With the cooler and wet weather we have had the Madison River has seen new life. The fishing continues to amaze.
The cooler and wet weather we have been having has been a God send and has kept the Madison River fishing great all summer. Just when we were about to push the panic button we have had several days in the last two weeks of rain, snow, and cooler weather that significantly dropped the water temps and activated the fish. On those bad weather days the blue winged olives have made an appearance. The guys going sub surface have done significantly better than the dry fly guys on the bigger fish. The fish have really liked the may fly nymphs in the last week in a size 16. We have been getting a bunch of big fish on these little tight bodied nymphs out of some really shallow water. We have also switched to no weight in split shot on the line. We have been having a heavy point fly to get the rig down. The removal of split shot has increased our catch.
We have also been successful with small hoppers. All of these in a size 10-12 with either a peach or tan body. Not sure if they are eating it as a hopper or just buggie but they are eating it. Also if you walk around you will find good numbers of small hoppers in the grass. These are all really small like a size 14 but the fish are starting to notice.
The streamer bite has been off and on depending on the day. Some days the guides are reporting good streamer activity and others it feels like the fish are swimming away from streamers. We have been having the most luck with sculpin imitations bounced along the bottom.
The river is a good level right now and easily waded and floated. The river bumped a little the other day but that was mostly from the rain and it is expected to come down slightly in the next week. The powers that be at the dam report progress and are still promising completion and cold water from the bottom of the lake later this month.
