Title
Date
 - 
Water Clarity
Angler Traffic
Fish Caught
Fishing Water Report
Reporting Outfitter
Reported Trip
Start Access Site
End Access Site
Filter
Showing 1 - 20
 
out of 28
On the left map, we grouped Guide Fishing Reports that are located close to each other into small circles. Now, you can locate all Guide Fishing Reports on the map at the same time. You can also drag & zoom the map.

Circle numbers - Count of Guide Fishing Reports that are located in and around that circle.

Colored circles - Guide Fishing Reports that are displayed in the list below.

Grey circles - Guide Fishing Reports that are displayed on next page(s).

Half colored circles - Some Guide Fishing Reports in that circle appear in the list below and some on next page(s).

Click on circles to zoom in or highlight Guide Fishing Reports .
page 1 out of 2
Date:
Tue, 5 Sep, 2017
Fishing is starting to shift gears on the Madison. Dry fly fishing is starting to slow down and the streamer fishing is getting better every day. Hoppers and ants are still playing ... morepretty well in the late afternoon, but they seem to be getting wise to the combo. Lots of false strikes. Yesterday I fed 3 live hoppers to a fat 16 inch brown. Once I put the fake over him. He came up slashes at it twice, never ate it, then went home.

Fish streamers all day, catch a few giants. Or go to dries in the afternoon for action.

PS. The smoke sux
Date:
Mon, 24 Jul, 2017
Southwest Montana is experiencing some hot weather right now, which means the fishing on the Madison River is great in the morning and fades toward the afternoon. Most of the bites ... morecome between dawn and noon with a drop off around 3pm. Most sections of the Madison still have PMD’s, Nocturnal Stoneflies, Caddis, and Yellow Sallies. Don’t expect much from dry flies unless you’re willing to get out really early. With the higher water temperatures in the afternoons you should always try to get the fish back in the water as quickly as possible. There’s a lot less fishing pressure on the Madison now that the Yellowstone has opened up, and the fish have taken well to this.
Date:
Fri, 12 May, 2017
Fishing Water Report:
Water levels have somewhat leveled off the Madison at the Kirby ranch ended up at about 2500 and up coming cool weather ought to send it back down toward normal. About 1150 cfs. I ... moredon't think it will get all the way back to normal, it is going to stay high. But it fall with next week's cold weather. This should offer up some excellent fishing operating ties. Although high, the water is already starting to clear up. We only need about a foot of visibility coupled with falling flows and it should be show time.

This last spike in flow was not it for runoff. There is still lots of snow. There is going to be another spike. It's just a matter of when and how big. If this combination of hot then cool weather continues, it could be a be a very civil runoff. Might even be able to fish right through it. Time will tell. Tight lines
Date:
Fri, 5 May, 2017
Fishing Water Report:
End Access Site:
The float section of the Madison starts at Lyons bridge and ends at the Ennis bridge. Fishing has been up and down all spring depending mostly on the weather. Get an overcast calm ... moreday with temps at least into the high 40s fishing seems to pretty good. Clear cold and windy, stay home and tie flies. The main show in the float section is still streamers stripped hard off the bank. Black seems to be the most productive for me. Fishing seems to start around noon peaking about 2:00 then dying of around 4:00 or 5:00. Warmest part of the day. Crowds aren't here yet it's nice and lonely out there
Date:
Thu, 4 May, 2017
The spawning rainbow thing is going off between quake and hebgan. The rainbows are moving up out of quake lake and stacking up below hebgan dam, but it's no big secret. You will have ... morecompany. It seems to be a race to the first soft water below hebgan. It's a great hole full of fish but angler density is a little to high for me. Down closer to quake lake there are a couple of small channels on the other side of the river that are chalk full of rainbows, if your a strong enough wader to cross the main river. Due to high snow pack they have already started raising flows. As of yesterday it was up to 1400. Which is high for this time of year. Wading caution is called for.

