Madison River Fishing Report
The Tackle Shop Fly Shop and Fishing Guides in Ennis, Montana
Madison River Fishing Report July 29 2018
The Madison River has been fishing pretty well. we are seeing some really nice fish coming up for dry flies. Anglers fishing small Chubbies with a dropper rigs have reported big fish up eating them. The full moon the past few days hasn't hurt the fishing and the best dry fly action has been in the mornings. All the sections on the river are fishing about the same with mornings and evenings having better success than the mid day. Nymphing the deeper mid river holes during the afternoon could b...
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Fishing Report Madison River for 7-21-18
The upper Madison river has been fishing great this week. Little chubbies and nymphs have been the hot rig this week. With water temps on the rise the afternoons have started to get a little slow but the morning and evening fishing has really made up for the slower afternoons. For those who like to fish all day deeper nymph rigs in the afternoon have produced some nice big fish. The streamer game still isn't in full swing but anglers chasing BIG fish are starting to have some success but with...
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Madison River Fishing Report 7-6-18
The fishing on the upper Madison river around Ennis has been on fire. The salmon fly craze has started to die down with the majority of the hatch being above Lyons bridge. The void left by these big bugs has been replaced by a plethora of other aquatic insects. We are seeing Golden Stones, Pale Morning Duns, Yellow Sallies, Caddis and even some Green Drakes river wide. Fish are definitely look up and this is a great time to run a dry dropper rig or a double dry rig. A Chubby with a Yellow Sa...
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Madison River Montana Fishing Report for June 22, 2018
Here is the truth as we sit right now. Yes some salmon flies have arrived down near town to the lake area and upstream for a few miles. The river is still BIG with huge flows. This is the start of the hatch and a few fish are up on them but the majority of the fish are still chowing down below. It is a factor of the bugs just showing up and the huge river. The fish even the ones on the bank still have tons to much head space above them to look up. Will this change? Absolutely. The r...
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Madison River Montana Fishing Report for June 17,2018
I hope everyone out there has a good rain coat because they are going to need it. We are seeing a multi day rain event that is not totally unusual for June on the Madison River of Montana. The fishing stays good and will only improve because of the rain. The entire river is fishable and the fish are hungry. Lots of boats and people are concentrating efforts from Varney to town looking for that first salmon fly. No luck as of yet in the yeti or salmon fly sighting. It is going to be a...
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Madison River Montana Fishing Report for June 9. 2018
The bottom is falling out of the Madison and flows are coming down really fast. The flush of last week is over and I am sure the river is as clean and ready to process as any internet juice flush. Squeaky clean and ready to go. The folks at the dam are starting to go into water maintenance mode as the inflows are decreasing. I would expect the outflows from the dam to stay rather constant once they get it down to a good level. The lake is less than 1.5 feet from being full so once it is...
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Madison River Fishing Report 6-2-18
Okay Folks here is the skinny on the Madison River conditions. Right now the river is running pretty high but it has leveled off this week and we are expecting the water to start going back down to more fishable levels. You still can't get under the bridges below Lyons but the river has been fishing really well above Lyons in the wade only section. The Madison here in town is still muddy but we will start to see the banks clearing up hopefully this week. Most fish will be pushed to the sides ...
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Madison River Fishing Report 5-14-18
The Madison River has dropped some and started to clear up after the colder temperature we had this weekend. The river here by Ennis is still off color but its starting to get a little green tint to it. Fishing big black streamers close to the banks could be a great great for thee next couple of day with the water leveling out. The water above the west fork has started to drop also and the fishing has been lights out above Lyons bridge. Pats rubber legs, worms and streamers have all been ta...
Read MoreMadison River Montana Fishing Report for May 5 2018
Well here is the strait scoop on where the Madison River is at and how it is fishing. Like everything in nature that has happened this year we are slightly behind schedule. Winter lasted longer, spring started later and even the tax refunds took longer to arrive. Everything and I mean everything is just taking longer this year. Right now the Madison River is high but it is that perfect bugger green color we always dream about. Flows are high but water temps are still a bit low and warming u...
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Madison River Fishing Report 4-14-18
The Madison River is fishing pretty well. The upper Madison river is running clear unlike some other rivers in the state. The fish are still concentrated in the deeper slower water and nymphs and streamers are still the ticket for getting into these fish. Dry fly action can be had in the bear trap and above Lyons. All the access points are open and the river is fishing about the same on all stretches. We are starting to see sporadic BWO hatches but still mostly midges. Valley garden is fish...
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