Lower Madison
The Lower Madison continues to put right along this fall, with some good days and some pretty poor ones. Just about what you expect for this time of year - when it's bright and sunny things can be a little tough, and honestly reports of streamer fishing have been pretty spotty. So what's the deal? It's fishing! Some of the better reports I have had have been on smaller nymph rigs, not always the most fun to righ up or fish, but effective. Smaller soft hackles and tiny pheasant tails and such have been very effective. Bug activity wise, there hasn't been much hatching on the bright sunny days, but apparently yesterday afternoon when things settled down a little bit from the rain baetis came off pretty decently. Still getting good solid reports from Beartrap however, plenty of fish up there on beds and spawning and getting good streamer and nymph fishing over the last couple of weeks. Still seeing plenty of redds out on the Lower, so be careful not to tread right through the middle of them. There don't seem to be many fish on their beds outside of the canyon - probably getting fished over like crazy right now as the Lower has been busy. The lower stretches, Cobblestone and Greycliff have been a little hit or miss, but a few really good fish being taken down there, but you have to have the right mindset that you might get skunked too.
Fly pattern suggestions:
Stinger Sculpin Olive & Tan: 2 Cone-nan The Barbarian: 2 Silvey's Sculpin Olive & Tan: 2 BH FB PT: 16-18-20 Copper Bead Mayfly: 16-18-20 Deaddrift Crayfish: 4 I Ain't Yo Baby's Daddy Tan & Rust: 10 CDC BWO Emerger: 16-18-20 Olive Anatomay: 16-18 Skip's Nymph Olive: 16 Super Soft PT: 16-18 Brooks Sprout BWO: 16-18-20 Hackle Dun Baetis: 16-18-20 Bubble Back BWO: 16-18 Rootbeer Float BWO: 16-18
Last Updated: 10/31/07
Upper Madison
Streamer fishing has been decent on the Upper, but from the first hand reports I've been getting, things haven't been what I would call red hot up this way. Not sure why either, the conditions are ripe for a big fish day on the Upper, maybe the browns are just late in getting agressive, or maybe it's the low flows, who knows. But I haven't had a report of anyone knocking em dead, heard mostly that Varney to 8 has been pretty slow. So if you have a bright sunny day in the forecast, you might think about fishing something else, or maybe fishing some deaddrifted streamer patterns and getting it down deep and into the holes. I would personally recommend wade fishing most of this stuff right now as the river is pretty low and you should be able to get around pretty well without a boat. I would be pounding the smaller sidechannels and places that haven't seen a thousand flies and fishing some smaller beadhead nymphs with eggs and san juans is generally pretty good. Have heard that between the lakes has been so so and that it's been better down towards Quake. 3 Dollar and Slide area has fished pretty decently and is really easy to wade at these flows - so that might be worth fishing while it's open still.
Fly pattern suggestions:
JJ's Special: 2-4-6-8 BH FB PT: 14-16-18-20 Firey Juan: 10 Copper John Black, Olive & Red: 16-18-20 Silvey's Sculpin Tan & Olive: 2 Eyez Wide Open Tan & Olive: 2 Bow River Bugger Olive & Black: 2 Mustang Sally: 16-18 Hairy Sculpin Brown & Light Olive: 2-4 Copperwire Mayfly Olive & Tan: 16-18 BH FB PT: 16-18 Copper Bead Mayfly: 16-18 Big Red: 6-8 Coppertone: 6-8
Last Updated: 10/31/07
Yellowstone River
Well even despite the rains yesterday and things being snowy and rainy up in the park the river is still in good shape and that shouldn't change with the forecast calling for pretty even temps and conditions over the next week here. Look for the Yellowstone to fish well here for the next few weeks, it's by no means time to start heading elsewhere. The brown trout are getting darker and there are fish on beds, so be careful if you are walking around redds - you should be able to spot them fairly easily this year with the lower water flows. Most guys I have been talking to have been nymphing and doing some poking around to find fish rising in pods, streamer fishing has been kind of hit or miss. Low water flows and bright sunny days typically aren't going to produce to die for streamer fishing coditions, so if you go out on one of those days don't be surprised if the action is a lot hotter with san juans and small beadheads - or just drift a bugger or sculpin pattern with a smaller beadhead off of the back. In the spirit of the season I might be grabbing a shooting head and combing a few pools - haven't heard of any toads yet this year, but I haven't talked with the right circle of folks lately, if I hear of something I'll let you know!
Fly pattern suggestions:
Ugly Bug Brown, Golden, & Black: 6-8-10 Mega Prince: 6-8-10 CH Bow River Bugger Olive & Black: 2-4-6 Silvey's Sculpin Olive, Tan & Black: 2 BH FB PT: 14-16-18 Mustang Sally: 16-18 Lightning Bug Gold: 12-14-16 Eyez Wide Open Tan & Olive: 2 Stinger Sculpin Natural: 2 JJ's Special: 2-4-6-8 Dirty Bird Rust & Tan: 12-14-16 Copper John Black & Olive: 14-16-18 Biotic Nymph Olive & Black: 16
Last Updated: 10/31/07
Gallatin River
Precipitation yesterday may have colored the river up some, unable to get a report on this today, so I would say judging based on the graph things probably spiked yesterday afternoon and so you might want to give us a call tomorrow before heading out to the Gallatin. The canyon section is almost desolate and the fishing isn't very good up there this time of year in my opinion - I'd rather be fishing it down in the valley or around WIlliams bridge and downstream from there. Fish are getting on beds a little bit, the bright sunny days can be tough combined with low flows, but it's not worth throwing in the towel by any means at this point. Still getting some BWO's coming off, although I might expect it will be a little too cold for that stuff here these next few days until it warms back up Saturday and Sunday. Time to start fishing eggs and san juans and the typical spawning time type stuff... as soon as we get a solid report on the clarity we'll post it.
Fly pattern suggestions:
BH FB PT: 14-16-18-20 Copper John Black, Olive & Chartreuse: 16-18-20 Copper Bead Mayfly: 16-18 Wilcox's Little Green Machine: 16-18-20 Anatomay Hares Ear & Peacock: 14-16-18 Mega Prince: 8-10 Mega Hares Ear: 6-8 Olive & Black Woolbuggers: 2-4-6-8 CH Bow River Bugger Black, Olive & Brown: 2-4-6 Eyez Wide Open Olive & Tan: 2 JJ's Special: 2-4-6-8 Hotwire Mayfly Olive: 14-16-18 Biotic Nymph Black & Olive: 14-16
Last Updated: 10/31/07