As far as flies. Spaghetti and meat balls "San Juan worm and an egg ball". Have been the best. Although you can still find the bigger fish on a black biggest. Over all fishin is good just expect company.
Date:
Fri, 5 May, 2017
Here comes fishin season. The Mother's Day cadis hatch has popped on the lower Madison. More and more bugs every day. Fishing is best when the sun is off the water. Yesterday we fished ... morelate and that seemed to do the trick. We put on at warm springs about 4:00 in the afternoon. Hardly any bug activity until almost 6:30, but they finally did show up and the fish were looking up. We ended up with about a dozen fish by the time we got to the damsel fly takeout. We got out about 8:00 and it was still going off and there was still plenty of light. I wished we would have moved a little slower. As far as mid day is concerned the usual nymph streamer combinations. Seem to be the ticket. Bunny fur or rubber with a size 16 prince has been the best for me. Fishing during the day has been ok but the real show seems to be in the evening all the way to dark
Date:
Mon, 17 Apr, 2017
Spring fly fishing season on the Madison has officially arrived. We have already started leading some guided fishing trips and the ice pack is long gone. The weather is warming up ... morea bit, and overall is nice. Currently, slow nymphing and streamer fishing are getting good activity. Blue Winged Olives should also get some action later in the day. The Madison is living up to its spring potential. It’s also really nice having the entire stretch from Reynolds Pass to Ennis lake open right now—anglers are finding more room to spread out along the river. 

Looking forward to the summer, we should see great water conditions on all our rivers, fewer closures, and less crowding on the Madison due to the great snowpack. All of the major drainages in the area are at or above average snowpack levels. This is good news for surrounding streams, where anglers will be able to find their own space instead of clogging up the Madison. On some years with low water (i.e. the last several years), the Madison becomes the only spot with really good fishing in Southwest Montana. That’s because of the cool water coming from Hebgen dam and the fast-moving oxygenated water of the Madison. This should turn out to be a great year with plenty of options for fly anglers to choose from!

