Category Archives: Madison River

May Fly Fishing: Montana's Mother's Day Caddis Hatch

The annual Mother’s Day Caddis hatch is one of the most anticipated events here in Southwest Montana. While it may not be quite as famous as the Salmon Fly hatch, the fishing can be every bit as good, if not even better. The sheer number of bugs that take to the air during the peak of the hatch is...Read more

A visual model of the impacts of Rest and Rotation and Boat Bans on the Upper Madison River

Rest and Rotation has been proposed in a petition to the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission as a solution for protecting the river from crowding. Rest and Rotation refers to restrictions on specific reaches of the river where guided anglers would be barred from access on Saturdays and Sundays...Read more

What is "Rest and Rotation" and Why Is It a Bad Idea for the Madison River

A Madison River Recreation Plan is currently in development. A high quality recreation plan is important for preserving the quality of experience that all users currently enjoy on the river. As the popularity of river based recreation increases nationally and as Montana’s population increases, so...Read more

The Negative Effects of Banning Boats for Public Fishing Access on the Madison River

Recent petitions have been filed to propose rules that would be part of a recreational plan for the Madison River. One of the petitions recommends banning boats for public fishing access on 18.6 miles of the Madison River . We support a recreation plan for the Madison River that includes setting...Read more

How You Can Help Maintain Access For All on the Madison River

The Madison River has long been an iconic fishery in the world of wild trout rivers. The fish counts, size of the fish, and spectacular scenery have attracted anglers from far and wide for many decades. The popularity of the sport of fly fishing as well as population growth in Western Montana has...Read more

Fishing The Salmonfly Hatch in Yellowstone Park

The Salmonfly hatch is one of the most anticipated events of the year

The Salmonfly Hatch is one of the most anticipated events each year here in the northern Rockies. Locals and visiting anglers alike eagerly await the chance to fish dry flies so large that they often draw laughs or skeptical looks from those who have never witnessed the hatch. Yellowstone Park is...Read more

Fishing Yellowstone Park in June

Fly fishing Yellowstone National Park in June

Although June is the height of run-off here in the Northern Rockies, fishing options in Yellowstone National Park abound. In fact, fishing the park during June is one of the premier ways to beat run-off. The fishing season in YNP opens Memorial Day weekend so the fish will not have faced much...Read more

4 Tips For Fishing The Madison River in August

August wade fishing on the Upper Madison

August is an extremely popular time to visit and flyfish the Madison River . The Madison can fish well during all 12 months of the year, and each month sees a different set of challenges for fishermen to solve. During August, those challenges can include warm, sunny weather, fishing pressure, and...Read more

4 Keys to Success When Fishing the Madison River in Early June

Montana is filled with a variety of different rivers, spring creeks and lakes. The diversity of fishing is staggering and the complexity and variety only increases as we consider different times of year as each fishery changes dramatically in how and where the fish are found over the course of the...Read more

Fall Run Browns On The Madison River

For myself and many other local anglers, Montana’s fall run of Brown Trout is the most anticipated event of the year. Large, lake dwelling trout begin moving into the river systems during late September and October and are accessible to fly anglers during this pre-spawn period. Productive fishing...Read more