Category: Fishing Reports

Parent Category for Fishing Reports

June 26th – July 2nd|Madison River Fishing Report

  

Well, the big bug bite is on!! Salmon flies have made their way up to and past the shop here and the cooler temps have been slowing them down for us all to enjoy a little longer. Evening caddis hatches have also been KILLER, we definitely recommend an early dinner and getting right back out on the water to experience it. Also expect to see PMD’s, Yellow Sallies, Golden Stoneflies and a few Drake’s out there.

 

Dry fly fishing has continued keep a smile on everyone’s faces throughout the river. Whether its caddis, mayflies or the salmons and golden stones the fish have been looking up. We recommend having some Delektable Peacock Halo’s in a #16, Olive Delektable C.D.C. Elk Hair Caddis in either a #14 or #16 and earlier in the day it’ll be nice to have a Smoke Jumper PMD emerger or two on a #16 hook. As for the big foamy stuff we’ve been fishing the Delektable Secret Salmon (#6 or #8) and Secret Golden Stone (#10 and #12). They’ve also been liking a small (#14 and #16) Delektable Chubbyness off the back of those big dries as well, either purple or royal for the color.   

 

Streamer fishing has continued to be put on the back burner due to the all you can eat insect buffet out there. If you’re one of those people that can’t help but to strip the meaty stuff off the banks I’d recommend starting small, something like a Sheila’s Sculpin or a Delektable Single Screamer in white or badger.     

 

Nymphing has been good as well with all the bugs being so active. The One Man Party and the Shop Vac are doing great for the caddis, sizes #14 and #16 for both. As for the mayfly nymphs we’ve been having good results on Purple Psycho Prince’s, Delektable Pheasant Tail Lil’ Spanker’s in #16, and Red Thread Prince Nymphs in either a #14 or #16.  

 

As always call or stop by the shop for an up to the minute report and HAVE FUN out there!!!

June 19th – 25th|Madison River Fishing Report

Welcome to SUMMER!!! 

 

Our wonderful summer has started with a MASSIVE grand opening thanks to our great friends and flawless family the SALMON FLIES, GOLDEN STONES, Caddis flies, and May flies. The weather is ideal for fishing. So it is time to ditch those waders and boots and go for the river sandals and wet wade. The river is flowing out of Hebgen Dam at a CFS of 1280 and 1820 CFS at Kirby. The river is crystal clear on the upper sections; the runoff is gone and the fish can see everything. The river is still a touch above normal but not overflowing onto the banks, making them very walkable again. THE TIME FOR FISHING IS NOW!!

 

How would I approach the river you may ask? Great question, and I bet you can guess on your first try. Yup! Dry fly season is here; come one and all! Everyone is invited to the spectacle that is dry fly fishing, with the best of all the dry fly circus spectacles here, the Salmon flies. If you want to see monster eats and toilet-bowl flushes , start with the Delektable Chubbyness Little Yellow Stone #14-16, Dan’s Secret Salmon #6, Delektable Secret Goldenstone #6, and Delektable Mega 2-Tone Chubbyness Orange #6. These have been our best produces for those fat U Boats (Brown Trout). At the same time, Caddis flies have been equally crushing some serious U Boats, as the BOMBER Caddis are hatching along the whole river. Trust me the caddis are bombing the water kamakaze style and giving fish their life. Our personal best and favorite dries for these are the Delektable CDC Elk Hair Caddis olive, holographic olive, and tan #14, Delektable Twisted X Tan/Brown, Purple #14, Bloom’s Parachute Caddis Dark Olive #14, and the Delektable Twisted Sister Tan/Brown #14.

These fish are still wreaking havoc under the surface. Since the arrival of the Salmon flies, the stonefly nymphs have been providing large numbers of quality fish. Caddis and Mayfly nymphs have been doing just as great. The small dropper is like a great cheese with your cheese 
burger; but this cheese burger is meant to be feed to fish and get that perfectly bent rod. Our favorite “cheeses” are the Delektable Stoner #6, Pat’s Rubber Legs #8, Delektable Mega Prince with and without flash #6, Delektable CDC Baby #12-16, Psycho Prince Yellow #14-16, Shop Vac #16-18, Delektable Sure Strike Peacock and Yellow/Peacock #14-16, Lightning Bug in pearl, purple, and silver #16, Delektable Lil’ Spanker in PT, silver, and gold #14-16, and Delektable Hammer Head Prince #14-16.

As for the steak bite, a.k.a., the streamer bite, that has slowed down quite a bit. The great news, however, is that our great leader NANCY has figured out a pattern that works and that is our other great leader’s pattern the Delektable Badger Screamer.

 

This is how we have been catching fish throughout the day; if you follow these rules surely you’ll have that necessary grin on your face and the rod tip bent towards a fish. Now go out, have fun, enjoy the view and river, and most of all catch fish.

