Fly Fishing the Upper Madison River | Middle Stretches

Posted by:

Date: 09/11/2023

The middle reaches of the upper Madison River include some of the most productive drift-boat waters on the river. Montana fly fishing generally defines this piece of river as beginning at Palisades and extending north to Varney fishing access sites. A long, seemingly endless stretch of riffle after riffle best characterizes the river’s character here. Shallow and fast, wading here is challenging for even the most fit of anglers, making it ideal for fishing from a boat or raft. When it comes to mid-summer rivers of choice, these stretches of the upper Madison rank at the top of the list for many anglers around the world and our Bozeman fly fishing guides as well.

Palisades fishing access site sits below a dramatic cliff on the west side of the Madison River. Located about 10 miles below the “wade-section” of the upper river, Palisades is commonly used as a takeout for anglers that launch at Lyon’s Bridge. There is a large parking lot and a BLM campground located at the fishing access site as well. The river here is shallow, relatively wide, and accessible on the east side for a mile or so on BLM lands.

The river then makes a series of long, gradual bends, interspersed with mid-river boulders, subtle drop-offs, and skinny riffles as it heads north towards the town of Ennis, Montana. Successful anglers focus their efforts around obvious structure, but often find fish in seemingly “random water” too. Wild trout can be found in this stretch of river behind every boulder and in all of the seams across the river somedays while other days it seems like the fish haven’t quite figured out that this is where they should be!

The Madison River Valley is a Geologists playground with larger-than-life examples demonstrating the effects of melting glaciers from eons ago. Alluvial fans pour from the Madison Range on the eastside of the valley while glacial moraines line the length of this middle portion of the upper Madison River. The fields and river are lined with boulders and rocks worn smooth and rounded from the power of melting and raging water.

This is one of the most dramatic and beautiful valleys that a trout fisherman will ever find, anywhere in the world. The Gravelly Range of mountains are to the west, giving way to the Tobacco Roots just north of Ennis. There are few places more spectacular in the trout fishing world than here on a mid-summer day.

Dry fly fishing with myriad attractors, terrestrials, Stonefly, Mayfly and Caddis patterns is the lure of the mid-summer fishing in this stretch of the river. The dry fly season kicks off in mid-late June with the arrival of Salmonflies, giant Golden Stones, and Yellow Sallies. There are Caddis and small Mayfly around before, but the river flows are typically high and between mid-May and early June, making fishing with small dries less effective. Fish are frequently found tight to structure near the banks this time of year, slowly dispersing to the middle of the river as the stonefly hatches diminish and flows decrease.

As the flows on the upper Madison River begin to stabilize, typically in early July, the hatches turn more towards Pale Morning Dun Mayflies with a smattering of Flavs and even Green Drakes showing up for brief periods of the day. Madison River fly fishing guides will often fish two small dries this time of year, working the subtle river trough edges and mid-river boulder seams. A reliable combination this time of year is a Tan Elk Hair Caddis in a size 14 followed by a small rusty spinner variation fished wet about 2 feet behind the lead dry. Small stimulators, caddis-dry variations, and parachute patterns can all work well this time of year, so be prepared with lots of fly choices in the size 14-18 range.

Morning hours can find some of the larger fish - Brown Trout over 24”- feeding away from structure in the shallows and off the boulders. The experienced angler often focuses their efforts on streamer or dead-drifting sculpin patterns in those hours before the sun crests the Madson Range to the east. Floating lines with weighted streamers or sinking lines with big, deer-hair patterns can be fished around structure, near the banks, and even just across the river with great success at times both early and late in the day. Some of our Bozeman fly shop best streamer picks for summer fishing on the upper Madison Rivers include the McCone’s Sculpin (Tan 6), Barely Legal (Olive and White 4), and Double Gonga (Tan and Yellow 4).

As the morning air warms up, the hatches typically slow by late morning and nymph-fishing is often the most productive style of fishing for the mid-day sessions. Heavily weighted, small flies fished right under the boulder swells is an effective way to find fish in this stretch of the river when the bite tends to slow. Patterns that accurately represent the most active aquatic insects at this time of year are required along with finer tippets in the 5X and even 6X ranges. An experienced Madison River fly fishing guide will usually anchor or hold the boat next to mid-river structure, allowing the angler to effectively target very specific holding water.

Drift boat nymphing is almost always productive when conditions are good throughout the year on the upper Madison as well. This is the more typical, standard style of nymph fishing where the angler fishes off the side of the boat, managing their drift around structure and current seams. As the river moves quickly, the trick is always to keep your flies near the bottom while not hanging up on the rocks and boulders. Various stonefly nymphs work very well in this type of fishing in that they allow the rig to “roll” on the bottom rather than sinking and sticking to the bottom. A likely rig for nymphing from the boat in this stretch of the Madison River is a Pat’s Rubberleg (Tan & Brown, Black, Coffee & Black) in a size 8-10 followed by a small nymph that is representative of the smaller hatching insects such as Caddis and Mayflies. Some of our Bozeman fly fishing guides go-to small nymphs for fishing the upper Madison include a Little Green Machine (Pheasant Tail) in size 18, Three Dollar Dip size 18, and Soft Hackle Pheasant Tail in size 18 among many other.

The wade-angler can often find areas to get away from the crowds further south around Lyon’s Bridge by focusing their efforts around fishing access sites and public land. Fishing upstream of popular boat ramps early in the day often provide several hours of solitude, likewise for downstream of takeouts later in the day. BLM land skirts both sides of the river for many miles throughout this stretch so having a good map helps to identify some of these areas as well. Focusing efforts here around the Story Ditch, Ruby Creek, and MacAtee Bridge areas are good places for the wade angler to start their efforts.

The average size and numbers of fish in the Madison have been steadily improving the last few years, and cold water in the summer months will only help this river return to her glory days. The Madison River is as unique a river and wild trout fishery that I have ever encountered in all of my travels around the world. The scenery and character of the water is simply unlike everything else. Incredible hatches of aquatic insects keep fish feeding throughout most days and the terrestrial dry fly fishing here can be second to none as well.

Hopper fishing gets going sometime in late July as the hatches slow down with warming weather. One can watch the grass edges along the river turn from green to brown almost overnight as the hot, dry summer days become the norm. Grasshoppers pile into the remaining fresh growth of grass along the riverbanks and the trout quickly start to look for them on windy afternoons. Ant and beetles are important here too, especially on picky fish once we get into mid-August. Long, mid-river drifts with a hopper and ant rig can bring some seriously huge fish to the surface just about any summer day.

Easily one of our favorite Bozeman fly fishing destinations, the middle reaches of the upper Madison needs to be on everyone’s list of places to fly fish from a drift-boat. Easy access and holding water behind every rock in the river presents endless opportunities. Guided fly fishing on the Madison River is one of our Bozeman fly fishing guide service’s specialty. A guided fly fishing trip on the Madison River with our Bozeman fly fishing guide service is a great way to learn the river and spend a day fly fishing in Montana. You can book online or e-mail us for additional information regarding our guided fly-fishing options on the upper Madison River.