Fly Fishing Madison River in Montana. It includes a
Madison River Fly Fishing Report
type of Stream
Tailwater
Fly and Gear ordering and delivery: We can get flies to you within two to three business days from the time you place your order via Priority Mail. If you provide a budget for flies, we will select them to match the budget and get them to you on time for your trip. Please see the bottom of this column for ordering options.
We also have custom Perfect Fly selections in 3 different price ranges for this stream that come with or without fly boxes. They make excellent gifts. Click Here To Order or Call us at 800 594 4726 or email us at sales@perfectflystore.com.
Species
Brown Trout
Rainbow Trout
Rocky Mountain Whitefish
(Wild Trout)
Size
Large
Location
Southwestern MontanaNearest Towns
Ennis, Montana
West Yellowstone, Montana
Season
3rd Sat. May – Nov 30th (Catch and
Release year-round some areas)
Access: Good
Non-Resident License
State of Montana
Seasons: Most anglers think of Summer and the salmonfly hatch when they think of the Madison River, but there is a lot more than that to it’s great fishing. Fly fishing the Madison River is a true pleasure and in some areas, the fishing opportunities last for the entire year. The Madison River fly fishing report will keep you up to date throughout the entire year.
Spring:
Springtime brings about some good mayfly and caddisfly hatches and fishing can be very good.
Summer:
The runoff occurs during June, but its peak time can vary from year to year. Fishing becomes excellent shortly after the runoff ends.
Fall:
There are fewer anglers during the fall season, brown trout spawn, blue-winged Olives hatch and there’s always some great streamer and dry fly fishing.
Winter:
Midges hatch during throughout the winter months and fishing can be good at times.
Recommended Tackle & Gear
Fly Line:
5 or 6 weight
Leaders:
Dry fly: 9 & 12 ft., 5 or 6X, Nymphing:
71/2 ft., 3 or 4X, Streamers 0-2X
Tippets:
Dry fly: 5 or 6X, Nymphing: 3 or 4X,
Streamer 0-2X
Best Fly Rods:
Perfect Fly Superb Five or Ultimate Six
Fly Reels:
For 5/6 fly line
Fly Floatants and Misc Items:
Floatants, KISS Strike Indicators
Tools & Accessories:
Nippers, forceps, retractors, etc.
Fly and Gear ordering and delivery:
Email us at (sales@perfectflystore.com) with the dates you will be fishing and we will send you a list of our fly recommendations. We can get flies and gear to you within two to three business days from the time you place your order via Priority Mail. If you provide a budget for flies, we will select them to match the budget and get them to you on time for your trip. Your can also call us at 800-594-4726 and we will help you decide what flies and gear to use. All orders are shipped free in the U.S. If under a $100 order requiring Priority mail is a charge of only $8.10. Orders over a $100 are shipped free via Priority Mail.
Copyright 2013 James Marsh
04/29/24 Conditions are still good. The stream is flowing at a normal level and the water is clear. Good Light Green and Red or blood Midge, BWO’s, March Browns, Little Black Caddis as well as Skwala stonefly hatches continue to take place. We are still getting good reports from customers fishing it. Check back frequently. We update the Madison River fishing report frequently.
