In the Midst of 2019 Runoff
June 11th, 2019 -
Green means go! With the cooler temperatures this past weekend, the flows have continued to drop and the Madison has come back into shape. Flows have dropped over 2000CFS and the river by town has switched from muddy to green.
Nymphing is still the best option for numbers. With the dropping flows the slower, deeper green buckets are now becoming more noticeable and easier to target. My go to rig right now is: #4 black girdle bug, #6 tungsten girdle bug, or #6 mega prince followed by another #6 black girdle bug, #12 lightning bug, or tungsten hare’s ear. I have been running my set up a little shorter but heavier. Roughly 3 ½-4ft from the bobber with at least one BB split shot to go along with the tungsten bead heads.
This is one of my favorite times of year to throw streamers. Dead drifting the streamers is key. Small twitches and strips are good too, but long fast strips are not producing eats. Tight-lining a #4-6 black buggers followed by a #12 silver lightning bug or a smaller #10 black bugger. You can put this rig under a bobber too. I personally like to use Rio Versi Leader in the 7ft sink 5 model. These come with loop-to-loop connections making it easy to connect to your fly line and switch to sinking line on the go,
The Madison below the Ruby Creek access should stay in good shape for the next few days until Indian Creek and the West Fork blow out again. The section between Lyons and Ruby Creek will remain fishable, even after the West Fork pumps mud in. The river will be split down the middle. West side muddy and east side green. As the runoff comes into full swing in the next few weeks, look to fish the upper river above the West Fork Bridge. Even during peak flows, this section will remain fishable.
Please note that with the river above 2400 CFS you should not launch a boat at Lyon's Bridge or Windy because of the low clearance at the Wolf Creek Bridge and Sun West Bridge. Look for changing conditions over the next week and call us for updated reports on the bridge conditions.
Streamers:
Mini Loop Sculpin
Robber Sculpin
Galloup's Boogieman
Galloup's Peanut Envy
Craven's Gonga
Jake's CDC Squirrel Leech
Nymphs:
Rubber Legs - Black and Black/Brown #4-6
Brillion's Lucent Prince Jig - #16
Jighead Prince - #14-16
Chenille Worm - Pink
Strolls' Quill Bodied Jig - #16
Serendipity - Olive #16
Psycho Prince - #16-18
Dries:
Front Loader Caddis - #16-18
Peacock Caddis - #16-18
Goddard Caddis - #16-18
Blooms Caddis - #16-18
Purple Haze - #16
Check out the latest Madison River Fishing Report here.