We’ll have to wait and see how bad the runoff is this year, and that will all depend on the weather. With temperatures in the 80s for extended periods of time (around late May or early June), the river will become jammed with dirt and the runoff will be extreme, but short. On the other hand, if things start slow with a mix of warm and cool days, it could mean mildly clear water and fishable conditions all through the runoff. No matter what, we can always find a great place to fish, it might just mean we have to spend more time in the car!
Date:
Wed, 31 Aug, 2016
Upper Madison isn't sure whether it is still summer or fall. Everything semis to be working Kind of. Nothing is really killing them. Still if your willing to stay with a streamer. ... moreYou'll end up with a few shots at good fish. Hoppers and ants after it warms up in the afternoon are still getting good action. But not seeing much in the size department.
Date:
Tue, 16 Aug, 2016
Fishing turned out to be super fun with my friend Julia. We did Palisades to McAtee bridge to stay in front of the windy point traffic and behind the Ruby Creek crowd. I had her start ... morewith a half downed hopper and a flying ant. We never took 'em off. Whether they were eating the half downed for a moth or a hopper, I don't know. Since there weren't too many pine tree's around and they started eating it more regularly in the afternoon, it makes me think that they were eating the half downed hopper as a moth in the morning and a hopper in the afternoon. Red flying ant caught fish all day. Saw smaller black naturals but felt no need to switch. Fished dries, stayed out of the crowds, beautiful day--wonderful float. Thanks Julia
Date:
Sat, 6 Aug, 2016
Upper Madison is holding up great this year. The bad news for the pine trees is that it is a big year for the spruce moth. Good news for anglers and fish is hat it is a good year for ... morethe spruce moths. Hot weather has the powers that be flush flowing the beartrraps to keep water temps down that takes a lot of water so they have raised the upper. Higher water seems to cooled off the dry fly fishing a bit the big daddy's are starting to hunt sculpins. So streamer season is beginning. Tight lines everyone E
Date:
Wed, 13 Jul, 2016
Fishing Water Report:
Madison is holding up well. Streamers dries , and nymphs are all still working. Streamers in the morning close to the bank. 6in is not close enough. Dries start up later when the bug ... morelife wakes up. We've had good caddis mixed in with some PMDs. Caddis fishing has been good in the evening. Chasing bobbers down middle is still going on with lots of big whitefish, always good for getting a few rods bent
Date:
Mon, 4 Jul, 2016
Water is warming up but fishing is staying on track Eder still seeing good hatches all the way down from quake lake fishing is spotty 5 fish up on one bank then nothing for an hour. ... moreSalmonflies are all the way up near quake And have taken the crowds with them. Small dries in the morning have been producing some good fish and a lot of twinks. Small nymphs the same in the afternoon but with more whites. Seems like a good white population this year. Not much on the streamers yet Fish are still looking for bugs. Hoot owl restrictions in place on lower rivers. Fish on.
Date:
Thu, 16 Jun, 2016
Run off is over. It’s game on for the Upper Madison. Recent rains created a slight bump in water levels but they are on their way down again. We fished mostly streamers with a little ... moregreen bead on the end. Most of the action was on the big streamer. We didn't catch high numbers but quality was way up there. A 20-inch brown and a handful of rainbows around 18”. Some caddis showed up later in the day but I think we were gone before the dry show started. Had some friends out last night said they had pretty good caddis fishing fight before dark. Waiting patiently for Salmon flies. Its our turn next. It’s about over on the Big Hole which means were close here. Tight lines. Eric Shores
Date:
Tue, 7 Jun, 2016
Fishing on the Madison River picked up last week as the water levels continued to fall. Water clarity has been good. The water coming out of Quake lake is a nice steelhead green. We ... morehave been seeing some big chocolate caddis, but not a whole lot has been happening on the surface. Two days ago we fished Ruby to Varney. Fishing was spotty but the fish quality was way up there. We got a 23” rainbow, four browns 18" to 20", and a smattering of 12" to 14". Admittedly we did go almost 3 hours without a strike.

