Madison River
Hebgen Lake-Quake Lake: 6/29/2010
Hebgen Lake Outflow is around 800 CFS. Cabin Creek is clearing up and the place is starting to have that summer feel to it. Nymphing has been productive, but fishing sub surface means wading through a lot of whitefish to hook a few trout. A flashback pheasant tail in #14-16 has been as good as anything else when fished with a good drift. Dry fly fishing will get going pretty quickly as there are already some Caddis around. The bug bonanza that coincides with the Salmonfly hatch is just around the corner.
Quake Lake-Lyon Bridge: 6/29/2010
The “wade section” of the Madison is going to have adult Salmonflies in it fairly soon. In the meantime, dead drifting their nymphal imitations is a good way to hook some nice fish. Fish seem to be keyed on the nymphs and they are getting fat and sassy due to the overabundance of food. Low flows are making it easy to get around compared to weeks past. Sometimes it pays to push the boundaries of “safe” wading to fish water that is tough to get to as the fish in these spots are less harassed than the fish on the banks.
Lyon Bridge to Ennis: 6/29/2010
Salmonflies!!! Yup, this is it. The Superbowl of Madison River fly fishing has just kicked off and has started to get interesting. Feel free to give us a call at 800-646-9644 for the latest report on the big bugs. Razorbacks, South Fork Secrets and Rogue Stones all get eaten by the excited and hungry trout.
Gallatin River: 6 /29/2010
We are on the cusp of the Gallatin starting to fishing well. The river still has a lot of color below the Taylor Fork and will for a while yet, but if it doesn’t rain the nymphing will start to get pretty good.
Hebgen Lake: 6/29/2010
Hebgen has been fishing well this last week. Callibaetis are beginning to hatch and there are a few fish rising to them, but there is not enough consistency to make dry fly fishing a fruitful option as of yet. Turkey Callibaetis, Flashback Pheasant Tails and Peacock Chironomids have all been excellent flies to fish underneath. Fishing close to the surface has been working well when numbers of rising fish are higher, but for the most part we are still fishing deep.
Quake Lake 6/29/2010
Quake is in pretty good shape in the visibility department. Chironomids, Buggers and Zonkers are all good flies to fish on the lake.