Daily River Forecast

Madison River

Ennis, Montana

Madison River | Ennis, Montana | Updated June 15, 2026 | Station: Madison River at Ennis

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How To Fish It

  • Start with an indicator rig: stonefly or heavier jig up top, BWO or midge trailer 12-18 inches behind it.
  • Work riffle tails, inside seams, and the softer edge of deeper buckets before the hatch starts.
  • If fish begin showing on top, shorten up, drop the indicator, and fish single dries or a dry-dropper tight to bank structure.

Bugs & Best Matches

What's active
Fish this
Blue-winged olives, size 18-20, late morning through mid-afternoon
Parachute BWO, size 18-20, dry; Split Case BWO, size 18-20, nymph
Midges, size 18-22, morning and again in the soft evening light
Griffith's Gnat, size 18-20, dry
Skwala stoneflies, size 8-12, afternoons along grassy banks and slower edges
Pat's Rubber Legs, size 8-10, nymph; Skwala Chubby, size 8-10, dry
General subsurface
Pheasant Tail, size 16-18, nymph

Current Conditions

FlowDam-controlled spring flow that usually stays fishable unless runoff muddies the lower river.
Water TempCold enough to keep the best feeding window from late morning through mid-afternoon.
WeatherCloud cover and wind matter more than raw air temperature here. Overcast tends to improve BWO activity.
Rating7/10

Today's Feeding Pattern

Late-April Madison fish are usually feeding subsurface through the morning, then sliding toward softer riffle edges and slicks once bugs start moving. Trout are not especially reckless right now, but they will eat if your drift is clean and your flies match the size of the naturals. Rising fish tend to key on small olives and midge clusters, while deeper slots still give up fish on stonefly nymphs and smaller mayfly droppers.

About The Madison River

The Madison runs out of Yellowstone National Park, through Quake Lake and the famed fifty-mile riffle water between Lyon Bridge and Ennis. It is one of the most consistent trout rivers in Montana because dam influence and broad insect diversity keep fish feeding through a wide range of spring conditions.

Most of the river's reputation is built on wild rainbow and brown trout, with strong dry-fly fishing when BWOs, caddis, and stoneflies line up. It is also a river where nymphing covers a lot of water efficiently, especially before the better surface windows show.

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