06-16-2004, 12:40 AM
Madison River - Lower - June 12th, 2004
supplied by: [url "http://www.fisheyesoup.com/redir.php?recKey=86,re"][#0000ff]Montana Troutfitters[/#0000ff][/url]
FISHING: Poor
Stream Flow Information [[url "http://waterdata.usgs.gov/mt/nwis/current?type=flow&group_key=NONE&search_site_no_station_nm=Madison&format=html_table"][#0000ff]click here[/#0000ff][/url]]
Madison River Montana FWP Guide [[url "http://www.fwp.state.mt.us/fishing/guide/q_Madison_River__1115074459269_0_131.90299987793.aspx"][#0000ff]click here[/#0000ff][/url]]
South ForkMadison River Montana FWP Guide [[url "http://www.fwp.state.mt.us/fishing/guide/q_South_Fork_Madison_River__1112332447461_0_20.701000213623.aspx"][#0000ff]click here[/#0000ff][/url]]
West Fork Madison River Montana FWP Guide [[url "http://www.fwp.state.mt.us/fishing/guide/q_West_Fork_Madison_River__1115837448893_0_33.1749992370605.aspx"][#0000ff]click here[/#0000ff][/url]]
The flows at the Ennis Powerhouse are 3030 C.F.S. The river has made a drastic jump from 1650 C.F.S. on Thursday. The huge amount of rain that we recieved on Thursday has spiked the flows and turned the river off color. As of Friday morning the river had about 4 to 6 inches of visibility. This may change over the weekend as the rain lets up and the flows drop. This weekend may be a tough one for fishing the rivers in the area because of all the rain from Thursday and Friday. If you do not live in the Bozeman area we recieved close to two inches of rain on Thursday and many of the rivers have seen drastic increases in flows. I would expect to see the flows drop over the next few days, however it may take a day or two until the clarity returns. If you really want to get out the good news is that the higher water will push the fish to the banks and the streamer fishing could get very good for a couple of days until the flows drop back into the 1500 C.F.S. range. It doesn't take much clarity for streamer fishing to be productive either. The Salmonfly hatch is in full swing however it has been very sporadic this year. The adults have only been in small pockets this year and we have not seen the hatch really blow up with bugs everywhere. Keep your eyes in the bushes as you hike around the river and if you find some adults flying in the air or in the bushes give the dry flies a try. Nymphing has been good on the entire river and concentrate on fishing the larger nymphs in the deeper pockets and in the faster water inside of the Bear Trap Canyon Wilderness area. The streamer fishing has been very good on the river outside of the canyon. It is most likely going to slow a bit as the water continues to drop. The higher water spread the fish out a bit and moved them to the banks where the anglers fishing from boats could target them a little easier. The crayfish are also molting so dead drifting a crayfish imtation has been productive. The fish really like the crayfish when they molt because there shells are soft and they are easier to digest. There has also been some nice hatch activity that is not centered around the Salmonflies. Pmd's, Caddis and Yellowsallies have been hatching in very good numbers and if you want some good dry fly fishing you can have a ball matching the hatch. The river should stay in pretty good shape, however the upper river has been very dirty and there is a real good possibility that the muddy water could make it's way through the lake and turn the lower river into mud as well. We will continue to update this report as the conditions change.
Fly Pattern Suggestions :Terranasty #4-6, Rogue Foam Stone #4, Golden Chernobly Ant #6, Norm Woods Special #6, Parachute Adams #14-16, Royal Wulff #12-16, Parachute PMD #14-16 Yellow Stimulator #8-12, Madam X #8-10, Elk Hair Caddis #12-14, Slick Water Caddis #12-14 Parachute Caddis #12-14, BH Mangy Caddis #14-16, Black Lite Brite Caddis #12-14, Hot wire Caddis #12-14, BH Prince #8-12
supplied by: [url "http://www.fisheyesoup.com/redir.php?recKey=86,re"][#0000ff]Montana Troutfitters[/#0000ff][/url]
FISHING: Poor
Stream Flow Information [[url "http://waterdata.usgs.gov/mt/nwis/current?type=flow&group_key=NONE&search_site_no_station_nm=Madison&format=html_table"][#0000ff]click here[/#0000ff][/url]]
Madison River Montana FWP Guide [[url "http://www.fwp.state.mt.us/fishing/guide/q_Madison_River__1115074459269_0_131.90299987793.aspx"][#0000ff]click here[/#0000ff][/url]]
South ForkMadison River Montana FWP Guide [[url "http://www.fwp.state.mt.us/fishing/guide/q_South_Fork_Madison_River__1112332447461_0_20.701000213623.aspx"][#0000ff]click here[/#0000ff][/url]]
West Fork Madison River Montana FWP Guide [[url "http://www.fwp.state.mt.us/fishing/guide/q_West_Fork_Madison_River__1115837448893_0_33.1749992370605.aspx"][#0000ff]click here[/#0000ff][/url]]
The flows at the Ennis Powerhouse are 3030 C.F.S. The river has made a drastic jump from 1650 C.F.S. on Thursday. The huge amount of rain that we recieved on Thursday has spiked the flows and turned the river off color. As of Friday morning the river had about 4 to 6 inches of visibility. This may change over the weekend as the rain lets up and the flows drop. This weekend may be a tough one for fishing the rivers in the area because of all the rain from Thursday and Friday. If you do not live in the Bozeman area we recieved close to two inches of rain on Thursday and many of the rivers have seen drastic increases in flows. I would expect to see the flows drop over the next few days, however it may take a day or two until the clarity returns. If you really want to get out the good news is that the higher water will push the fish to the banks and the streamer fishing could get very good for a couple of days until the flows drop back into the 1500 C.F.S. range. It doesn't take much clarity for streamer fishing to be productive either. The Salmonfly hatch is in full swing however it has been very sporadic this year. The adults have only been in small pockets this year and we have not seen the hatch really blow up with bugs everywhere. Keep your eyes in the bushes as you hike around the river and if you find some adults flying in the air or in the bushes give the dry flies a try. Nymphing has been good on the entire river and concentrate on fishing the larger nymphs in the deeper pockets and in the faster water inside of the Bear Trap Canyon Wilderness area. The streamer fishing has been very good on the river outside of the canyon. It is most likely going to slow a bit as the water continues to drop. The higher water spread the fish out a bit and moved them to the banks where the anglers fishing from boats could target them a little easier. The crayfish are also molting so dead drifting a crayfish imtation has been productive. The fish really like the crayfish when they molt because there shells are soft and they are easier to digest. There has also been some nice hatch activity that is not centered around the Salmonflies. Pmd's, Caddis and Yellowsallies have been hatching in very good numbers and if you want some good dry fly fishing you can have a ball matching the hatch. The river should stay in pretty good shape, however the upper river has been very dirty and there is a real good possibility that the muddy water could make it's way through the lake and turn the lower river into mud as well. We will continue to update this report as the conditions change.
Fly Pattern Suggestions :Terranasty #4-6, Rogue Foam Stone #4, Golden Chernobly Ant #6, Norm Woods Special #6, Parachute Adams #14-16, Royal Wulff #12-16, Parachute PMD #14-16 Yellow Stimulator #8-12, Madam X #8-10, Elk Hair Caddis #12-14, Slick Water Caddis #12-14 Parachute Caddis #12-14, BH Mangy Caddis #14-16, Black Lite Brite Caddis #12-14, Hot wire Caddis #12-14, BH Prince #8-12