Is This Spring?

Well the calendar says spring and it is officially the end of April so we should be in spring but really it is 3rd winter.  We have seen a winter for the ages. There was snow in my back yard that melted this week that fell October 22.  Unheard of for Ennis.

 

With all this cold and snow this winter what is the outlook for spring and beyond on the Madison River?  We are seeing some good fishing right now as the river wakes up.  Snow banks some as deep as 6 ft still line the bank but the fish are there and hungry.  The big issue is the water temps.  The river is cold from the low elevation snow melt and the releases from the dam.  This will continue to tick up as we get some better weather.

Rainbow Spawning

The big rainbows are starting to show up in the river from the lake.  Look for them from Varney downstream to the lake.  Every dark green bucket should hold one or two.  These are fish on the spawning migration moving up river.  If you see actively spawning fish please leave them alone.  Redds are areas of cleaned gravel that trout use to spawn.  If you notice this please do not fish over or even right downstream.   This harms spawning fish and we will feel it in the hatch. next year.   Look for redds in shallow riffles especially in side channels.

 

We should see good fishing right up to high water.  This should happen sometime around May 10.  Remember Mothers day caddis are set to hatch if we ever get a little warmer water.  Caddis along with March Browns need water temps above 50 degrees to do their thing.  We currently are around 42 mid day.  It will be a week or two before we see some real hatches.

 

Good fishing on the horizon and a bright summer in store.  Get out and fish before we go back into winter.