June 12th -18th|Madison River Fishing Report

It’s the middle of June and the river is getting ready to jump into high gear. She is steadily and slowly regaining her glorious shine and clarity. As of today the visibility is in about a 3 foot range and getting better with each passing day. The flows are still a little high with below Hebgen Dam at 1610 CFS and at Kirby 2180. The river is slowly tapering down towards those July flows. With the water at the level it is right now it has been making for exceptionally great bank fishing with no need to jump into our crazy swift slippery river just yet. Also, be cautious still at the bridges with your boat and getting under safely.

Attention! Attention! To all who love the flies above the water and not below the water, the dry fly action is in second gear and really trying to pick up speed. As we are getting warmer weather the water flows are beginning to taper down and we will be getting into those hatching connditions.  As a result the first to arrive is the Bomber Caddis between Palisades and Storey Ditch. These Caddis are special with their bigger Caddis bug size #12-14 and you can cast them and see them more easily while nice varieties of trout will prey on them. The best ways to imitate these wonderful bugs is with Delektable Twisted X or Twisted Sister size #12 in Purple or Tan/Brown, Bloom’s Parachute Caddis sizes #14-16 olive, Delektable CDC Elk Hair Caddis sizes #14-16 Holographic Olive, or try different colors, and the Delektable Twisted Baby sizes #14-16 in purple, tan/brown, or Brown. With these flies you can surely open the season of dry fly fishing right and enjoy a jumping trout from your fly and have a grin across your face and eventually a fish in the net.

As for the down and dark under water approach also known as the nymphing world it is holding a steady pace of ripping lips and catching fish. The flies I would use include the Delektable Sure Strike in sizes #14 and #12, Yellow Psycho Prince in a size #14 or #16, red threaded Prince Size #12, Delektable Hammerhead prince #12 or #14, and Delektable CDC baby size #14. The fish have been really hot for these flies. 

If you think it is going to get cold and you’re holding off on that plane ticket for that last frost to pass. I’m Here to say it is time you must come as all the frost has past this week and the fish are getting very hungry and aggressive. Call us at the shop if you need fly advice and current conditions. Get out there and fish.

 

June 1st -11th|Madison River Fishing Report

Welcome to June!

It’s a very exciting time of year to be out there on the river with runoff on the way out and all our favorite hatches soon to arrive. Water is back up to just over 1700 c.f.s. below Hebgen and at Kirby Ranch it’s down to about 2200 c.f.s. which of course is still a bit high and fast but don’t let that scare you because the water is starting to clear up and fishing has been excellent. Just like our last report the biggest part of catching right now is hitting the slow water! I repeat, FISH THE SLOW WATER. This means tight, tight, tight to the banks, along gravel bars and behind boulders or log jams. These are pretty much the only places to target right now and there have been some seriously healthy fish stacked up in those places.

 

We had a good group of boats go out yesterday in the wind and rain and everyone returned with smiles on their faces thanks to our awesome guides! They caught fish on flies like Delektable Stoner’s, Megaprince’s and Pat’s Rubberlegs in bigger sizes (#6 and #4). Trailing things like Delektable Lil’ Spankers, Psycho Princes and a variety of worms.

 

Brown trout in the upper river are viciously streamer hungry. If you’re interested in that kind of thing you’ll definitely want to have a couple Delektable Double Screamers in olive/black and also white. Galloup’s Boogie Man in gray has been tough to beat as well. Strip those things down the banks and you should be happy with the results.

Dry fly fishing has been hit or miss lately with the fluctuating weather but on a warmer day with some clouds you can expect to see fish eating baetis and caddis. Adams flies and tan Delektable C.D.C. Elk Hair Caddis are the dries to have as of late. Thicker hatches are very close so come by the shop and get all the gear you need for summer fishing!

 

 

May 25th -31st |Madison River Fishing Report

The Upper Madison has been hovering between  2200 and 2400 c.f.s. at Kirby and below Hebgen we’ve come down from over 1700 c.f.s. to just above 1400 c.f.s. over the last couple days. Most people are enjoying the water above the West Fork due to the dirty water it’s dumping in. You’re still going to want to be cautious going under the wolf creek and sun west bridges!

 

We’ve been seeing some good caddis hatches on the upper end, especially around 3 dollar bridge and above. Also expect to see some callibaetis and b.w.o’s on the surface. Our favorite imitations for those are the Delektable C.D.C. Elk Hair Caddis in tan or holographic olive on either a #14 or #16 hook. As for the mayflies it’s the good ol’ #16 parachute adams for the baetis and a size #18 split wing b.w.o.
Subsurface has been the most productive as usual with streamer fishing really starting to heat up and nymphing being nymphing. Fish are really reacting to sculpin imitations like Sheila’s Sculpin or the Delektable Single Screamer in badger. As far as bead headed stuff goes you’ll want to have some One Man Party caddis nymphs, Purple Psycho Princes and Silver Delektable Lil’ Spankers. 

 

We’ll be in the shop so stop on in and make sure you’ve got everything you need to have a great experience on the water!