Lower Madison Fishing Report
Current Conditions:
The temps on the Lower Madison are starting to drop and fishing has begun to pick up. Keep and eye on water temps as they can still spike in the afternoon on hot days. Hopper fishing is an option although it is rarely red hot on the surface. The fish are definitely looking for big pieces of meat including crayfish and baitfish. Stripping streamers is productive with cloud cover and nymphing something big like a zonker or crayfish trailed by a small attractor nymph or baetis nymph can be deadly. Pay attention to the water where you are pulling fish out of and then search for similar water to establish a pattern. Trout are on the move this time of year so the water you found them in yesterday may not be where they are a few days later as temps continue to drop. The fish haven’t seen a lot of flies all summer so heavier tippet is fine such as 3x to the top fly and 4x to the bottom.
The Month Ahead:
The Lower should continue to fish well and get better as water temps continue to drop through September.
Long Term Fishing Forecast:
As we move into late October and November egg patterns should be considered as an option behind a streamer or crayfish pattern. The Lower is a decent winter fishery. Trout will slide into the deeper slower runs as water temps drop off.
