Fishing Under Pressure

While Winter and Spring can make you think no one is fishing the world famous Upper Madison but you, by June it’s obvious that you’re not alone. And it’s no wonder why, to anyone who’s floated in summer here. Spectacular scenery, happy fish, great hatches, abundant wildlife, and a lively downtown bustling with events and activities. 

Over the years, the number of angler days has dramatically increased. There are north of 120K angler days a year on the Upper Madison now, between Hebgen and Ennis Lake. That’s a lot of anglers. Imagine what that must be like from the fish’s perspective. These tall beanstalks and floating blobs are constantly around them. Think of all the flies they see! Big ones, little ones, dark ones, flashy ones, snagged ones. Some move quickly and erratically. Some are so shiny it blinds them. Some look pretty tasty though. They've never seen a real bug look like that before, but it sure looks good. They’re entire existence, minute by minute, day by day, week by week is about two things: eating and surviving. I wonder how many times a day they open their mouths to eat? I wonder how many times they open their mouths to eat and spit out what they took in? 

Their  vision must be impeccable. Their accuracy of eating is inherently perfect. I laugh when I hear someone in the boat say, “They missed it!” when a fish rises for a fly and swims away unscathed. No. They didn’t “miss it.” One of two things happened. You either missed it, or it rejected your fly at the last second. Something didn’t look right as their mouth opened. Unsafe! Abort! I see this more and more, especially in late August/September with terrestrials. Namely hoppers. Thousands of fraudulent hoppers are skittering across the riffle. Which one is real? 

Think about that. Why not just take it and if it’s not the real thing, spit it out? Well, by that time, a hundred thousand anglers have fished the Upper Madison. Many fish have been caught several times, spooked, stabbed, snagged, and otherwise annoyed. If I open my mouth on this bright yellow hopper, will I get transported out of the water world? We’re training these fish over the course of the summer. They become more analytical of what they ingest. 

If you’ve ever fished a remote high alpine lake, a small stream deep in the upper reaches of any western basin with the grizzly bears, you’ve likely experienced fishing like it probably was in the good old days on the Upper Madison. Fish annihilate anything that plops on the surface. Immediately. With reckless abandon. They may only see a few angler days a summer. If there’s a tasty looking morsel on the surface, it’s probably safe to eat. They aren’t looking at that fly more than a millisecond. 

Those days are long gone on the Madison. And I feel like the clock gets reset to some degree, every year. Fish are never really dumb here anymore, but in Winter and Spring, I do get the sense that their guards are lowered. Slightly. By late summer, these fish have PhD’s in flies. I’ve watched fish hover and follow terrestrial patters for 30 feet of river before bailing. That’s a fish that clearly has been caught a few times. He’s no sucker.

I’ve begun fishing with anglers differently as a result. Out of necessity. As a dry fly first oriented guide, I get to see exactly how an eat happens. Where they eat it on the water, how aggressive, where they reject it, how they reject it, where an eat doesn’t happen that I thought it would. I pay close attention to how the fly floats. I’m constantly gathering information to outwit them. Stay one step ahead of the trout. Below are 5 tips I have for fishing under pressure. 

First up, fly selection. How many thousands upon thousands of standard parachute adams or purple hazes are bought each summer at local fly shops? As fish see more anglers, they see many of the same flies over and over. And they’ve learned to stay clear. Sometimes it pays to fish something slightly different. It doesn’t have to be dramatically different. Just something they haven’t seen much of. A longer tail. A slightly over dubbed body. A lighter hackle. Thinner abdomen. A lighter purple thread. Something. Anything. This is where tying your own flies comes in handy. You can test theories. Take a look at the bin of the purple hazes in a shop next time. They’re all so perfect. Classy looking. Tie one a little differently and test it out!

Second is understanding your hatches (check out my hatch chart HERE). Understanding current hatches is critical. If I go throw an elk hair caddis right now, it’s not likely to get much interest. They haven’t seen enough, let alone any, to make a memory of them. There’s always a dumb fish somewhere, but not many. Be observant. Look around. What does the river tell you to do? It all starts with the right profile and shape. What’s available, and what in your box looks like that? Attractor flies just don’t work like they used to. Imitate something natural and available. 

Third, size is becoming even more important. If you have an adams in a 12 and most of the BWOs you see on the water are a 16, good luck with that. They know. They don’t care that you can’t see the 16s. They might test your 12 now and again. Or in a fast riffle they might make a mistake, but you’re getting tons of rejections you don’t see underwater. Don’t be afraid to try smaller flies. Tie them or buy them with bright posts if you have to. But the biggest suggestion I have with fishing smaller dries is, don’t try to make 40’ casts with an 18 adams. Even I can’t see that. 

Which brings me to the fourth tip. Get closer! Either in the boat or wading. People are always shocked when I tell them not to cast from the boat more than 10-15’ of fly line. Sit down, have a lower profile in the boat (or get on your knees while wading), and cast closer to you. Your casts are more accurate, drifts are more natural, and you can actually see the damn thing and how the fish react. If that adams is out there 40 feet, you can’t see these details. Get sneaky! They’re scared of us, so don’t just walk right up to a spot and stand over them. They’re already gone. If you see a likely holding area while wading stay downstream further than you think. Crawl or stalk closer. Then make a cast. 

Fourth, try to avoid water that is fished often. I know, easier said than done. But I’m thinking in a finer scale. As opposed to fishing in the salt, our fish are confined to a very defined space. They’re somewhere between these two banks. If every boat in front of you took the easy line, maybe you should take the difficult line. Those cut banks with deep green water and foam sure look sexy, but often fish have moved to the other side, tucked away on the inside corner in 4” of water…

Lastly, many times you can have the perfect cast, and the right fly but still not getting eats. When this is happening, typically I try to get people to float it better. Sell it better. Something is happening to the fly on the water they don’t like. It’s moving too much. Or not enough. Generally, it’s got too much drag on it. Drag is evil. Add a section of tippet. Lighter tippet. This will help the fly not succumb to the evil physics of the riffle. A longer, lighter tippet also allows your fly to float longer. This will allow us at minimum to measure whether it’s the fly or not.

Give these tips a shot this summer when things get tough out there!