Even with the hot weather and pressure the Madison River continues to produce day in and day out. That is why this is one of the most amazing rivers on the planet. The Dam People cut the flows from last week and have settled on a flow that should see us through for a while. It is sitting just over 1000 Cfs at Varney and that is right in the money spot for my liking. Traffic on the river has been heavy but not unusually so. Most of what we are seeing is the fact that many of the other rivers in SW Montana are fishing crappy or have restrictions so the Madison is the de facto go to. Even with this influx from other areas the fish are happy. We should start to see pressure fade in a big way in the next week. Kids back in school and hunting seasons starting makes the river a second option to many.
The dry fly guys are happy as the fish are eating hoppers, chubbies, moths, ants and mayflies with some regularity. The nymph guys are always happy as the bobber lobbing always catches fish as long as you can chase a bobber you will stay bent. The streamer guys are even happy as some really big fish are being caught by dragging bunny fur. It is all a matter of how you want to fish. It is amazing that the river has held up but this is a testament to the river being released from the bottom of the lake not the top. This really matters.
The week ahead looks like the same for the weather. Late summer highs in the 80’s. Expect much of the same for the entire week. Keep those dry flys floating and bobbers bobbing.
Get out and float a few flies and catch more then just fish.
