6/26/2026: Madison River Fishing Report

2026-06-26 (June 26, 2026)

Summary

The Upper Madison picked up this week with good numbers of bugs hatching top to bottom. The headline is a salmonfly hatch that raced upriver, now between Pine Butte and Windy Point and pushing toward Raynolds and Three Dollar Bridge, with caddis, PMDs, Yellow Sallies, and Green Drakes filling in around it.

At a glance: Upper at Kirby ~942 CFS, 59°F | below Ennis Lake ~1,240 CFS, 66°F | Hebgen Dam 699, Varney 1,140 | fishable top to bottom, a touch low | salmonflies between Pine Butte and Windy Point | Best window: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., then evening

Fishing on the Upper Madison picked up this week with good numbers of bugs hatching from top to bottom. Flows are a little low for late June, but there is plenty of water to make both the float and the wade stretches interesting. With weekend precipitation, cloud cover, and cooler temperatures in the forecast for the next four to five days, conditions look to be improving rather than sliding.

The headline is the salmonfly hatch, which raced upriver over the last week. The bulk of the bugs are currently between Pine Butte and Windy Point, with emergence expected up by Raynolds and Three Dollar Bridge shortly. Numbers are down and the hatch is patchy this season, so keep putting the big dry in the right spots rather than expecting a wall of bugs. If the big dry is not your game, there is plenty else working: PMDs, Yellow Sallies, Epeorus, Flavs, heavy caddis, and a few Green Drakes are coming off most sections.

Down below Ennis Lake the river is into the mid-60s (66°F today) and pushing toward summer water, noticeably warmer than the 59°F at Kirby on the Upper. That is a cue to fish the lower river earlier in the day and watch temperatures as the warm spell settles in. Trout Stalkers (Ennis, last updated May 22) and MRFC (April 23) describe a colder, pre and early-runoff river and are useful only as seasonal background now.

Best techniques

• Dry fly: Throw big foam salmonfly dries between Pine Butte and Windy Point and ahead of the push toward Raynolds. Work rising fish with PMD, Yellow Sally, caddis, and Green Drake dries during the 10 to 3 and evening windows. Be patient on pods of risers up high, lengthen the leader and downsize tippet, since refusals are more often a line-diameter problem than a fly-choice problem.
• Nymphing: Producing good numbers in the upper stretches, but fish are getting picky through the middle and lower river, so keep changing patterns until something clicks. Smaller Perdigons, PMD nymphs and emergers, Yellow Sally nymphs, caddis larva and pupa, and Three Dollar Dips have all been good.
• Streamers: Decent most mornings and evenings when bug activity is low. Smaller baitfish patterns like Barely Legals, Mini Silk Kitties, and Mini Whiteys, plus sculpin patterns, are the call. With four to five days of cloud cover in the forecast, do not be afraid to string up the sinking line.

Hatches

Salmonflies are the headline, currently between Pine Butte and Windy Point and pushing toward Raynolds and Three Dollar Bridge, fractured and lighter than usual this year. Caddis are coming off heavily on most sections, adult, pupa, and larva all in play. PMDs, Yellow Sallies, Epeorus, and Flavs are active across most of the river. Green Drakes are showing in small numbers, and Golden Stones round out the summer big-bug picture alongside the salmonflies.

The Fly Box

Nymphs: Perdigons (smaller), PMD nymphs, Yellow Sally nymphs, caddis larva and pupa, Three Dollar Dips

Emergers: PMD emergers, caddis pupa

Dries: salmonfly dries, PMD dries, Yellow Sallies, Green Drakes, caddis dries

Streamers: Barely Legals, Mini Silk Kitties, Mini Whiteys, sculpin patterns

Outlook. The next four to five days of cloud cover, cooler temperatures, and weekend precipitation should bump flows and help the bite, especially the streamer game. The salmonfly emergence is working up the Upper right now and should reach the Raynolds and Three Dollar Bridge water shortly, which is the reason to go this week. Watch the lower river below Ennis Lake, already in the mid-60s and warming, by fishing it earlier in the day. The Upper at 59°F is in good shape. Call ahead to the shop in Ennis for the current big-bug line before committing to a drive.

Sources and Thanks

Shop	Report date	Coverage
Slide Inn (Galloup's)	June 26, 2026	Upper Madison (primary)
Montana Trout Stalkers	May 22, 2026	Ennis (seasonal background)
Madison River Fly Fishing Company	April 23, 2026	Madison (background)