That was a little hard to take, but when they finally started we had a really good two hours. Recent wave of hot weather has the immediate future in question. As a group we are undecided whether this 80-degree weather is going to blow the whole system out again? As of now water levels are starting to creep up again. Fished yesterday from Lyons bridge to Ruby Creek. The west fork has started showing color again so half the river was green half was greenish brown. Actually caught more fish in the dark side than the clear side, but in general fishing was not great. Good size but low numbers. We only got seven fish for a 9-mile float, one really nice 20 inch Brown and we went through every fly in the book. Madison river fish don't like rising water levels. I think we have one more bump which should last about a week then we should be in for a steady decline and some really good fishing Tight lines e
Date:
Sun, 22 May, 2016
Fishing Water Report:
Lots and lots of rain the last week and already saturated ground means lots of water in our rivers. Fished yesterday from Lyons bridge to windy point. Short float but fishing wasn't ... morebad. Fished about three hours.with novice anglers put 6 fish in the boat had a few others on. West fork is pumping mud so that gave us a clear half (green) most of the way to windy point. Name of the game was as usuall big and black right on the bank. Helps to get out of the boat and pound. Rain is done for now rivers seem to be headed back down Could get good but this off color water is here to stay for a while. Tight lines. Eric
Date:
Mon, 16 May, 2016
Fished yesterday from pallasades to Macatee Bridge water clarity about 12 to 18 inches. Hooked fifteen fish landed 10. Not exactly a dry fly day. Water bumped up about 200 while we ... morewere on it but fish didn’t seem to mind. The MVPs were big and black right on the bank fished both big black salmonfly nymphs and some large black wooly buggers. Had a red worm as a trailer and in both cases the fish wanted the big meat. Saw a couple of fish on the worm but most of the action was on big and black. The color is coming mostly from the west fork of the madison , but we drove up above quake lake and both beaver creek and Cabin creek are running color but it is about the same color as the Madison so things should stay stable for the foreseeable future. The water color is off (more green than brown)but it is definitely fishable if you're brave enough to face the spring weather.
Date:
Mon, 16 May, 2016
Like Everything else in the area, good snow pack and good spring rains have waters on the rise, but water clarity is still good enough to fish dries. We have been fishing crawdad patterns ... morewith a small pink scud or a worm on behind it. Fish seem more interested in the small stuff. It has been a little on the cold side but here are still a few caddis coming out in the evening, but are hard to fish blind, need to find rising fish, which can be done look for the dead water next to the bank and check out any foam homes you can find. There are not a lot of salmon flies on the lower but there are some and they are starting to get active big, heavy and black should start working down there soon. The was a lot of angler traffic last week but recent cold rainy weather has pretty much sent most people home. Fishing gets solid B, B+ if you figure in the low angling pressure. The lower madison is dam controlled so water levels do not change as radically as on other rivers. This makes it a more predictable option in these times of spiking and receding water levels. If you want to catch a fish on a dry this is still probably the place to do it.
Date:
Fri, 8 Apr, 2016
 (1)
Fishing was good!! We put in at Lyons (only car there!) about 9:30 and floated to the Ruby Creek boat ramp (appr. 12 miles). I whacked a few with a girdle bug and prince under the ... morebobber so I ensured I didn't go scoreless then took the sticks and let Art chuck his 6 inch monster streamers. We saw a little movement here and there on the streamer but not many actual "eats." Then, it warmed up that 1 extra degree that made them put there mouth on it. We moved fish consistently all day after the first hour. Arts best streamer was a lighter green, white flash, heavy headed streamer fished on an ARC medium sink tip line, WITH 6.5 ft. of 1x to his fly. I fished a gold, crystal flash, cone head, bugger/streamer concoction of Arts and never took it off. Since it was a single hook streamer I did trail a bead head 16-18 inches behind the streamer and caught fish on that, also. I never changed the bugger but I did change the bead below a few times. Good 'ol sz.16, bead headed Pheasant tail was my best trailer nymph. I fished a 7 ft leader to 2x with two bb split shot (I should have just used a 3/0). Even though we had much different setups we caught fish in the same places with the same techniques. We would give it an initial mend to sink it, bring the line tight, then short strips/tip twitches. They didn't seem to want to chase too far or too fast. A good portion of our fish were caught in the slow to medium slow back eddy/slicks along the bank. We did move quite a few fish in the "pillow", just upstream of a rock and a few twitching streamers next to the rock. Some chases and short bites in the slicks below the rocks but no real consistent action there. I know that nymphing has been good in the middle but they had no love for the streamer out there.

Tight lines,

Charles P.
Date:
Tue, 5 Apr, 2016
Decent success on a black rubber legs in size 6 with either pink San Juan worm or black zebra midge under a bobber. Finding most fish in deeper slower buckets and runs. Putting enough ... moreweight on to "check in" with the bottom occasionally.

The streamer fishing has really started to shine in the afternoon. Starting to see some fish chase pretty well. Not super hot streamer fishing but good enough to keep fisherman engaged. I've been a fan of olive sparkle minnow size 6 and sex dungeons. Fishing them slower earlier in the day and faster as the water warms up.

Saw a few fish rising to midges through the afternoon. Fishing Griffith Gnats and size 18 parachute Adams. They don't seem to be super selective if you can find some actively rising.

It's pretty good out there definitely worth going so bring some warm clothes and go for it.

Tight lines!
Dirty Mike
Date:
Fri, 1 Apr, 2016
Cold start, were in the water by 9:30 should probably have been 11:00 Fishing definitly picked up in the afternoon black buggar was MVP for sure. Fish are lazy. Found them in the soft ... morewater on the banks and behind the deep boulders. Took along float covered a lot of water. Ended up with about fifteen fish, one beautiful hook jawed Brown trout that measured out at 19 in.

Tight lines!