Warm water temps on the Madison River

It's getting warm out there.  We have been consistently  hitting 90 degrees during the day with bright sun shine.  This is making the Madison River warm up.  Trout do not like temps over 68 degrees and catching them when the water is this warm puts them in danger. Warm temps carry less oxygen and fighting a rod expends fish.  Even if they swim away they may die later from the exhaustion.  Fish fighting and handling practices are more important when we get warm water.  Take a look here at some of the best practices.  Better yet pack a thermometer with you and if water temps top 68 stop fishing for the day.  Ice cream is really good in the afternoons. Luckily  we have not hit the magic 70 degrees to trigger hoot owl fishing regulation on the Madison.  We can thank the bottom release water out of Hebgan for that but everyone needs to be aware of the temps this time of year.  The best bet is to get going early and fish until about 2 pm then go for ice cream and a nap till the sun gets ready to set.

The Early Bird gets the Worm or Fish

There is still good fishing to be had even with this warm weather.  We have been having good luck getting up early and fishing till 2-3 in the afternoon.  We have been seeing good dry fly fishing as well as nymphing in the mornings.  There is still a bunch of caddis and PMD mayflies out there and fish are looking at them. We are now seeing some of the nocturnal stone flies hatching and fish will hunt them down in the morning.  Hoppers are starting to be a factor in the early afternoons. Lots of dry fly options.  Our best has been a nocturnal stone or light bodied chubby with a caddis trailer all morning switching to a hopper dropper set up about noon.

Sub surface will keep you bent

The bobber lobbers are still winning the numbers game.  Nymph rigs of princes, jig mayfly nymph and even small rubber legs are the ticket.  Remember to fish them with no split shot or you will continually be hitting bottom and donating flies.  This is good for the fly shop but not for the angler.  Streamer guys will get a few big ones if they are consistent .