Early December Fishing

December 5th, 2019 -

The woes of winter, frozen water and blowing snow.

As we approach the winter solstice the fishing on the Madison has receded like the sunlight. Less and less angling opportunities are out there due to winter conditions. The Madison looks more like a margarita, blended if you will, than the fishy river it is.

Ennis Lake is frozen over with some of the gorge forming as the river enters into the lake. The Bear Trap, one of the winter hot spots, is raging over the dam at 1370 cfs due to the replacement of the turbines in the powerhouse.

The Lower Madison, Warm Springs and down, looks super fishy right now the problem is trying to cast in the hurricane force winds. The Varney Bridge Project is coming along nicely with half of the new bridge up but they are going to be closing the FAS on Thursday December 12th and Friday December 13th. If you were thinking of floating those days you might want to choose a different section. 

The real fishing we’ve seen is up river, Reynolds, Three Dollar, Between the Lakes. We’ve seen some decent fish up around there. Mainly nymphing or euro nymphing being the most productive method. Depending on the day and weather you’ll also see some heads up eating midges in the slicks but with the forecast for the next couple of days we’re looking at high winds and snow so the fish might want to hunker down deep.

The brass tax: it’s winter, fishing this time of year you have to look for the little victories. Getting out there and doing it is about the best you can do. Some moments heaven will shine down on you and some moments it’ll feel like hell froze over.

Check out the latest Madison River Fishing Report here.