Evening Fly Fishing on Montana's Madison River

Big, Wild Rainbow and Brown Trout Rise from Dusk until Late Night

Feb 4, 2009

Montana's Lower Madison River - the stretch from Raynolds Bridge downstream to Ennis - is world-famous for trout fishing, but many anglers miss out on the best fishing.

Anglers miss the best fishing because they're often relaxing in a West Yellowstone restaurant or fishing water in nearby Yellowstone National Park.

Canny anglers arrive at the Madison - especially the stretch just off Highway 287 from Raynolds Pass Bridge downstream to McAtee Bridge - in late afternoon for a long evening of fishing to rising brown and rainbow trout.

Epeorus Mayfly Hatch

Epeorus is a fancy Latin name for a group of orange/pink shaded mayflies that tend to emerge from the immature, underwater nymph to the winged, flying adult during evenings.

The adult bugs often start climbing out of the nymphal skin while they are still underwater, so the winged adult - called a dun - pops out of the surface film and often into the greedy mouths of Madison River trout.

Fishing Epeorus on the Madison

Epeorus mayflies are a size 16, although they can be a bigger 14 or a smaller 18. It pays to carry Epeorus duns, cripples and spinners in all three sizes.

Cripples or emerger patterns imitate a dun that is stuck in the nymphal skin. Madison trout often focus on these patterns during the start of the hatch, which begins in late afternoon or early evening. Most anglers are onstream by 5 p.m.

Some anglers tie a cripple or emerger on a dropper leader tied to the hook of an Epeorus adult pattern, such as a Epeorus Sparkle Dun or Comparadun.

Anglers cast upstream or down and across to rising trout. The Madison is a big, fast river, but the rising fish concentrate in the slower water and current seams near the banks.

Spinners - Epeorus adults returning to the water to mate and lay eggs - often get the trout's attention even while duns and emergers are still on the water.

Fishing the Caddis Hatch

As dusk approaches, hatching caddis flies - the adults look like moths but fold their wings over their backs like an old-fashioned pup tent - hatch by the thousands.

Adult caddisflies flutter over streamside brush, the river and in anglers' faces.

But the fish, which rise like mad, are often focusing on the caddis just emerging from the underwater stage. Using flies such as the Iris Caddis and the X-Caddis in sizes 15 through 18 is often the key to success.

At other times, adult patterns, such as Elk Hair Caddis and Spent Partridge Caddis, work well when lots of adults return to the river's surface to lay eggs.

Tips for Caddis Success

Successful anglers watch the rising trout very carefully to pick the right fly. Trout rising to adult egg-laying caddis tend to leave a bubble in the ring of their riseform. If trout are swirling at the surface or showing their dorsal fin and tail when rising, it might be better to use the Iris Caddis or X-Caddis.

Some anglers cover all bets by tying an Iris Caddis on a 18-inch-long dropper leader tied to the hook of an Elk Hair Caddis or X-Caddis.

Madison River Access

The wading-only section of the Madison River runs from Quake Lake downstream to Lyons Bridge. Anglers can ride in boats - but not fish from them - in this section. Wading anglers find access points at Raynolds Bridge, Three-Dollar Bridge, West Fork Bridge and Lyons Bridge.

Once anglers get to the riverbank, they have access to miles and miles of great water filled with rising trout - if they stay below the river's high-water line.

The copyright of the article Evening Fly Fishing on Montana's Madison River in Fly Fishing is owned by Chester Allen. Permission to republish Evening Fly Fishing on Montana's Madison River in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.