Stream Conditions:
Rate: 834 cfs 1.68 ft
Afternoon Water Temperature: 50 degrees
Clarity: clear
USGS Real-Time Stream Flow Data Below Hebgen
Weather:
Recommended Trout Flies:
Brown Sculpin and White Belly Sculpin and Articulated streamers, size 6/4
Black Matuka and Olive Matuka Sculpin, size 4/6
Blue-winged Olives: size 16, 18 nymph, emergers, duns and spinners
Aquatic Worms, size 12, pink, red, and others
Midges: Light Green and Red (Blood) midges sizes 20/22, larva, pupa and adult. Our larva and pupa midge flies, pre-rigged in tandem, work good here. You can fish them under a strike indicator keeping the larva fly near the bottom. https://perfectflystore.com/product/pre-rigged-tandem-midge-larva-pupa-tippet
Skwala Stoneflies: 10, nymphs and adults
March Browns, 12/14, nymphs, emergers, duns and spinners
Little Black Caddis: 18, pupa, adults
The Madison River is certainly one of, if not the best trout stream in the World. It is for sure the best tailwater in the United States. The Madison is also accurately described as the “Fifty Mile Riffle” because it provide about fifty miles of riffles. This covers the Madison River from the dam at Hebgen Lake downstream to below the Bear Trap Canyon near Ennis Montana. The Madison River fly fishing report keeps you up to date as to what is going on.The Madison River offers great fishing opportunities for both the wading angler and those that prefer drift boats. It has a huge population of wild rainbow trout and large, wild brown trout. Fly fishing the Madison River provides the ultimate fly fishing experience. From Yellowstone National Park, the river flows almost immediately into Hebgen Lake near West Yellowstone, Montana. Hebgen is a big lake, over fourteen miles long. Trout in the lake grow to large sizes and move in and out of the lake from 23 mile long section of the Madison River that’s inside the park. The flows of water downstream of Hebgen Lake are regulated by the dam. Many are unaware that from this point downstream, the Madison River is a tailwater fishery. Fly fishing the Madison River in the tailwater section is quite different from the freestone stream section. After leaving Hebgen Lake, the Madison River covered in this section, flows for three miles into Quake Lake. Quake Lake was built by Mother Nature in 1959. During a large earthquake an entire mountain side slide into the river. The earthquake created a large lake, Quake Lake. As soon as the lake filled with water, it flowed over the top of the natural earth/rock dam and the Madison River continued to flow. The stretch of water between the lakes, as it is called, is a popular fly fishing destination. It’s only about a mile and a half long but well worth fishing. It is open to fishing year-round. This section can be accessed off Highway #67 at the Cabin Creek Campground exit. The next three miles of the river is a fast, wild, raging section of the river that’s very dangerous and in places, impossible to wade. Huge boulders exist in the stream, creating sections of fast, pocket water. There are Class III and IV rapids in this section of the Madison. Fishing from boats from Quake Lake to the Lyons Bridge Fishing Access Point is prohibited. This is great for wading anglers because most of the other sections of the Madison River has heavy traffic from float trips during the prime season. Below the whitewater section of the river, the Madison widens out some and the flows gradually slow down to long sections of riffles and runs. This is the famous “Fifty Mile Riffle” section of the Madison. It flows for 53 miles from Quake Lake to Ennis Lake located at Ennis, Montana. This section of water offers some of the finest trout fishing opportunities found anywhere. There are both designated wading and floating sections of the river as described below. From the Raynolds Pass Access downstream to the Lyons Bridge Access, the Madison river is closed to float fishing. The current is still fairly strong in this section of the river. It consist of pocket water in some areas but with long sections of fast water riffles mixed in. This section is prime water for the wading angler. Both nymph fishing and dry fly fishing is productive in this section. You will find some large boulders in the river in some areas but for the most part, it flows over a cobble bottom without plunges, rapids, fast runs and deep, slow moving pools. There’s a few places downstream where the river slows down a little and splits around some islands in the main stream. If you arrived on the river from a downstream location, and you never looked at a map, unless someone told you, you probably would never realize you were fishing a tailwater. It often appears and acts more like a freestone stream than a tailwater.
Most of the drift boat fishing takes place from the Lyons Bridge Access to the Varney Bridge Access. This thirty-mile long section represents the ideal drifts and is very popular with the guides. During the prime season it can become crowded with drift boats. The busiest time of the year in this section is during the famous Madison River Salmonfly hatch. It starts in late June and last for two to three weeks but never in any one location. The hatch moves upstream daily during this period of time. After the big Salmonfly hatch, the river actually becomes a better place to fish in our opinion. It provides consistent dry fly fishing as well as an opportunity to catch large browns on streamers all summer long. Caddis hatches and several species of mayflies keep the action continuing into the Fall.
