Montana Fishing Reports ยท Southwest Region
From Quake Lake down to Ennis, the Madison is the famous 'fifty-mile riffle', with big numbers of browns and rainbows and some of the best-known water in the West.
Looking for the latest Upper Madison River report? This page is updated by the AvidMax fly shop team with live flows, current conditions, hatches and the flies working now on the Madison River โ Quake Lake to Ennis.
Current flows
Wind forecast
Upper Madison River fishing report
Updated November 7, 2026.
The gauge near Cameron reads around 900 cfs, clear and cold.
Streamer season is here. Strip a sculpin or Woolly Bugger on gray days, and nymph the buckets with a Pat's Rubber Legs and a small BWO nymph. Look for BWOs on cloudy afternoons.
Load your fly box
Before you head to Quake Lake to Ennis, bring: Woolly Bugger #4-8, Sculpzilla #4-6, Pat', s Rubber Legs #8-10, JuJu Baetis #18-20, Parachute Adams #16-20, Zebra Midge #18-20, RS2 Emerger #18-22, Pheasant Tail Nymph #16-20, Black Beauty #20-24, Egg #14-16, Squirmy Wormie #12-14.
Flies working right now
The flies above that we have in stock right now.
Upper Madison River details
| Access | Fishing access sites along US-287, including Raynolds Pass, Lyons Bridge, Palisades, McAtee Bridge and Varney Bridge. |
|---|---|
| Elevation | About 5,000 to 6,000 ft |
| Nearest town | Ennis, Montana |
| Best season | Spring through fall |
| Fish | Brown and rainbow trout, plus whitefish |
| Regulations | Parts of this stretch are wade-only, with no fishing from a boat. Check Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks regulations for the current rules. A Montana fishing license is required for anglers 12 and older. |
| Leaders and tippet | 9 ft leaders, 3X to 5X tippet |
| Camping | Fishing access site campgrounds and national forest camping near Quake Lake |
| Kids | Partly. Some easy access sites. |
| Good to know | Wind is a fact of life on the Madison. |
Fishing by season
Winter
Midges and cold weather.
Spring
BWOs, then runoff.
Summer
Salmonflies, caddis and PMDs.
Fall
Streamers and BWOs.
How to get there
From Bozeman, take US-287 south through Ennis toward Cameron and Quake Lake.