Fishing Report for the Madison River in Montana 8-28-2016

With the ups and downs of summer and heat The Madison River continues to fish well each and every day. The Dam people are giving us a little more water in the river and that is making it nicer for the fish and the bottoms of drift boats. I feel the perfect level at Varney Bridge is about 1200 CFS. Right now we are a little over 900. Even with the lower then liked water level the river is still cool. It has been really noticable the last few days in the mornings. You no longer need to get up with the sun to get some good fishing in. In fact the best fishing has not been getting going until about 10 am. Dry fly guys are still playing the ant and hopper game with success. In the last week we have been throwing the largest yellow chubby we can find and getting some good fish to take a look. Trail this with an ant or the ever effective purple haze and you have a winning combination. Tippets are getting thin so plan on 4X as your go to and even carry some 5 if you get some refusals. Tight lining streamers are getting some play especially in the cool mornings. Sculpin stuff in black, olive or natural have been the ticket. Keep them near the bottom and on a tight line. They are really not chasing so keep them swinging. Nymph nijas are still racking up the best numbers but also dream about bobbers the night after. Small rubber leg, worms and may fly nymphs are what has been leaving the shop on a daily basis. Again the tippet size has gotten smaller as the summer has gone on. Keep that 4X handy. Looks like some great end of summer weather this week to go fishing. Also remember the Ennis Fly Fishing Festival next weekend. Lots of great food, fun, and instructors as well as gear manufacturers will be in town. Get out and float a few flies and catch more then just fish.