“The Before Party”
As we enter the second half of June here in Ennis, Montana; we prepare for invasion. They will be here soon. They can’t be stopped. They are known for choosing favorable weather to invade. They will cover land, air, and sea in overwhelming numbers…
Lucky for us, it is June of 2024 not 1944 and “They” are Salmon flies baby! “Pteronarcys California”, “Giant Salmonfly”, “The Big Bugs”… whatever you like to call them, they’re about to be the stars of the show here on the Upper Madison River along with their golden cousins! With reports of some early birds already hatching downstream of town the past few days, and a quick rebound from our 24 hour cold snap, we’re damn close to the big event. Even though the big hatch and subsequent dry fly fishing is what everyone is excited for, the fishing leading up to zero hour (aka the fishing right now), is spectacular! Let’s go over some techniques for fishing during the eve of the hatch.
The Bugs
For the past few weeks, my mornings fishing with clients have started with a nymph rig then moving into streamers as it warms up and if we get lucky we get to toss a dry for a bit. It hasn’t been the exciting dry fly action we’re all eager for, but the catchin’s been good.
For Nymphing, I’ve been running the classic Turd/Worm combo with a little bit of deviation here and there. The nymphs I’m soaking the most lately have been the “Pats Rubberleg” in black, as well as the black/brown variegated in sizes 8 all the way up to a size 4. The Pats has definitely been the winner for obvious reasons. For the sake of variety, I’ve also been getting them on the “San Juan Worm” in wine and red, the “Prince Nymph” and “F.K.A Prince” in larger sizes (14,12), the “Blooms Tung Dart Caddis”, and the “BH Pheasant Tail” both also in those larger sizes! The “Delectable Mega Prince” is another favorite of mine this time of year when the water is still up a bit and the fish are focused on stoneflies.
For streamers, think patterns like the “Trevor’s Sculpin”, “Gallup’s Sex Dungeon”, “Dalai-Lama”, “Single/Double Screamer” or anything else that catches their eye and moves some water. These fish are getting more fired up by the day making it a great time to find a good one on a streamer.
The dry fly game has been lacking, but you can find a few fish throwing a large “Parachute Adam’s” or “Elk Hair Caddis”, or small “Chubby Chernobyl” at the bank. Don’t worry, the dry fly fishing is about to get wayyyyyy better.
The Water
We’re still finding most of our fish in their high water hidey-holes and tucked into the banks but as the river continues to drop we’ll see them start to spread back out into their usual spots. That said, they know good and well what’s going on (Stoneflies migrating to the bank) and will take full advantage. When nymphing from the boat right now I will shorten my rig or even run a drop shot rig, and fish as tight to the bank as I would with a dry fly rig, it works. Days, hours, and minutes prior to their emergence, Stoneflies congregate near the bank in shallow rocky water. They’re seeking spots where they can crawl up rocks protruding from the water or the bank then shed their husk. As an angler you should be seeking these same areas.
The Rigs
Nymphing is my least favorite way to catch fish, but it is hands down the most effective right now. A standard two nymph bobber rig with some split shot will do just fine and don’t be afraid to fish a little heavier leader and tippet while the water is “sexy green”, I typically won’t drop below 3x while nymphing right now. I’ve been really coming around to using a drop shot style rig for nymphing tight to the bank lately too, stop by The Tackle Shop if you don’t know how to rig these, it’s worth learning! Swinging the stonefly nymphs off the banks and by rocks is another super effective and fun way to get ‘em.
For my streamer fishing leader I’ve been running a 3’ butt section from an unknown old tapered leader to a swivel with around 2’ of 1x to the streamer. That’s just me, really anything works, just remember that even when the water is higher than usual the Upper Madison isn’t that deep.
The dry-dropper rig comes into play heavy as we enter into the hatch. A big foam Salmonfly dry with a Stonefly nymph underneath is deadly. If the dry fly bite gets good ditch that nymph and enjoy!
We’re not far at all from the big show, but don’t wait to get out the fishing is great. A Few things to remember…. Salmonflies like 56 degree water, nice weather, and they certainly don’t dead drift when they’re on the surface.
-Jimbob
