How’s the fishing been on the Madison river and other rivers of southwest Montana this winter? Frozen. This year’s winter has seemed exceptionally cold relative to the past several southwest Montana winters. We had a beautiful fall with some great fall fishing on the upper Madison river and the Missouri river. Once the crowds left the Madison in October, the fishing turned on in a big way and the river was eerily vacant considering the abnormally warm weather and good bite. Likewise, the Missouri river and Yellowstone Park section of the Madison river were producing good numbers of big trout daily. Our weather was really nice all the way through November but in December the temperatures plummeted and the Madison quickly filled with ice. Temperatures were exceptionally low even for Montana winter, reaching as far as 30 degrees below zero in mid december. During a cold winter the Madison river experiences a unique ice build up that we call “The Gorge.” The uniquely swift and shallow nature of the Madison river, under freezing conditions, creates large chunks of glacial looking ice that become jammed in shallow areas. This ice jam blocks the river and forces the flow of water and ice upwards, beyond the banks of the Madison into the floodplain where it forms more ice. This sort of ice jam is not unique to the Madison river but the shallow, swift nature of the Madison makes for an impressively large amount of ice that I have never seen on another stream. On a warm year, the Madison river may see almost no ice gorge. However, exceptionally long periods of cold can cause the ice jam on the Madison to build from Ennis lake (where it usually starts) and extend miles up river far beyond the town of Ennis. The formations are unique and beautiful but have made fishing the Madison river less than appealing to winter anglers. The ice became so thick this December that it was nearly touching the bottom of the Ennis bridge. The flow through the town section was nearly completely blocked forcing the river and gorge to consume the Ennis fishing access. Flows pushed hundreds of yards to the east towards Odell spring creek where it poured over the highway creating a large section of frozen roadway. The gorge is not likely to affect the fishing for 2017. The ice tends to move around the gravel in lower sections of the Madison, which can create new buckets and features but the fish always seem to find a way to survive...although sometimes I wonder how. After a solid gorge like the one this year, I am looking forward to finding some new features and holes in the lower sections of the upper Madison river in 2017.
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The Moveable Feast Episode - Featuring Madison River Fly Fishing and a Seasonal Montana Farm DinnerBe sure to check out Hooked Outfitting, Melissa Harrison and Seasonal Montana on the most recent Episode of the The Movable Feast with Fine Cooking. We fly fish the Madison River and Melissa and Seasonal host a farm dinner at Willow Springs Ranch near Bozeman, Montana. The farm dinners are great summer events and Melissa has them on a variety of local farms thoughout each summer. It can be a really fun evening event to add to a Montana fishing trip. All the food comes from the local area and the farm that hosts the dinner. Yellowstone River Closure: UPDATE!The Yellowstone river suffered a significant loss of Mountain Whitefish in certain sections but the over all impact of PDK appears to have been minimal. Very few trout (really almost none) were killed by the disease and fishing on the river was reopened after a relatively short period of closure. Most anglers reported normal fishing trough the remainder of the fall. Yellowstone River ClosureOn August 19th Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks made the unprecedented move to close the entire trout fishing section of the Yellowstone River to any kind of water based recreation, including fishing. Consequently, we will not be offering trips on the Yellowstone River for the remainder of 2016. The closure is in response to a high number of dead Mountain Whitefish in the river. At first it was suspected that the fish kill was the result of record low flows and abnormally hot water conditions but recently biologist discovered that the true cause is a disease called PDK (proliferative kidney disease). PDK is a parasite that is capable of seriously damaging fish populations with 20-100% mortality rates. The Yellowstone closure is largely aimed at protecting the river and preventing PDK from spreading to other Montana fisheries like the Madison River. Since the closure, several mandatory boat cleaning stations have been positioned near Bozeman and Ennis to ensure that anglers and guides traveling from the Yellowstone to the Madison are not spreading the disease. Soon after the closure Montana FWP surveyed a relatively short section of the Yellowstone river (the right bank from Grey Owl FAS to Loch Leven FAS) to see the extent of the fish kill. They discovered 1895 Mountain Whitefish, 13 Longnose Suckers and only 1 Rainbow Trout. For now it seems that the disease is more or less just affecting the Mountain Whitefish population. Currently there is no evidence that the disease is present in the Madison River or other area fisheries. Hopefully the effects of PDK will be limited and the Yellowstone River will be fishing well again next summer...with a few less Whitefish. For now it is extremely important that anyone who has fished the Yellowstone River throughly clean their boats and gear to prevent the spread of PDK to other Montana fisheries. Yellowstone River Closure - Press Release(Bozeman, Mont.)--Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks is implementing an immediate closure of all water-based recreation (fishing, wading, floating, tubing, boating, etc.) on the Yellowstone River and its tributaries from Yellowstone National Park’s northern boundary at Gardiner to the Highway 212 bridge in Laurel. This significant action on the part of the Department is in response to the ongoing and unprecedented fish kill on the Yellowstone. This action is necessary to protect the fishery and the economy it sustains. The closure will also help limit the spread of the parasite to adjacent rivers through boats, tubes, waders and other human contact and minimize further mortality in all fish species.