The wide open Madison Valley is surrounded by grass. This is ranch country and grass hoppers are plentiful along the banks of the Madison. That, along with daily high winds, make late summer and early fall a good time to fish the Madison in this area. Don’t think of this section as only being good for drift boat fishing. The wading angler can also catch plenty of trout. There are plenty of access site and a little effort to hike up or downstream is often very rewarding. You will find far less anglers fishing from the Varney Bridge Access downstream to the Highway #287 Access Site in Ennis than the sections of the Madison upstream of there. It is about the same type of water but with far less pressure. There are less riffles and the river begins to show a slightly different character. The currents are slightly slower. There’s less rainbow trout but the browns found in this section are probably larger than the ones upstream. Both floating and wading is allowed in this section. Downstream of Varney Bridge, the Madison flows into two separate channels. This is ideal situation for the wading angler to catch some very large brown trout Downstream of the Highway #287 Access, fishing from drift boats is no longer allowed. The current becomes even slower but fishing pressure just about ceases to exist. It isn’t due to a lack of fish. This section probably holds the largest brown trout in the Madison River. There’s some aquatic vegetation in the river. There’s undercut banks and other places the brown trout can hide and feed that doesn’t exist upstream. This section of the Madison River does get some attention during the Fall months of the year. Large brown trout migrate out of Ennis Lake upstream to spawn. The trout are huge and will readily take large streamers. After flowing into the five-mile long Ennis Lake, created by the Madison Dam, the Madison River enters the seven-mile long Bear Trap Canyon. This is a deep canyon surrounded by rock walls that requires a great deal of effort to fish. It mostly consist of whitewater rapids. It is more popular for whitewater boating than fishing. A mixture of brown trout and rainbow trout exist in the Bear Trap Canyon section of the Madison River. From the Highway #84 Access to Three Forks, the flows slow down considerably. The Madison provides another thirty miles of fishing but it is quite different from the upper river. Some rainbows but mostly brown trout exist in this section. The water temperatures can become too warm during the hottest days of Summer. The best fly fishing opportunities in this section of the lower Madison River exist in the spring and fall months. Be sure to check our Madison River fishing report often as we update it frequently.
Fly Fishing Guide to the Madison River
You could spend a life-time learning to fish this river and still not know everything about it. The first section of the Madison River below Hebgen Lake is only about a mile and a half of long from the dam to Quake Lake. There are some very large trout in this
section. It consist of some very deep pools and deep runs along with the riffles typical of the Madison downstream. In the early part of the year from about February to June, the river is full of spawning rainbows, many of which come upstream from Quake Lake. In October and November, the section below the dam is packed with large browns that come upstream from Quake Lake to spawn. This section is open to fishing year-round. Just below Quake Lake, there’s an area of the river that is extremely rough. You shouldn’t try wading this part of the river. This area of the river falls under the general Montana fishing season from the 3rd Saturday of May through February, so there is only a short time to fish before the June runoff takes place. When that occurs, it is impossible to fish that part of the river. By the first week of July, the runoff is over and the fishing will rapidly become nothing short of excellent. From the Slide Inn to Lyon Bridge, the rules only permit wade fishing. There are several access points including the famous $3.00 bridge. This section is about nine miles long and is the most popular section of the Madison River. It’s for a good reason. The river is full of large rainbows and brown trout. Most of the water is best described as pocket water, although there are sections of long riffles. There are quite a few large boulders in the river that create pockets. The West Fork of the Madison River enters this section of the main river about a mile above the Lyon Bridge. The West Fork can dump extra muddy water into the river until runoff ends usually from late June to the first week of July. The fishing in this entire section of the river, as well as all the way downstream to Ennis, is pretty well dictated by the aquatic insect hatches that take place. You can review those in our “Hatches Section” but in general, they start with the famous Salmonfly hatch in early July. Golden Stoneflies, Green Drakes and Pale Morning Duns also hatch in this section along with other mayflies ranging from BWOs to Yellow Quills. July and August also have huge caddisfly hatches and fish will feed on them until it is completely dark or around 10:00 P. M. each day during the summer months.
The section of the river from Lyon Bridge downstream to Ennis Lake can be fished by drift boats as well as waded. It is more than thirty miles long. The first section of water from Lyon Bridge down to McAtee Bridge, is similar to the wading only area of the river with occasional large boulders that create pocket water, mixed in with the long riffles. The next section, from McAtee Bridge downstream to Varney Bridge, consist mostly of riffles. The river slows down some and the boulders become fewer and fewer the farther downstream you go. There are more brown trout in this section than there are upstream. From Varney Bridge downstream to Ennis Lake, there are fewer access points. The fish in this section consist mostly of brown trout and are generally larger than those upstream. The river flows around some islands which creates channels in some areas and a more diverse type of water. There is far more cover in this section than upstream. Wherever you fish this great river, there are plenty of big wild rainbow and brown trout. It is as close to a perfect trout river as you can get. It has a tremendous abundance of aquatic insects and excellent dry fly and nymph fishing opportunities throughout the season. Unlike many other trout streams with large wild trout, the Madison will allow anyone that can cast a fly a good opportunity to catch one of its fish. They aren’t pushovers by any means, but they are not real picky either. It is simply just one of, if not the best, trout streams in the country. Be sure you check the above Madison River fishing report often. We update it often.
