North 40 Fly Shop eMagazine February 2016 | Page 27

fly fishing enthusiast, and here
are a few tips for when you plan
your next excursion.
My absolute favorite time of year
to fish the Madison is from late
May to early June for a couple
of reasons, the first being the
crowds. In early June, the
temperature is normally in the
50s, cloudy/rainy, the water is
chocolate milk from the runoff,
and there is nobody on the river. I
have had a few days where I have
hooked into fish after fish without
another person in sight. This is a
rare occurrence considering in
July many will either need to do
some considerable walking to
avoid crowds, or take a number
and wait in line for a hole to open
up. Most people see the cloudy
weather and dirty water as a
waste of time because the trout
can’t see the flies. I see it as a

perfect time to throw streamers.
The trout become more and
more active each day as they
continue to leave their winter
feeding habits behind, and begin
to look for opportunities to
gain weight quickly. This is why
streamers are an ideal choice of
ammunition. The murky water
makes it hard for the trout to
properly identify the food, and
see the flaws with the looks of
the flies. Many times, brown
trout will follow or short strike
my fly because they are curious
as to what it is. In my experience,
rusty colored Muddler Minnows
or Slump Buster streamers in
the 2-3 inch range work best
when the river’s visibility is under
a foot. When the dirty water
begins to subside, I switch to
olive streamers and strip them
underneath undercut banks for
aggressive browns.