The following report is by Madison River Outfitters:
Montana
Hebgen & Quake Lakes: With the weather cooling down, the lakes are fishing great! Plenty of Browns should be sporting their fall colors and resulting bad attitudes. Stripping streamers is the ticket with these aggressive fish. Otherwise the bobber fishing is still solid with leeches, callibaetis nymphs, and chironomid imitations being the ticket under the waves.
Flies We’re Fishing:
#16 Found Link Callibaetis, #16 Spinner Long Tailed Callibaetis, #16 Peacock Chubby Chernobyl, #20 CW Trico Spinner, #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: 795 CFS
Hebgen Lake Outflow: 681 CFS
Kirby Flows: 788 CFS
Cameron Flows: CFS
Water Temp @ Kirby: High 53 F
Low 47 F
Flows as of 12PM October 13th 2025
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MRO Guide Jake Schilling and his Shadow, DV with a stud Lake Brown on a day off!
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Upper Madison:
The Upper is in great shape! The recent weather system we got has between the lakes a bit half and half in terms of water clarity, but that should shape up quickly. The wade and float sections have been nymphing well, and we’ve seen plenty of fall baetis in the mornings and evenings. Streamers are always a very solid option this time of year to search for that big boy on the bank. Get out there and bring a rain jacket!
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, #14 Foam Back Spruce Moth Tan, #14 Yellow Morrish Hopper, #6 Olive Mini Dungeon, #4 Sparkle Yummy – Black, #6 Olive/White Barely Legal, #8 Hot Bead Leech – Olive, Black, Brown
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Marcus showing off a beautiful Madison brown in Guide Hugh Himan’s net.
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YNP
Madison, Firehole, Gibbon: With cooler weather inbound, time to break out the soft hackles, streamers, and long rods! Stop in and talk to our friendly staff to get you set up for everyone’s favorite fall fishing. The fishing is just going to keep getting better as long as its getting wetter!
Gallatin: The Gallatin is fishing pretty well throughout the whole river. We aren’t seeing quite the volume of bugs as we have earlier in the season, but there should still be occasional tiny baetis and BWO hatches. terrestrial season is on its way out, but some fish may still rise to attractors. With it being one of the coldest rivers around throughout the year, don’t feel too pressured to get an early start out there.
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 BWO’s and smaller baetis. Swinging soft hackles and leeches is always a fun way to fish the stone 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: 219 CFS & High of 57 F
Gibbon: 90 CFS
Madison: 335 CFS
Yellowstone Outlet: 634 CFS
Gallatin: 330 CFS
Lamar: 325 CFS
Soda Butte: gage is gone!
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Get out there!
