Hoppers Still The Game

Hoppers and ants are still the game on the Madison River.  Most of the good dry fly fishing is happening after lunch.  The golden hours for dry fly fishing is between say 10:30 and 4pm.  Sleep in a little and get a good breakfast and fish past lunch.  It will be worth it.

The Madison River continues to drop. Currently we are sitting at 976 CFS at Kirby Ranch with morning temp of 56 degrees.  At Varney Bridge we are at 1130 CFS with a morning temp of 55 degrees.  Cool in the mornings with the cold nights.  It warms up quick and the fish are willing to play.  The folks at the dam are holding back some water and dropping the flows to the main river.  Being conservative with water flows to hold water for the future is not the worst option.  The lower flows are making getting around in a boat from 8 Mile to town tricky.  Bring your A game if you are going to row this section or you might end up beached on gravel.  It happens to everyone.

What to Fish

Small foam hoppers in peach, pink and tan have been the favorite.  We also like small chubbies in the same size and color scheme.  If your early to the river fish them with dropper nymphs. We like the french dip family right now and have been having some good success with these. We call them the Hobbit Droppers ask us why in the store.  Prince nymphs , spankers and even small hares ears are all doing well.  Fish it with confidence and you will catch fish.  We have been noticing that 4X will get significantly more bites on dry flys than 3X will. It is that time of year.  If you dare to go to 5X you will probably get more bites but land very few of the bigger fish in the fast water.

Streamers

Streamer season is coming.  Just like winter.  Some of the guides are getting some bigger fish swinging a streamer in the morning.  Think olive sculpin patterns.  This will only get better as the fall comes into shape.   Keep that streamer box handy as it will pay off very soon.  Try it now especially in the mornings and evenings and you might be surprised with a bigun.

We should have some spectacular fall fishing.  Get ready.  Traffic on the river is manageable .  Not getting run over like the last week of June.  Lots of room to spread out and have some solitude.  Get out and fish this week as the winter in Montana is long and on its way.  Might as well fish dry fly as that game has a ticking time clock.  Stop by the store as we will continue our fall sale of 30% off flies all fall long.