Hebgen Dam problems & the Madison River

On September 1st (18 days ago), a fisherman heard an unusual noise while fishing the Madison River below Hebgen Dam. So unusual that he alerted authorities to investigate. Soon after there was a significant rise in the flow of water! I believe the flow was somewhere near 800 cfs and it increased to about 3400 cfs (4 times more!). Although authorities had completed an annual inspection just days before and found no problems, it was determined that one of the dam's gates was broken and allowing more water to be released than they (PP&L) wanted. I've read that 3400 cfs is like a good spring runoff. Not actually flood stage, but they did evacuate the campgrounds downriver, closed sections to fishing, and notified local residents of the possibility of flood conditions. It's also caused a slow down in the number of fishing trips for the local fly shops in the area who usually book lots of end-of-summer and fall float trips. I read today that the fishing is still good, although the water is muddy and the fisherpeople are hesitant to get on the river in these uncertain conditions.

The Madison River flows into Hebgen Lake, then into Quake Lake, and eventually into Ennis Lake. Both Quake and Ennis Lakes are being adjusted to handle the increased inflow of water.

The PPL has been trying to replace broken timbers in the release gates of the dam, but with little success. I read that some of the new timbers had warped during the repair process and had to be replaced. And there were 17 more timbers to be replaced. In the beginning of the process there was talk of installing a new steel gate to stop the water, but now I'm reading about using wood timbers. There is also talk, as a last resort, that they will have to lower Hebgen Lake to an extreme low level to repair the gate. I read that if the lake is lowered to that level, it will take years for the lake and the Madison River to recover from the effects. The local fly shops are hoping that doesn't happen.

For the past couple weeks, since the first of September, since the Madison River has been flowing so high, a lot of fishing guides have been looking for a good river for their fishing clients. Many of them are travelling to the other local rivers in this area. The Big Hole, Ruby, Bitterroot, Jefferson rivers, and local lakes have been good choices. I've heard most of the waters in Yellowstone National Park area have been very productive all summer and still are fishing well. Some people I've spoken with are staying in the Last Chance and Ashton areas, fishing the historic Henry's Fork of the Snake and the South Fork of the Snake River.

In my next posting I'll let you know why this river may not be the best choice to fish from now on. How do you fish a river that has been turned off at the faucet?