The following is from Madison River Outfitters:
Montana
Hebgen & Quake Lakes: The lakes are fishing very well right now. We’re seeing plenty of gulpers on calm days and Callibaetis are hatching sufficiently enough to fish them on the said calm mornings, but if there’s any chop, switch to subsurface techniques. Most of the fish are going to be relatively shallow, anywhere from 5-10′ deep. Leeches and chironomid imitations have been the ticket under the waves.
Flies We’re Fishing:
#16 Found Link Callibaetis, #16 Spinner Long Tailed Callibaetis, #16 Peacock Chubby Chernobyl, #18 Bucky’s Midge Cluster, #18 Black, Olive, OR Red Zebra Midge, #14 O/S Opal Buzzer, #14 Olive Nugget, #14 Turkey Callibaetis, #16 Brush Hog, #14 Black/Red Ice Cream Cone, #8 Black Vegas Booby Leech, #8 Black OR Olive Simi-Seal Leech, #8 Hot Bead Thin Mint
Madison Flows:
Hebgen Lake Inflow: 557 CFS
Hebgen Lake Outflow: 923 CFS
Kirby Flows: 976 CFS
Cameron Flows: 1100 CFS
Water Temp @ Kirby: High 66 F
Low 55 F
Flows as of 7am August 6th 2025
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MRO Guide BJ Stone with a great day off Rainbow
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Upper Madison:
The Upper has been fishing well, the mid-day lull is ever apparent however. Hoppers, Beetles, Ants, Spruce Moths will all draw some strikes, especially on the windy days. We’ve seen good PMD hatches in the wade section in the last couple hours of daylight as well. Nymphing has been the most productive but the fish are pretty dialed in on smaller natural patterns (18’s and smaller). Streamers can still move fish, particularly on the stormy and overcast days.
Flies We’re Fishing:
#18 Olive Hot Spot Perdigon, #16 Sunburst Perdigon, #18 S&M Dark Baetis, #18 Purple JJ Baetis, #16/#18 Black OR Red Krystal Dip, #16 Pilva’s Perdigon – Olive, #16 Purple Parachute, #16 Nyman’s Flying Ant, #14 Black Bionic Ant, #16 OR #14 Royal Chubby Chernobyl, #16 Peacock Chubby Chernobyl, #4 Olive Supernatural Peanut, #6 Olive MT Mouthwash, #6 Olive/White Barely Legal, #8 Hot Bead Leech – Olive, Black, Brown
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MRO Guide BJ Stone rounding out the day with a hat trick
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YNP
Firehole: The Firehole, Madison, and Gibbon – (below Norris Campground) have all been indefinitely closed to all fishing.
Gallatin: The Gallatin is fishing pretty well throughout the whole river. We aren’t seeing quite the volume of bugs that we have the past few weeks, so its time to start transitioning to the terrestrial side of things. Beetles, ants, hoppers, spruce moths, etc. should all play on the Gallatin. Hopper dropper rigs are a great way to search the deeper runs and pools upstream of Big Sky.
NE Corner: The Yellowstone River is beginning to slow down a bit. There are still fish to be had but they require you to put in the miles to find them. There should still be some decent fish looking up on PMD’s and Sallies, but hoppers and beetles are a great choice as well. It’s tributaries; (Lamar, Slough, Soda Butte) should all be fishing a bit better, due to higher fish counts and easier wading/access.
YNP Flows
Firehole: too hot
Gibbon: too hot
Madison: too hot
Yellowstone Outlet: 1480 CFS
Gallatin: 314 CFS
Lamar: 199 CFS
Soda Butte: gage is gone!
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Get out there!
