Fishing on the Lower Madison right now is all about the wind....or hiking up into Beartrap Canyon to get out of the wind! Even with the wind of the past few days and the prospect for more wind in the coming days, the Lower Madison has been fishing well for wading and floating anglers. Flows are right about average and water temps are hovering in the 40 degrees F range--some days a little warmer and some days a little cooler.
The flows are good for walking and wading and covering a good bit of water. Look for the buckets and deeper runs, despite the sporadic midge hatch or sparkling of Blue Winged-Olives in specific areas. Crayfish, sculpins, worms, and rubberlegs are the norm, with baetis and midges trailing behind them. Prospecting with dry flies is not producing much, but in the late afternoon you can find a few trout rising to midges or Blue Winged Olives. Streamer/swing fishing can be quite productive as well. A few larger fish are being caught on very slowly stripped or dragged streamers. White and olive have been the best colors, especially on these bright sunny days. If you are headed into Beartrap Canyon, be sure to read our blog on Fishing Big Canyon Waters.
Consistent flows and the onset of some spring hatches are the latest from the Lower Madison River near Bozeman and Ennis. Trout in the Lower Madison will be found in their usual lies--along bankside structure, in mid-river buckets, drop-offs, and shelfs. Hatches of midges are a daily occurrence, but fish most likely won't key on dry flies on the Lower Madison until Blue Winged Olive mayflies hatch on a regular basis...which occurs some days and not on others. To find fish feeding on the surface on hatching midges or BWOs, target slower areas where mats of adult midges have accumulated. Blue Winged Olive mayfly hatches should increase in the coming weeks as well. Tandem subsurface rigs with crayfish, leeches, and worms paired with a smaller beadhead nymph or scud-type pattern are often the most successful. For swinging or streamer action, consider other baitfish patterns or articulated streamers through deeper buckets and holes.
If fish are feeding on midges a size 18 or 20 Buzzball or Griffiths Gnat are go to favorites of local anglers.
Flies for the Lower Madison River Right Now:
Lightning Bugs in sizes 16-18
Firebead and hot bead SJ wormies in sizes 10-14
Zebra Midges in red or black in sizes 18-22
Sawyer PTs in sizes 18-22
Clouser crayfish in size 8-12
Pheasant Tails in sizes 16-20
Little Spankers in sizes 18-20
Pat's Rubberlegs in sizes 12-14
Sparkle Minnows in bright colors in sizes 2-6
Home Invaders in purple or olive in sizes 2-6
The Month Ahead:
The fishing on the Lower Madison will continue to improve in the coming months as temperatures rise. Midges can bring some smaller fish to the surface and Blue Winged Olives and March Browns will as well. The possibility of caddis can occur as we get deeper into April, but for the next few weeks BWOs and midges are the primary hatches. The bigger trout tend to feed subsurface on the Lower Madison so the standard fair of worms, crayfish, Zonkers, eggs, baetis, etc will be standard producers.
Long Term Fishing Forecast:
The Lower Madison can fish great up into the early summer when the temperatures finally shut things down in late June or early July. As we move into the early summer, expect consistent hatches of PMD’s, yellow sallies, caddis, golden stones and a few salmon flies.