Madison River Hatches and Trout Flies:
Our information on aquatic insects is based on our stream samples of larvae and nymphs, not guess work. We base fly suggestions on imitating the most plentiful and most available insects and other foods at the particular time you are fishing. Unlike the generic fly shop trout flies, we have specific imitations of all the insects in the Madison River and in all stages of life that are applicable to fishing. If you want to fish better, more realistic trout flies, have a much higher degree of success, give us a call. We not only will help you with selections, you will learn why, after trying Perfect Flies, 92% of the thousands of our customers will use nothing else. 1-800-594-4726. Remember, the Madison River covered in this section includes many miles of river. The time slots given don’t apply to any one particular section, rather the entire stream, so the exact dates are subject to vary at any one location. The first mayflies to hatch on the Madison are the Blue-winged Olives. They start about the first of April and hatch until the first of June. These mayflies are bi-brooded, and will hatch again in the Fall from about the first of September through mid November. From about the middle of June through the end of July, the large Green Drakes hatch. Some of this hatch gets caught up in the Spring runoff. At about the same time, the Western March Browns hatch. The hatch can last until the second week of August. The “Flavs”, or the Small Western Green Drakes start hatching around the first of July. This hatch can last until the end of August, depending on the section of the river. The PMDs, or Pale Morning Duns, start about the second week of June and can last through July. This is one of the better and highly dependable hatches that takes place. Speckled Wing Quills hatch from about the first of July through August in the slower sections of water in the Madison River. You will find them for the most part at the heads of Quake and Ennis Lakes. You will also find some Tricos in the same type of water. They hatch from about the middle of July through September. Yellow Quills hatch from about the middle of July through August. These hatch in the faster water of the river. The first caddisfly hatches of the year of significance are the Little Black Caddis, or Brachycentrus species. This hatch is called the “Mothers Day Hatch”. They start around the middle of April and can hatch until the end of May. There is another species of these caddisflies that hatch during the month of July. The Spotted Sedges are very common caddisflies on the Madison. They hatch from about the middle of May through the month of July. Their Little Sisters start around the middle of June and can hatch until September. The large, Great Gray Spotted Sedge hatches from about the middle of June through July. At the same time the Green Sedges start to hatch. They last until near the end of September. Their larvae are the most important stage of their life. These are called “Rock Worms” and imitations of them are effective all year. From about mid June through July, you will see lots of Little Short-horned Sedges. These are small caddisflies that anglers often discover crawling up their waders. Anglers consider the most important hatch that takes place on the Madison River to be the huge Salmonflies. They start hatching in the lower section of the river around the middle of June and progress upstream several miles a day. The hatch is usually not over in the upper part of the river until near the end of July. Just as important, in our opinion, are the Golden Stoneflies. They start hatching around the first of July and hatch for most of the month depending on the section of the river. At the same time, Little Yellow Stoneflies, called Yellow Sallies, start hatching. This hatch last for up to two months, or until the end of August. From about the middle of July to near the end of September, terrestrial insects can be an important part of the trout’s diet in the Madison River. Ants, beetles and grasshoppers all play a part in this. Although you cannot predict when, there is usually a flying ant fall on the river. This would most likely occur in August, but that is a guess based on finding them only on one occasion. The Madison River is full of sculpin, leeches and baitfish. These are imitated with streamers. They are effective all year long, especially under low light conditions, or when the water is stained from melting snow or rain.
We recommend our “Perfect Flies” over any flies you can purchase. These are not only the most realistic imitations you can buy, they are the most effective flies you can buy. We have specific imitations of all the aquatic insects and other trout food that exist in the river. If you haven’t done so already, please give them an opportunity to perform for you. You will be glad you did. Thanks for viewing our Madison River fishing report.