Lost Fork Outfitters

Below Hebgen dam the Madison runs about three miles before it becomes part of Quake Lake, and that short reach is the water these trips work. It is described as wade fishing rather than a float – the drift boats come out lower down, on the better-known run between Lyons Bridge and Ennis – so anglers are on foot here, covering pockets and runs on a stretch the outfitter says fishes well year round and sits in country worth the walk on its own. Rainbow and brown trout are the quarry, and in autumn large migratory browns and rainbows push up out of Hebgen Lake into the outflow. Hebgen itself, immediately above the dam, is part of the same trip country: the lake draws anglers for its gulper fishing in August and September, when cruising trout sip callibaetis off the surface, and for midge hatches earlier in the spring. Tackle is handled by the guides, who recommend, provide and tie the flies and terminal gear each day calls for. Neither a trip length nor a specific put-in is stated for this reach.