In the past week, FWP has documented over 2,000 dead Mountain Whitefish on some affected stretches of the Yellowstone. With that, FWP estimates the total impact to Mountain Whitefish in the Yellowstone to be in the tens of thousands. FWP has also recently received reports of the kill beginning to affect some Rainbow and Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout. Test results from samples sent to the U.S. and Wildlife Service Fish Health Center in Bozeman show the catalyst for this fish kill to be Proliferative Kidney Disease – one of the most serious diseases to impact whitefish and trout. The disease, caused by a microscopic parasite, is known to occur in Canada, the U.S. and Europe. It has been documented previously in only two isolated locations in Montana over the past 20 years. Recent outbreaks have occurred in Washington, Oregon and Idaho. In trout, research has shown this disease to have the potential to cause 20 to 100 percent mortality. The parasite does not pose a risk to humans. The effect of the disease on Yellowstone’s fish populations is exacerbated by other stressors like near record low flows, consistent high temperatures, and the disturbance caused by recreational activities. FWP Director Jeff Hagener says in coming to the decision, the Department had to weigh the totality of the circumstances and risk to the fishery. “We recognize that this decision will have a significant impact on many people. However, we must act to protect this public resource for present and future generations,” said Hagener. "A threat to the health of Montana's fish populations is a threat to Montana's entire outdoor economy and the tens of thousands of jobs it sustains," said Gov. Steve Bullock, noting that Montana's outdoor recreation economy is responsible for more than 64,000 Montana jobs and nearly $6 billion in yearly economic activity. "We must be guided by science. Our state cannot afford this infectious disease to spread to other streams and rivers and it's my responsibility to do everything we can to stop this threat in its tracks and protect Montana jobs and livelihoods." FWP will continue to monitor the river and will lift the closure when stream conditions such as flow and temperature improve and fish mortality ceases. FWP staff will be available to the media Friday, Aug. 19 at 11 a.m. at Region 3 Headquarters in Bozeman (1400 S. 19th Ave.) to help answer questions related to the fish kill and this management action. In addition to the closure on the Yellowstone, FWP is asking for the public’s assistance in preventing the spread of this parasite by properly cleaning (CLEAN.DRAIN.DRY) all equipment prior to moving between waterbodies (i.e., boats, waders, trailers). FWP has also set up two Aquatic Invasive Species decontamination stations set up along I-90 near the affected area in an effort to help reduce the chance of this parasite moving to other rivers. Madison River Report Late July 2016
We are still seeing some really solid fishing here on the Madison. It seems that everyone is concerned about warm low water and river closures around Montana. The Madison River water temperatures have been dropping to around 60 degrees at night and rising up to around 70 degrees by the heat of the afternoon. That puts our morning and mid day water temperatures in a range that is pretty good for trout. Late afternoons are not an ideal time to be on the river but getting a bit of an early start is always a good choice this time of year. We are seeing good fishing on dries, nymphs and streamers on any given day. There are still plenty of stone flies around in the form of nocturnal stones. The nocturnal stones, caddis and PMDs are our most abundant hatches right now. That makes for plenty of bugs to keep fish looking up for al least part of the day.
We don't have any river closures or restrictions on the upper Madison River south of Ennis and it looks like we have plenty of water to keep that from happening. Currently Hebgen lake is 95% full so there is plenty of water to last through the remainder of summer. I am feeling pretty lucky to be fishing a river with such good water and fishing conditions when many of the fisheries around the state are suffering from really low and warm water conditions. With more limited good fishing options in the area there are a few more people around but getting out early and picking less pressured sections of river can keep you out of the crowds. Check out the video below that was shot by guests during their Madison valley fishing vacation. It includes footage from a really fun day in the boat on the Madison River. We had 3 generations of anglers in the boat that day and caught a bunch of fish. Madison River Fishing ReportSalmon 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! |
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April 2019
AuthorCaptain Garrett Blackburn - Outfitter and guide on the rivers of southwest Montana. Categories
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