The reservoir is relatively shallow and warms relatively quickly during the long days of summer. The stretch of river between the Warm Springs fishing access site and Black’s Ford - both of which are located roadside along Highway 84 – is readily accessible and one of the more confusing stretches of river for the fly-angler in the Bozeman area.

Warm Springs fishing access site is located at the bottom of the Beartrap Canyon, approximately 7 miles below Ennis Dam. The river is wide and gentle in appearance between Warm Springs and Black’s Ford. Much of the rivers character here has been created by ice gorging in the winter and weed-bed development in the summer. Absent are the classic river features of narrow riffles, fast runs, and deep pools. Identifying productive holding water can be the most difficult aspect of fly-fishing the lower Madison River, below the Beartrap Canyon.

Public access is permitted on both sides of the river between Warm Springs and Black’s Ford. Boat and recreational launches are only allowed, however, at the designated boat ramps (Warm Springs, Canaday, Damselfly, & Black’s Ford) and hand-launch zones as marked. Accessibility makes the lower Madison a great choice form local anglers and river recreationalist alike.

Anglers that identify the holding water here, catch most of the fish. The water between Warm Springs and Canaday is often considered to be the best as there are deeper runs around the weed-beds, a few mid-river “rock gardens,” and long glides of mixed depth. We find that this fishes best early and late in the day during seasonal hatches which include Midges, Blue-Winged Olives, Brown Drakes, Caddis and Pale-Morning Duns among others.

The river between Canaday and Damselfly can be the most productive in terms of trout numbers and average size. The holding water structure here is more difficult to read than elsewhere with the most productive water being found near “buckets” that are created by moving ice jams in the winter and spring. These buckets create small depressions in the river-bottom and provide shelter from overhead predators and create productive current seams. A handful of islands here also provide nice holding water along the edges, tops, and bottoms.

Downstream of Damselfly fishing access site, the river straightens out and closely follows the highway to Black’s Ford. There is a small group of islands just above Black’s Ford which can make for some nice wade fishing opportunities. Outside of these islands, most of the productive water here is along the roadside rip-rap and mid-river weed-beds. Surprisingly enough, this is where some of the largest Brown Trout have been found during our 23 years of guiding fly-fishing trips on the Lower Madison River.

Although it is technically a tailwater fishery, the aquatic invertebrate population different than the typical, cold-water tailwater such as the Bighorn or Missouri rivers. Midges, Caddis, Mayflies, and Stoneflies make up the hatching insects and each has varying degrees of importance to the fly-fishing on the Lower Madison throughout the year. Crayfish, Sculpins, and even Bullheads fly patterns should be a constant presence in the angler’s fly boxes during an excursion to the lower Madison.

The dry fly angler can expect to find rising trout throughout the year between February and early November. Midges start off the year, followed by BWO’s in April, Caddis in late April, Stoneflies in mid-May, and then PMD’s throughout June. The summer dry fly fishing is usually best on a variety of attractor patterns like small hoppers, Royal Wullfs, and Purple Hazes fished early in the day. The classic “Match the Hatch” style of fly fishing is best during the Midge, Mayfly and Caddis hatches during the spring, early summer, and fall times of year. Brown Drake hatches usually occur in early-mid June and can provide some of the best dry fly fishing of the year for a week -10 days when the conditions are good.

The “patented” streamer drag may not have been invented here, but it was perfected here by fly fishing guides in the 90’s and early 2000’s. This technique of fly-fishing is simply dragging a large, lightly weighted sculpin or crayfish under a strike indicator, rather than stripping them or attempting to dead-drift the flies. Feeding trout, that are in the skinny water throughout this stretch of the river will move a long way to chase a slow, dragging baitfish pattern in the spring and early summer when water temperatures are in the high 50’s. Traditional streamer fishing on floating lines can be productive as well, especially in the pre-summer and fall months.

The shallow nature of Ennis Lake, can have dramatic effects on the water temperature here for most of the summer. Fly-fishing should be limited to the morning hours for most of July and August as daytime water temperatures often exceed 70 throughout the summer. Our Bozeman fly fishing guides generally start to look elsewhere soon after Father’s Day weekend. The river is closed to fishing between 2 pm and midnight from July 15 – August 15 per state regulations.

Recreational river traffic is busy during the warm spring and summer months. Expect to see a wide range of river users, actively enjoying this resource from early June on through September. The savvy angler understands that an early start is the key to avoiding the crowds on the lower Madison River. If you plan to put your boat on around 9 am on a July weekend, expect to spend the day surrounded by masses of folks floating in rafts, tubes, and various forms of modern-day pool toys!

The Lower Madison River is a remarkable fishery that offers easy access, good fish numbers, and beautiful scenery within an easy drive from Bozeman. Expect to find good numbers of Rainbows, growing numbers of Westslope Cutthroats and a few good Brown Trout throughout the day. Fish populations change from year to year on the Lower Madison, but the river continues to have good numbers of 12-18” fish, year after year.

The river has long been one of our Bozeman fly-fishing guide’s top choices for early and late season trips. Booking a day with one of our fly-fishing guides on the Lower Madison River is a terrific way to learn the nuances of this part of the river in the spring and early summer months. E-mail us with questions regarding the fly-fishing on the Lower Madison or to make a reservation with one of our Bozeman fly-fishing guides.