-08)
