Yellowstone River | Lamar Drainage | Gardner River | Madison Drainage | Small Streams | Stillwaters

Madison River Drainage

        After the Lamar, the Madison drainage is the other great system of dry fly rivers in the Yellowstone area, aided by fly fishing only regulations for most of the water inside Yellowstone Park and artificials-only regulations many other areas.  The Madison is formed at the confluence of the Gibbon and the Firehole, with the Firehole providing probably 65% of the Madison's flow.  All three rivers offer excellent opportunities to match dense hatches, while the Firehole and Gibbon also feature some water suitable for attractor dry fly fishing.  Of these rivers, the Firehole and Madison inside the Parkare limited to fly fishing only, while the Gibbon above its major falls is open to lure fishing and limited to fly fishing below.

        Like the Lamar drainage, the Madison drainage primarily consists of meadow streams, but unlike the Lamar there's a great deal of weed growth in the Madison system.  This is due to the huge amount of hot spring and geyser discharge into these rivers.  These hot springs fertilize the water, always a positive, but they also warm it greatly, meaning these rivers are poor choices for midsummer fishing.  On the other hand, they are our best option for consistent dry fly fishing in October and really the only option at the beginning of the Park season.  Outside the Park, the Madison cools below Hebgen Dam and is famous for summer fishing down to Ennis Lake.  Below this lake, it again grows too warm in the summer.

        In addition to excellent dry fly fishing, the Madison, lower Gibbon, and lower Firehole receive fall-run brown trout and some rainbows.  The best fishing for these brutes is in October and the few days in November before the end of the Park season. 

        Except in the headwaters of the Gibbon, crowds are generally thick everywhere in the Madison drainage, especially since the Madison system provides the closest fishing to West Yellowstone, where it sometimes seems like every building is a fly shop.  Click the links to your left for more information on each of the three primary branches in this system.

        Also note: the streams in this drainage are sometimes closed in midsummer due to the aforementioned warm water.  Keep an eye on our Fishing Report for more info.  You should be fishing the Lamar drainage or Yellowstone drainage in this timeframe, anyway.