Madison River
Hebgen Lake-Quake Lake: 6/10/09
Flows out of Hebgen Lake have been held steady at around 730 CFS for a bit now and this makes for some excellent fishing in this stretch of river. Wading is easier than earlier in the spring when the water was much higher and Cabin Creek is dumping less mud than it had. Focus your attention on pockets and drop offs were fish have protection for the current and a constant supply of food. Expect to fish nymphs, but make sure to have some Baetis dries in your fly box, as fish have fed on the surface on cloudy afternoons. #18-20 Baetis Paramergers are deadly on these surface feeding fish. Clean dead drifts are a must when fish are feeding on small dries.
Quake Lake-Lyon Bridge: 6/10/09
The water has cleared significantly and dropped considerably in the wade section of the Madison. This allows wading anglers to explore more mid-river structure that hasn’t seen considerable angling pressure since the river opened almost a month ago. Nymphing remains the best way to find feeding fish, though there have been considerable numbers of Baetis hatching. Small nymph combinations have out produced rigs with larger stonefly nymphs. #18 Tailwater Tinys and Micro Mays have been especially deadly.
Lyon Bridge to Ennis 6/10/09
We’ve seen a great improvement in the visibility on the float section of the Madison River. The West Fork is still dumping some dirt, but it isn’t nearly as discolored as it had been. Fishing has also picked up as the nymph bite has been pretty consistent. The trout aren’t too picky yet, but we’ve certainly had good fishing with large stonefly nymphs. Copper Johns in #16, Shop Vacs in #14-16 and Olive Hare’s Ears in #14 are the flies to fish behind the larger stones. If you aren’t in an indicator watching mood, pounding the banks with olive or black buggers will move some nice fish.
Gallatin River: 6/10/09
The Gallatin is still big and dirty, but it is certainly clear enough to fish, at least until we get more warm weather. Before the water clears more significantly, nymph fishing will be the best way to keep the rod bent. Nymph combos with a Biot Golden Stone or a Brown and Olive Silli Leg Stone trailed by a San Juan Worm, Prince, or Bead Head Pheasant Tail will get the job done. The key to finding fish in the discolored flows is simply to find calm pockets. Trout can’t be anywhere else.
Hebgen Lake 6/10/09
Hebgen has been fishing pretty well. Calm afternoons have made for pretty good bobber fishing with Chironomids later in the day than is normal. We’ve also had some memorable fish come to Leeches fished on a slow sinking line. Calm evenings see a good number of fish rising as the last light of the day fades. Crawling midge Pupa or Prince Nymphs at rising fish is generally more successful than trying to feed them dries. However, a well placed Adams can occasionally fool surface feeding trout on Hebgen.
Quake Lake 6/10/09
Quake is starting to clear up. Fishing buggers can be effective now, and there are some midging trout in the evenings. If the weather stays cool, it could start fishing very well.