Madison River
Hebgen Lake-Quake Lake: 9/1/2010
We are still finding trout between the lakes that are willing to rise to attractor style dries, especially when the weather is stable. Nymphing however, has been much more consistent. Flows are down below 900 CFS which makes it a little easier to get around. This is very noticeable when high stick nymphing as it makes covering the water effectively a lot easier. If you are catching a lot of whitefish on nymphs, it is probably a good idea to keep moving. Catching a trout in a spot that has a big school of whitefish is pretty tough.
Quake Lake-Lyon Bridge: 9/1/2010
Fall Baetis fishing on the Madison makes for some of the most enjoyable and challenging fishing one will encounter throughout the year. While some of these #22 mayflies can be found almost every afternoon, the cloudy days offer the biggest hatches and certainly the most rising fish. Perfect drifts are a must so it is often necessary to sneak close to risers to make short accurate casts. When the fish aren’t into the Baetis, terrestrial fishing has still been pretty good and the nymph fishing in the morning isn’t too shabby as well.
Lyon Bridge to Ennis: 9/1/2010
In the “float section” of the Madison, we have enjoyed some good Baetis fishing. These small mayflies are tough to fish imitations of our of the boat, but the fish can often be conned into eating something a little larger than the #20-22 naturals. Sunny days have seen pretty good hopper/ant fishing. Small Baetis nymphs are the most productive subsurface patterns, though streamers can be pretty effective in the morning hours.
Gallatin River: 9/1/2010
The Gallatin is seeing pretty good Baetis when the weather is cloudy. Unfortunately, the river below the Taylor’s Fork has been dirty more often than not lately. When clear the fishing has been very good. Sunny days see plenty of terrestrial fishing and the nymphing remains very solid. While the river won’t see fishing as it did during the peak of Spruce Moths again, it will fish very well throughout the fall.
Hebgen Lake: 9/1/2010
Due to our chilly weather, the Gulper fishing on Hebgen has slowed down a bit. It should pick back up for the first half of September once it warms up so don’t pack away the Callibaetis box quite yet. Dries with nymph droppers are the most effective way to fish, but straight dry fly rigs can fool plenty of trout if properly presented.