Upper Madison report from www.slideinn.com
The river seems to have stabalized at 996 cfs-- at least for the time being. Although many have said that this morning was slow, A.M. fishing has been the most consistent, with PMDs, caddis, and tricos being the most predominant insects on the water. During a float from Lyons to Ruby, we couldn't buy a fish on top until we switched to terrestrials around 1:30 in the afternoon; however, they were taking small bubble back PTs, #16 green caddis pupa, and #18-#20 midge patterns underneath. That being said, we had our best luck on Royal PMXs and red-bodied terrestrial patterns during the heat of the day, while running prince nymphs 24 in. below them (go figure...). Ant patterns have also been bringing some nice fish to the surface, such as Nyman's red butt ant, and Kelly's Ant Acid. Over the last week, our Greek friend Aeolus has been making evenings difficult for dry fly fishermen of the Madison-- Steady winds have been blowing spinners off the water, and anglers back to their cars. In such cases, it would be wise to head to more protected stomping grounds of the river such as the Pine Butte/ West Fork ares, and hope for calmer seas. Streamer fishing continues to hold its own throughout the river pulsing-- Black Sex Dungeons, black and olive circus peanuts, T&A Bunkers, and yellow fat heads have been at the top of our list this week.