September 16, 2023 Upper Madison Fishing Report
Date: 09/16/2023
Posted by: Toby SwankCurrent Conditions
We have had some really nice weather the last few days and started to get fish on hopper/dropper rigs in the afternoons with some pretty slow mornings. The best success for us has been fishing streamers with a small nymph dropper under an indicator in the mid-river troughs until noon, or so. Once the sun is nice and high in the sky, we have been getting fish to come up to a variety of small dries with the better fish still eating hoppers. There has been a noticeable shift to using smaller tippet than we were using a few weeks ago on those dries, with a lot of 5x spools laying empty in the boat bags right now. Next week is shaping out to present some nice weather for streamer fishing later in the week.
We offer full day guided fly-fishing trips on the Upper Madison using drift boats, servicing the entire river from Raynold's Pass to Ennis Lake. Learn more about our guided fly-fishing options or book now by clicking on any of the booking buttons throughout the site.
Stream Flows
Flows
Recommended Flies
Gray Little Green Machine
Copper Zonker
Purple Lite Brite Perdigon
Sweetgrass Hopper
Upper Madison River Fishing
The Madison River is widely regarded as the premier Montana fly-fishing river. It originates in Yellowstone National Park at the point where the Firehole and Gibbon Rivers meet. The river flows northwards and merges with the Jefferson and Gallatin Rivers to eventually form the Missouri River near Three Forks, Montana.
The upper Madison River is the stretch between the outlet of Quake Lake and the mouth of Ennis Lake. The river is an incredibly productive and unique blue-ribbon trout fishery with wild Rainbow, Cutthroat, and Brown Trout populations.
The Fins and Feathers "Upper Madison River Fishing Guide" features a comprehensive overview of the river stretches and seasonal highlights with Madison River fishing tips from our Bozeman fly fishing guide staff.