Madison River Outfitters Fishing Report 8.14.26

The summer heatwave broke, and the trout are finally breathing easy—even if they’ve stopped looking up. With rain in the forecast and water temps dropping, we’re swapping surface sips for sub-surface strips.

Here’s the latest fishing report from Madison River Outfitters’ Nina Lett:

Montana Flows/Temperatures  (as of August 13th; click the name for real-time numbers) Hebgen Outflow – 853 CFS Kirby – 976 CFS Kirby High/Low Temps – 62°/58° F Cameron – 1,090 CFS Cameron High/Low Temps – 61°/58° F Upper Madison The rain and cooler weather I’ve been anticipating arrived Wednesday afternoon, and as the water temperatures show, we’re in for a big change in how the Madison is fishing. As you could have guessed, the dry fly bite has slowed quite a bit since temps dropped, but you can still find fish looking up in between rain showers, mainly in the little slicks and flats. Sub-surface approaches are by far the most productive fishing right now, both with a nymph rig or streamer. Swinging a smaller leech or stripping a larger sparkly pattern through runs will be a great way to entice a fish as this cooler weather persists. Nymphing small, darker flies was quite productive for me before this rain rolled in, and that should continue as long as the water stays relatively clear and at a similar level.  Dry Flies – Chili Dog, Arricks Ant, Bogus Beetle, Royal Chubby Nymphs –  Red Neck, Olive Hot Spot, Full Metal Jacket, Two Bit Hooker Streamers – Crystal Bugger, Sparkle Minnow

Hebgen/Quake Lake Just like on the Madison, the dry fly fishing on the lakes should slow down with this rain, but the streamer fishing should be lights out, in my opinion. If you have the means to get out into some of the bays on Hebgen or the trees on Quake, hucking some streamers through the water should be a lot of fun.  Dry Flies – Hackle Stacker, Para Ant Nymphs – Turkey Callibaetis, Ice Cream Cone, Zebra Midge  Streamers – Simi Seal Leech, Hot Bead Leech, Crystal Bugger

Yellowstone National Park  The Hoot Owl closure for all rivers/streams in YNP has been lifted as of Wednesday, August 12th!Gallatin – In between showers, the dry fly bite should still be alright, but nymphing is definitely going to be the most productive as this cooler weather continues.  Try throwing around some terrestrials, and if that isn’t working out, I would try either a small streamer or nymphing something flashy. Madison, Firehole, Gibbon – The Madison, Firehole, and Gibbon (downstream of Norris Campground) have been placed on full closures. This means that all three are closed to fishing with no exceptions. The Madison and its tributaries outside the park before Hebgen Lake are under a Hoot Owl closure (2 pm-midnight) as well. We’ve been over this, guys, even before 2 pm; just fish the Upper Madison or Gallatin if you want better, less lethal fishing. Yellowstone River – Above the falls, fish are rising for chubbies pretty well, mainly in golden or natural colors. The river is quite busy, though, so once you find a riser, throw the rotation of different flies at it until it eats. Heavier droppers like a stonefly nymph are a good option as well if that’s your thing. Northeast Corner – Soda Butte, Lamar, and Slough were fishing really well before the rain, and still should be fishing well after. I would just warn you to check flows regularly to make sure the water will be relatively clear upon arrival. If I were to guess, the Lamar will blow at some point if they’re getting as much rain as we are in West.

See you on the river,  – Nina Lett

^{Feature image via Madison River Outfitters}