Upper Madison River Fishing Report
Upper Madison River Fishing Report
7/17/2025
The Madison River above Hebgen Lake to the border of Yellowstone National Park is CLOSED to fishing. Stay up to date on fishing restrictions and closures HERE.
Walk Wade Stretch (Between the Lakes, Upriver of Lyon's Bridge, Downriver of Ennis):
Morning midge hatches are some of the best ways to start your day right now. As the morning first begins to warm up and the sun hits the river, fishing a lightweight midge emerger rig can produce great results, think Frenchdipity, Dips, Serendipity style flies. Fishing these unweighted or with a very light split shot is all you need. Throwing a medium sized chubby 12-14 can also get some action on the surface to start the day. The fish are sitting shallow and looking up, hopper season is just about here. While it is a little early for hoppers, in the afternoon you can definitely get a few to eat it.
If nymphing small emergers in the morning isn't your style, break out the 6 or 7 weight with a sink tip or sinking line and get to stripping. Dark colored streamers, black, brown, olive, have been getting some great action at first light and into the late morning. Commit to it, and chase your new personal best.
Hopper droppers are a great way to fish right now, with the water being warm and shallow you can run a nymph about 2-3 feet below a dry fly, depending on how heavy the nymph is, and find great success. Caddis patterns, terrestrials, and attractor dry flies have been the go to. PMD's as a nymph or dry fly can get a lot of attention as well.
Float Stretch(Downriver of Lyon's Bridge to Ennis):
With most of the biggest hatches in the rear view mirror there are a few strategies that can get you some great action. Throw streamers. Throw the "everything' bugs, that means rubber legs, leeches, lightning bugs, and small CDC or soft hackle collared nymphs. Chase the hopper bite.
Pick your poison from the above options, rotate through them all, or commit to one and be done with it. Fishing is good. Water temps are warming up and Hoot Owl Restrictions will likely be in the mix soon. It is the time of year to start and end early. Try to minimize fish exposure to air as much as possible. Fight fish effectively, release them quickly, and maybe leave them alone when it comes to photo time. Healthy trout are more important than your fish pictures.
Dries: Cornfed Caddis #14-16, Garcia's Mini Hot Mayfly(Purple) #16-18, Micro-Chubby(Black, Purple) #18, Parachute Hopper (Tan) #14, Keller's Henneberry Hopper (Yellow) #12, Mini Flopper (Black, Purple) #12, Dornan's Micro w/ Cheese #14-16, Film Critic PMD #18
Nymphs:$3 Dip(Black, Red, Copper) #16-20, Prince Nymph #14-16, Olive or Pearl Perdigon #16-18, Olive Hotspot Perdigon #16-18, Lightning Bugs #16-20, Lite Brite Perdigon (Green) #14-18, Pat's Rubber Legs #10-14, Bloom's Tungsten Dart #18, Pearl and Orange Jig #16, Rainbow Warrior (Red) #18-20
Streamers:Sex Dungeons, Barely Legal, Sparkle Minnows and Zonkers will move fish for you. Play with color and profile every day. Skinny vs. big heads, dark vs. light, etc. Don't be afraid to throw a streamer under your indicator and dead drift it!
New to the Madison? We have guides with 40 plus years of experience fishing the Madison ready to share their knowledge with you. We offer full-day float and walk-wade trips on the Madison River. Don’t need a guide? We have the flies and info to help you be successful on a DIY mission.
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Thanks for checking out our Madison River Fishing Report brought to you from Big Sky, MT.
