Salmon flies are long gone but the upper Madison river south of Ennis Montana is still fishing really well.  We have even had some cooler days and much cooler nights to keep the water from getting to hot for trout comfort.  Just a few days ago we had a fresh layer of snow in the mountains. The weather has been cool enough that later morning starts have produced better fishing than our typical early July fishing days.  The water is plenty cool and there are still lots of bugs around.  PMDs, caddis and some stone flies are all still abundant and the trout are still eating really well.  Numbers are good, dry fly fishing has been good on the cloudy days and there are plenty of big fish coming to the net.  

People have been asking about river closures.  The hot weather in late June and early July produced "Hoot Owl" (2pm-midnight) closures on some sections of our local rivers like the lower Ruby, the lower Gallatin, the Jefferson and sections of the Big Hole river.  The Lower Madison river was among the restricted rivers.  However, this section of the Madison river is below Ennis Lake and is not part of our normal summer program due to its warmer water temperatures.  The upper Madison river south of Ennis is what most people are fishing and floating during the summer.  This upper section of the Madison above Ennis lake should not see any closures as it is fed by cooler water from Hebgan lake.  Cool water temperatures have kept it fishing really well since mid June.  Conditions look good and we should have plenty more good fishing to come!

The upper Madison is still fishing well.  Most days have been good for bigger fish on streamers.  The hopper thing has still not come together yet.  You can catch fish on hoppers but it is not  really consistent yet.  For those who are interested in dry fly action Ennis Lake is hard to beat.  Not much is better than seeing a fish chomp a size 8 foam grass hopper but sight fishing to a flat full of big rainbows audibly slurping mayflys is pretty fun too.  This time of year there are huge hatches of tricos and callabaetis in the mornings where the upper Madison river flows into Ennis lake.  The south end of the lake is shallow enough to wade and there are plenty of pods of risers to chase throughout the mornings.  Most of the fish are large...15-22inches but the water is flat and they are all pretty spooky.  If you make a nice cast and have some patience you can usually end up with good number of hook ups on big strong trout.  Keeping them out of the weeds long enough to get them to the net is another story.  It is not a fishery where you get a lot of freebies but it is great to have a place where we can consistently find big fish eating dries ten minutes from home.

After the salmon flies and golden stones have passed on the upper Madison river south of Ennis Montana, we see a stone hatch without bugs.  The shucks are all over the rocks but there are none to be found in the air, on the water or in the bushes.  These golden stones hatch at night and usually come off thickest around the full moon in July and August. They are very active in the mornings, the evenings and throughout the night.  Rolling over rocks reveals the adults hiding from the sun.  Once exposed they race to the nearest rock in search of shade and they are fast.  Starting early in the morning with dry flies can be a lot of fun.  Before the sun breaches the mountain tops and the shadows leave the water, the fish seem to be poised in the shallows waiting for a stone or a Chernobyl ant to skitter by. This is a great hatch and usually gives us a bit of big dry fly action between the giant stone hatch and hopper season.  The Madison, Yellowstone and Jefferson all have the midnight stone hatch which makes early floats this time of year a great way to beat the heat and the crowds and catch some big fish.

We can get some wild weather swings in a day of fishing here on the Madison. Afternoon thunderstorms can rip across the valley and hammer the Madison range with rain and lightning. We can usually see them coming and they usually pass quickly... and they are pretty darn beautiful when you're not in them.