Madison River
Hebgen Lake-Quake Lake: 7/7/2010
Hebgen Lake Outflow has been a steady 900 CFS. Good hatches have been coming off between the lakes including Green Drakes, Golden Stones, a few Salmonflies, Caddis and Craneflies, all available to the trout in varying numbers. Because of this the dry fly bite has been pretty good. Nymph fishers have had action, but there are a lot of whitefish that are all about munching the deeply fished flies so trout can be hard to find. Anglers who cover a lot of water with both dries and nymphs will catch a lot more fish than those who pound away on one hole all morning.
Quake Lake-Lyon Bridge: 7/7/2010
Good hatches are getting going in the wade section of the Madison. The PMD’s (or are they Epeorus??) have been pretty good throughout the day. There are Caddis and small Stoneflies as well. Salmonflies will most likely be a few days away from the water above Lyon bridge. Nymphing has been good, but don’t ignore the attractor dry fly possibilities. The fish are getting used to feeding on the surface and a wide range of dries can bring them up to feed. The Salmonfly fishing should be great when the big bugs finally make their way upstream.
Lyon Bridge to Ennis: 7/7/2010
We are still seeing good numbers of Salmonflies in the float section. Cool water coming in from tributaries has made their progress upriver pretty slow, which has prolonged the arrival of great fishing with the big bugs. PMDs and Caddis have been hatching in abundant numbers and the river is clear enough that the fish are looking up to smaller flies a great deal more often than they were a week ago. As the river has cleared, more fish can be brought to the surface in mid river lies. Stimi’s, Trudes, Goddard Caddis, Yellow Sallies, PMD Parawulffs and all sorts of adult Salmonfly and Golden stone patterns have been the flies of choice.
Gallatin River: 7/7/2010
The Gallatin has been fishing pretty well below Big Sky. Both nymphs and dries are working, with the best dry fly bite happening after the water has warmed up a bit after lunchtime. Salmonflies have made their way up river, but there are still some big Goldens around. Caddis and smaller stones have taken up the slack. Olive Hare’s Ears, Pheasant Tails and Sili Leg Stones have worked very well dead drifted below strike indicators. Attractor style dries have worked well in the pocket water stretches of the Gallatin.
Hebgen Lake: 7/7/201o
Fishing on Hebgen has been slow to get going in the mornings due to cooler temperatures we have experienced lately, but fishing has been pretty good once things warm up. Callibaetis are still pretty sparse, but fishing their nymphal imitations has been rather productive. Chironomids continue to dredge up some nice fish as well.
Quake Lake 7/7/2010
Quake is in pretty good shape as far as visibility goes. Chironomids, Buggers and Zonkers are all good patterns to fish on the lake.