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Madison River Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Montana's Fifty-Mile Riffle: the most fished, most loved trout river in the state, and still worth every cast.

2/5
Slow. The wind owns today.25 mph gusts make boat control the real battle.
Flow
1,310 cfs
Air / High
50 / 53 F
Wind
S 13 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 06041000, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Tap a marker for today's tip
Friday
23
October 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

2/5Slow. The wind owns today.25 mph gusts make boat control the real battle.

Madison River is in its winter mode: slow, deep and deliberate. The river is running 1,310 cfs, steady over the week. Today brings cloud cover, wind S around 13 mph, rising pressure near 1008 hPa and a high of 53. Water sits around 47 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 10:04 AM-12:04 PM and 10:35 PM-12:35 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Rainbow troutExcellent

In cold water rainbows use the deepest pools in rivers (Vermont), so slow, deep drifts there are the usual approach; Michigan DNR notes lake rainbows are also taken with bait or by jigging through the ice.

Brown troutExcellent

Below 50Β°F, fish slowly through the deeper pools; in early spring on the Great Lakes, Michigan DNR notes browns are often caught inshore before other species start biting.

Tomorrow: Similar at 49 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

Before you go

Montana requires a fishing licence from age 12, from $31.00 for residents. What a Montana licence costs and where to buy it β†’

Chasing rainbow trout here? Check the size and bag limits with FWP before you keep anything. The season dates for Montana, read off the agency, are on the Montana seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings from Madison River below Ennis Lake near McAllister.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 06041000.

1,1891,2601,3321,310 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Today’s flow against 83 years of October 23

At 1,310 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 06041000 (Madison River below Ennis Lake near McAllister) is at the 18th percentile for the date: below normal. In half of the 83 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 1,670 cfs; the highest was 3,740 cfs and the lowest 780 cfs.

p10 1,184median 1,670p90 2,808

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 06041000; today’s reading is the latest instantaneous value. Classes follow the ones the USGS used on its WaterWatch maps (retired at the end of 2025): below 10th, much below normal; 10th–24th, below; 25th–75th, normal; 76th–90th, above; over 90th, much above.

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp50 F
High / Low53 / 32 F
WindS 13-19 mph
Pressure1007.7 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain100% cloud, 100%
Sunrise / Sunset07:54 / 18:27
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (gauge)49 F USGS
Water temp (seasonal)~47 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunset

Which day to fish Madison River this week

The best day on Madison River this week looks like Saturday Oct 24, at 3 out of 5, against 2 today.

Best day this week: Saturday, Oct 24 β€” fair at 3/5, rising pressure behind a front, typically the slowest.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Tough

25 mph gusts make boat control the real battle.

Solunar majors
10:04 AM-12:04 PM and 10:35 PM-12:35 AM
Minor period
4:29 AM-5:29 AM
Sun
07:54 to 18:27
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Rain, 25 mph
Rain chance
100%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

The species that matter on Madison River: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Rainbow trout illustration

Rainbow trout

Spring and fall in most lakes; rivers fish year-round while the water stays cool

A cold-water trout native to Pacific drainages from Alaska to Baja California, now stocked in most states and fished in rivers, tailwaters and lakes. In cold water rainbows use the deepest pools in rivers (Vermont), so slow, deep drifts there are the usual approach; Michigan DNR notes lake rainbows are also taken with bait or by jigging through the ice.

Brown trout illustration

Brown trout

Spring along Great Lakes shorelines; low light and overcast days in rivers; fall spawning runs

A European trout first stocked in the US in 1883 and now fished in rivers and lakes nationwide; it tolerates warmer water than other trout, and mature stream fish feed mostly at night. Below 50Β°F, fish slowly through the deeper pools; in early spring on the Great Lakes, Michigan DNR notes browns are often caught inshore before other species start biting.

When to come: the Madison River calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Rainbow trout
Brown trout
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 47 F (estimated, not a reading).

30405060JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~47 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Madison River today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 69 F, wind to 21 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 69 F, wind to 16 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 67 F, wind to 8 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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Before you go

License

Montana requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Montana license + AIS pass. Upper river largely artificial lures/flies only, catch-and-release varies by reach; check the current FWP regulations for the Madison drainage.

Access

Legendary public access: $3 Bridge, Raynolds, Lyons Bridge, McAtee, Varney and Ennis FAS sites ladder the whole river. Fly shops in Ennis and West Yellowstone post daily flows and hatches.

About this water

Blue-ribbon trout river, ~140 miles from Yellowstone Park to Three Forks, MT. The Quake-to-Ennis reach is the famed Fifty-Mile Riffle. Managed by Montana FWP.

Fishing Madison River: the full guide

One long riffle

From Quake Lake to Ennis, the Madison runs as a single broken riffle for fifty miles: pocket water end to end, browns and rainbows averaging a legitimate 14-16 inches, and hatches that set the calendar for the whole fly-fishing world (salmonfly in late June, hoppers by August). It is Montana's most pressured river and somehow still its most generous.

The upper, the fifty, the lower

Between the lakes (Hebgen to Quake) is a short, big-fish tailwater section. The famous Fifty-Mile Riffle (Quake to Ennis) fishes the same everywhere and differently every day: nymph the seams, throw attractor dries against the banks from a drifting boat, streamers when clouds roll. Below Ennis Lake, the Bear Trap Canyon wilderness section holds big browns for those who hike, and the lower river toward Three Forks becomes a warm, moody big-fish game best in spring and fall.

Rules and rhythms

Much of the upper river is artificials-only, and regulations change by reach: read the current FWP book. Summer weekends bring flotillas: fish early, fish late, or walk the wade-only water between the lakes. Winter midge fishing on the upper river is underrated for those in the know.

Common questions

When is the salmonfly hatch on the Madison?

Typically the last week of June into early July, moving upstream day by day: three-inch bugs, reckless fish and full campgrounds. Hit it right and it is the show of the season.

Can beginners fish the Madison?

It is one of the best learning rivers anywhere: forgiving pocket water where a high-floating attractor dry and a rough drift still catch fish. Hire an Ennis guide for a day and shortcut a season of lessons.

How does the wind factor in?

It howls up the valley most afternoons: plan casting angles with it, not against it, and get the good fishing done by early afternoon in summer.

Is fishing good at Madison River right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Slow. The wind owns today. 25 mph gusts make boat control the real battle.

Nearby waters

Ennis Lake6 miJefferson River39 miBeaverhead River40 miGallatin River42 miHebgen Lake42 miBig Hole River50 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 06041000 β€” Madison River below Ennis Lake near McAllister
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 19:00 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 45.3500, -111.7300 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written guide was drafted with AI assistance. Unlike our newer pages, it does not yet list the official pages its facts were checked against: that audit is under way, and anything it cannot verify will be taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.