We’ll be closing up shop for the season on November 1st. Thank you all for another fantastic summer of fish, laughs, and good times on the water! Stay warm this winter, and we’ll see you all when it starts to thaw out up here in the trout capital of the USA!
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:
#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: 842 CFS
Hebgen Lake Outflow: 617 CFS
Kirby Flows: 727 CFS
Cameron Flows: 960 CFS
Water Temp @ Kirby: High 48 F
Low 45 F
Flows as of 12PM October 20th 2025
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The long rod on a frosty morning
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Upper Madison:
The Upper is in great shape! With the cooler weather there’s been less traffic and less weary fish in the valley. 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 warm 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, #6 Olive Mini Dungeon, #4 Sparkle Yummy – Black, #6 Olive/White Barely Legal, #8 Hot Bead Leech – Olive, Black, Brown
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Theo with another hammer of a brown!!
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YNP
Madison, Firehole, Gibbon: With cooler weather inbound, time to break out the soft hackles, streamers, and long rods! Lake fish are present in good numbers throughout the whole system. 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. It’s pretty colored up below the Taylor Fork at the moment. 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. 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: 235 CFS
Gibbon: 95.8 CFS
Madison: 377 CFS
Yellowstone Outlet: 639 CFS
Gallatin: 325 CFS
Lamar: 314 CFS
Soda Butte: gage is gone!
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Get out there!
www.madisonriveroutfitters.com
Feature photo: MRO Guide Hugh Himan and Theo with a unit of a rainbow on the float section
