THE HEAT IS ON

September 2022 
UPDATED 9/02/2022 

Montana FWP will be conducting their Fall shocking of the Upper Madison on the following dates:

Pine Butte: September 8th, 9th, 12th and Septemper 19th - 21st.

Varney: September 14th - 16th and September 22nd, 23rd and 26th.

We’ve made it through another August! With the current state of fishing it’s important to celebrate the small victories. August brought on a wave of heat with 16 days over 90°, 10 days over the 20 year average according to Tom DiMeola. Fishing has been inconsistent at best during the heat of the day. Most of our success has come early in the morning and then later at night.. A big thank you is in order for all of you who made it out to the Ennis Fly Fishing Festival. I can only extend my condolences to those who missed out on hearing Dead Sky - It was epic. 

Flows at Cameron have been bumped up to 1300 CFS over the last three days. Water temperatures have been fluctuating between 57° at night and 67° during the day. The increase in flows should help with oxygenation in the river while also maintaining cooler water temperatures. No section of the Upper Madison is currently on Hoot Owl. It should be noted that the Beaverhead is fully shut down to all fishing as of September 1st, due to extreme drought conditions. Expect a slight bump in river traffic this week.

Terrestrials continue to be the main source of nourishment for our Madison River trout. Be on the lookout for flying ants which could arrive any day now. One great stormy afternoon could open up a world of opportunity. Fall baetis aren’t too far out at this point either. Expect to see those in the next 3-4 weeks. Aquatic insect life continues to be minimal as is typical for the end of August/early September. This week is looking even hotter than the last, put on some sunscreen!

Hot Flies

Dry Flies: Anty Raid Glass Blk/Red #16, Cinnamon Fly Ant #14, Fat Angie Craven Cinnamon #16, Hopper Skippy Flesh #10, Mini Chubby Royal #14, Sweetgrass Hopper Tan #10, Juicy Hopper Gold #8.

Nymphs: Pat’s Rubber Legs Black #6-#10, Improved Wire Worm Red #10, Tungsten Jig SF-Olive #16, Hustler CDC Dark #16, BH Prince #16, TBH Jiggy Duracell Brown #14, Pearl Perdigon #16.

Streamers: Olive Silk Kitty, Cousin It Sculpin Jig #6, Delektable Single Screamer Black #6, Delektable Screamer White #6, Coffey’s CH Sparkle Minnow Smoke #4, Sparring Partner White Gold #4, Wooly Bugger Black #8. Zonker Copper #8.

Looking for some fly tying material to create these patterns? Check out our fly tying collection online or stop by the shop! As temperatures warm up, continue to practice your best fish handling techniques. Avoid fish pictures for the gram whenever possible so that we can continue to have healthy fish populations for years to come.

- MRFC Guide Danny Eiden