Being Mother’s Day on the calendar we should update what is going on with the Mother’s Day Caddis Hatch.
Are there caddis on the Upper Madison River? Absolutely they showed up about two days ago and are popping off at a good pace. Have we seen the rafts of caddis that is so popular with this hatch this time of year? Nope not yet. Is is t a dry fly all day thing? Not even close. We have been picking some up on dry flies in the evenings once the sun has gone behind the horizon. This will change. Give it a few days. We are in the start of the hatch now and in a few days things will look better for the dry fly huckers.
A few things that could mess this entire plan up. We are flirting with high water. Several days over 70 in a row usually do it and that is what we are seeing. Will the river blow? Your guess is as good as our. As of today we are holding steady. Lets see if this changes in the next few days. The west fork is already throwing some mud but not enough to spoil the soup.
If you are out you will need some of the floaty things to tempt the trout. We like peacock caddis, small bugmeisters clones, and royal elk hair caddis. Remember these early season caddis are dark in color and the peacock does a great job. For the sinky things try the tung dart, solft hackle hares ear, and the peacock and partridge. All good bets for the swinger.
If this is your first dry fly trip of the year a new line is in order. Stop by and fill up on the Orvis Pro Line. By far the best fly line we have ever fished, hands down. If you want to clean the old line try Agent X good stuff. If you do not want to row and want to fish give us a call we have a few guides that love to row and not fish. They also bring a darn good lunch.
Oh and don’t forget to call your MOM today. Better yet take her fishing.
