Lower Madison River Fishing Report
Lower Madison River Fishing Report
6/6/2025
Summer is so back. Or at least this weekend it will feel like it is and the river is gonna fish like it is too!
A steep drop in flows this week means the bite on The Lower Madison is going to be great. Great fishing on the Lower Madison near Bozeman? Yes, there will likely be a lot of people trying to get out on the water here. The Yellowstone is still pretty high and not a super great or safe option for fishing. When it gets busy this weekend make sure you are mindful and respectful of this resource. Pickup trash, launch and load at boat ramps quickly, and be polite to the other people that are out there trying to do the same thing you are!
On the Lower Madison, water temps have creeped up past the 60 degree mark a few times and with the forecast showing warm and sunny all weekend there are a few bugs you should keep an eye out for. This isn't new, but crawfish are something that these trout love. They don't love the huge giant ones, so don't get too carried away when it comes to fly selection. Our pick is a zirdle bug in olive, rust, or natural. We hope they start, but PMDs are going to be joining the mix soon and we might see some stoneflies crawling out of the river soon here. Will have to see how the weekend plays out but make sure you are prepared!
Don't skimp out on throwing a streamer, while the midday bite hasn't been the best unless there is some cloud cover or weather, the mornings and evenings have been fantastic.
FWP has been doing a lot of shocking and tagging of the trout on the Lower Madison this winter so keep an eye out for blue or yellow tags. To learn more about the trout tagging program click this link.
Worms, leeches, annd rubber legs are the attractor patterns that we like and one of those will likely always be on a nymph rig unless we are fishing small emergers or dry flies during a good winter time hatch. Pairing a variety of small stonefly nymphs like a Morrish Pick Pocket, Caddis pupae, or Mayfly emergers will help you find fish all day long. You can't really go wrong with a fly right now as long as you fish it at multiple depths and put it through the same run a few times.
Dries: Para-Wulff Adams #16-18, Chubby Chernobyl (Yellow) #16, Jake's All Season Caddis (Tan) #14-16, Crime Scene Caddis (Olive) #14-16, Rio's Foam Run Caddis (Tan, Olive) #14-16, Carlson's Olive Haze #14-18
Nymphs: Nyman's Shop Vac #16-18, Guide's Choice Hare's Ear(Olive, Natural)#14-18, Perdigons (Black, Pearl, Green, Purple) #18-20, Spanish Bullet Perdigon #16-18, CDC Pheasant Tail #14-18, Prince Bead CDC #14-16, UV Greenie Weenie #14
Streamers: Sex Dungeons, Barely Legals, Copper Zonkers, Sheila's Sculpin, Silk Kitty, Mini Kill Whitey, Li'l Kims have been productive. Play with color and profile every day. Skinny vs. big heads, dark vs. light, etc.
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Thanks for checking out our Madison River Fishing Report brought to you from Big Sky, MT.
