Today
55°F
Mostly Cloudy
SE 14 mph · 1% precip
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Today’s verdict
Current River Conditions
As of (2 days ago)
This past week, the river has been fishing well.
The upper Madison is fishing well right now, with good numbers of trout showing up around Ennis and the river running low and clear. Cold overnight frosts have pushed fish into deeper, slower pockets, so focus your time on buckets behind boulders rather than burning energy in the fast riffles. Late morning through afternoon is your best window.
Small nymphs — think $3 Dip, zebra midge, or pheasant tail in sizes 16–18 — have been the most consistent producers, and nymphing a perdigon or caddis nymph alongside a mayfly pattern is also working well. On cloudy afternoons, BWOs are bringing fish to the surface, and smaller dries in the 18–20 range are worth having ready. Streamers are picking up too, with olive sculpin and articulated patterns doing best in low light.
The lower Madison has been fishing very well, with trout keying hard on big food right now. Stripping streamers — especially with cloud cover — is a productive approach, and nymphing a large pattern like a Zonker or crayfish trailed by a small baetis or attractor nymph has been deadly. Keep in mind that fish are on the move as water temps continue to drop, so a spot that held fish yesterday may be empty today — pay attention to the type of water you're pulling fish from and search out similar structure.
641 CFS is on the low side for October — this stretch typically runs 856–1,730 CFS.
With flows lower than usual, wading is generally easier and more forgiving — but beds still shift and cold water saps strength fast, so read the water, stay within your limits, and check conditions on-site. You remain responsible for your own safety.
At 50°F, the water is in the prime range for trout — cold enough to fish and to handle fish safely.
Weather
43°FPartly Cloudy
Wind NW 6 mph
Sunrise 8:02 AM · Sunset 6:17 PM
Observed (1 hour ago)
NWS / weather.gov · fetched 15:00
Today
55°F
Mostly Cloudy
SE 14 mph · 1% precip
Tonight
37°F
Slight Chance Drizzle then Slight Chance Light Rain
SE 5 to 14 mph · 21% precip
Tomorrow
48°F
Light Rain Likely
SSE 1 to 7 mph · 64% precip
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Size #12-20
Size #10-20
Size #18-22
Conditions are estimates from USGS data. Always assess on-site conditions and use your own judgment.
The McAllister gauge sits on the Wade-to-Varney section — what most anglers mean by "the Madison," the stretch trip reports call the "Fifty Mile Riffle." It's a long-record station between Hebgen Dam and Ennis Lake with live flow and water temperature, so it reflects the water you'll actually fish.
Location
© OpenStreetMap contributors · © Geoapify
Helpful Links
Montana fishing resources
Other Montana rivers with live conditions
The Madison is a celebrated wild-trout river with distinctly different upper and lower fisheries. Below Hebgen Dam, the Upper Madison is a fast, boulder-filled tailwater commonly called the “Fifty Mile Riffle.” It supports strong populations of rainbow and brown trout and provides both famous walk-and-wade reaches and productive float sections. The Lower Madison is broader, warmer and more weed-lined, with excellent spring and early-summer fishing but frequent temperature concerns in midsummer. The river fishes year-round in selected reaches, with spring midges, blue-winged olives and caddis preceding the major salmonfly and golden-stone hatches of early summer. PMDs, caddis, yellow sallies and terrestrials carry the fishery through summer; fall favors BWOs and streamers. Nymphing and dry-dropper fishing are the most consistent techniques, while large dries can be excellent during stonefly season. Streamers are valuable during higher water, cloudy periods and fall. Access is generally good, but anglers must observe wade-only sections and monitor warm-water restrictions on the lower river.
Heavier tippet is fine given that these fish haven't seen many flies all summer, so don't be afraid to run 3x to the top fly and 4x to the dropper.
Hatches
Tactics
641 CFSFlow
50°FWater temp
55° / 37°Weather