Madison river

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Madison river

Destinations

Home

Destinations

Madison river

Country: United States

District: Montana

Type: River

Here is maybe the most famous river in the West.

How To Get There

Flying from New York City to Bozeman, Montana, is about 2,000 miles or 3,219 kilometers, then drive 2 ½ hours to West Yellowstone.

The portion of river below Hebgen Lake can be accessed via Highway 287. The South Fork Madison is accessible from Forest Road 291 and 478 via Highway 20 and the main stem Madison is readily accessible off Highways 191 and 287.

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Location Details

The distances, horizons, rapid weather changes, grizzly bears, and hundreds of miles of trout water are some of the majesty of the American West.

The Madison River is a very long, powerful river that flows out of the mountains and through many miles of sagebrush country. Some parts of the river are alpine and meandering, some sections plunge down gorges, and others go for miles through cottonwoods and quaking aspen trees.

Through the park, the gradient is 400 cfs (cubic feet per second), below Hebgen dam it's 750 cfs, and down below the town of Ennis it's 1,100 cfs. What this means is you have to know the water. The Madison is a true Western river, not a small alpine stream, and needs to be respected by the fisherman as such. Of course there are many smaller streams that come from the mountains down to the Madison. Most European and Eastern American fly fishers are quite comfortable on these small tributaries.

Two things should be carried by the fly fisher: a stout wading staff and a can of bear spray. You can drive for miles and never see another car. You can walk along a river and never see another fisherman.

This is huge country that has all the wonders and some of the dangers that should be expected.

Species

Most of the fast water will hold rainbow and brown trout. These are wild fish and can be difficult to fool into grabbing a fly. When one of the famous "hopper" hatches is on (grasshopper being blown off the sagebrush plains and into the river) then fishing can be fast and furious. Cutthroat, Grayling, and Whitefish prefer the smaller water and slower sections of the river. Browns are often lurking beneath ledges and brush piles in the water.

A note about grayling: the fish like to lurk beneath the over-hanging bushes in the bend of the river. Cast upstream and let a small elk hair caddis fly drift beneath the branches.

How To Fish

Many of the locals cast dry flies or streamers upstream and strip in the slack as the fly moved towards them. Dry fly fishing is much preferred by Westerners. However, North Carolinians are used to nymphing and did well with the traditional: scud, prince, gold-ribbed hare's ear, and woolyboogers. In other words fishing the same way as in North Carolina home waters and used many of the same flies, too.

Because of the size of the Madison River and the difficulty in wading much of it, floating strike indicators are de rigueur. You may have success with an orange-bodied stimulator (large dry fly) used as an indicator and dropping a nymph a foot or so below it. Others did better with a floating indicator (Thingamabobber) and a double nymph rig hanging below that.

The "season" appears to be June-July-August. And even in this summer weather, in a five-minute period fishing on the Madison in the Park, you may get rained, sleeted, and snowed on. Then the sun comes back out again. Dress like you would for any high country adventure.

One of the most pleasurable and productive methods of fishing the larger stretches of the Madison is by float fishing in either a boat or raft. With one angler at the bow and the other at the stern, the guide steers the craft while suggesting where to cast. This can be quite exciting when both fishermen hook into strong trout at the same time.

And it's often difficult to concentrate on the fishing because the cliffs, prairies, and wildlife are so interesting.

Equipment

Because the river is so versatile, a 4 or 5 weight rod is good for the slower sections. Due to the wind increasing in the afternoons, a 7 weight or heavier is useful for casting into the breeze. The popular tippet strengths are 4x and 5x. Though there are lakes, all fishing was in the river and floating line with 9 foot leaders handled all the fishing.

As usual, bring a wading staff. One fisherman had his wading staff bent before he got back to a safe wading depth. The Madison River can have a strong current in places. Felt soles on the wading boots worked well. Sturdy waders are suggested since many plants have thorns.

Bring your camera. The writer photographed: antelope, mountain goats, bears, bison, and coyotes. Others in our group took photos of moose* (called elk in Europe), American elk (wapiti), and Rocky Mountain sheep. And since it's possible to see for many miles, due to the lack of humidity, scenic vistas are in every direction.

*The word "moose" is from the Algonquian Indian word "moz" which mean "twig eater".

Practical Info

West Yellowstone, Montana is the gateway to Yellowstone National Park, America's first national park, proposed by President Teddy Roosevelt, himself quite an avid sportsman. West Yellowstone has lodging close to the park for those fishermen who wish to both visit and sight-see.

When the "mountain men" - the early trappers and scouts - returned to the populated eastern part of America, few believed the tales of endless herds of buffalo (bison) and hot springs and geysers spewing out of the earth, even in the middle of winter. The stories were true.

Fish in pairs or small groups. Though animals rarely bother people, they are still wild animals. It is foolish to get close to a 2,000 pound bison, a 1,000 pound moose (elk in Europe), or the most feared animal in North America - an 800 pound grizzly bear. Walking noisily, talking, singing, and doing whatever is necessary to make sure the animals know you are coming is a good idea. Surprising a female bear (or bison or moose) with cubs can be fatal.

License:

A "Conservation" license of about 10$ must be purchased and then the fishing license is added.

duration of licenses:

-A non-resident 2 day -A non-resident 10 day -A non-resident all year

Any fly fishing shop, and they are everywhere in Montana, will sell fishing licenses, or you can go online: http://fwp.mt.gov

Fishing season for trout and grayling: all year.

Most fishing areas allow a certain number of trout to be kept by the fisherman, but some waters are catch-and-release. Check the regulations for the area you plan to fish. This information can be found at the website: http://fwp.mt.gov/fishing/regulations/

One of the best and certainly the largest fly fishing shop in Montana is Beartooth, 45 miles from West Yellowstone. Dan and Nancy Delekta have built a log building that has 5,000 fly patterns. That's right, fly patterns. The shop has about any fly you could ever want. The fisherman will want to spend hours there. The place is that interesting. And of course the local knowledge is worth purchasing a few flies.

Montana fly fishing guide service and booking agent
www.montanatrout.com
Lodging
www.campfirelodgewestyellowstone.com
Montana's Official State Webiste includes info about linces and fishing regulations
fwp.mt.gov
Yellowstone National Park Information
www.nps.gov/yell/index.htm
Online source for Montana fishing information
www.bigskyfishing.com