Madison River

Dam: 861 cfs

Kirby: 1,060 cfs

Varney: 1,230 cfs

Just a reminder that the Madison between Quake Lake and McAtee Bridge is closed until May 18th, as is Ennis Bridge to Ennis Lake.

We took a drive up to the Dam this morning, and what a difference a little wind and some 65 degree weather can do in a just few short days- -Quake Lake is virtually ice free and from what we heard yesterday from a couple of fishermen, Hebgen isn’t lagging too far behind…Both Wade and Cliff lakes are iced off as well.  In short, we had a very VERY quick ice off, and if your looking for the best option right now I would head over towards the narrows between Kirkwood and Hebgen Dam with your favorite molting crayfish or leech pattern– Follow the ice shelves and you can be rewarded in spades.  On to the river…The Madison between the lakes has been fishing very well with the normal fare– eggs, golden stones, zebra midges, baetis nymphs, $3 Dips, and the streamer bite has started to pick up once again due to water temps peaking at just over 40 degrees in the afternoon.  Cabin Creek has been collecting speed and color over the last week, and the stripe of dirty water is now visible all the way down to the lake– It’s not brown quite yet, but that should change in the next 2-3 days.  Beaver Creek on the other hand is full on chocolate milk.  If you’re looking for a little dry fly action before the water starts to come up, make sure to have a good assortment of BWOs and even a few March Browns when the clouds roll in between McAtee and Ennis Bridge.  However, I would highly recommend driving a little further and heading over to the lower Madison ASAP as the Mother’s Day Caddis (Brachycentrus occidentalis. ) have started to pop in full force. The bulk of the action tends to be from 6:00 p.m. until dark, so be prepared for a late one if you hit it right.

Madison River

Dam: 851 cfs

Kirby: 956 cfs

Varney: 1,060 cfs

The Madison between the lakes has been fishing well with nymphs over the last week, and while we’ve had some good days throwing streamers, it’s been far more consistent running the indicator rig.  That’s not to say that you can’t go out there and have a great day of streamer fishing right now, but you may go back a day later and wonder where all the meat eaters went.  If you plan on fishing nymphs, bring a good assortment of zebra midges, egg patterns, pat’s rubber legs, $3 dips, and red patterns such as copper johns, serendipities, lightning bugs, etc and you should get into them.   Cabin Creek is still running with a tinge of glacial milk, but not enough to muddy up the river too much (that could change pretty quickly though).  We’ve also been getting a lot of calls regarding the ice situation on Quake and Hebgen Lakes– The ice along Quake is receding, but there is still too much ice by the launch to put a boat in just yet…we’re guessing the wait will be over in another week or so.  Hebgen is still pretty frozen along the edges, but with the warmer temps in the forecast over the next few days we should start to see open water along the shore by later next week. Good reports have been coming in below McAtee and Varney Bridge over the last four or five days as well, and it sounds like good numbers of midges and BWO’s have been bringing fish up with a little more regularity than we’ve seen in weeks past.  This is also a great time of year to target some of the larger browns that inhabit the lower river, so be sure to bring a good assortment of your favorite streamer patterns and start hunting for a toad.

Just a reminder that the Madison between Quake Lake and McAtee Bridge is closed until May 18th, as is Ennis Bridge to Ennis Lake.