Remember what the Madison used to look like in December and January? | photo by Reimar
If you were on the water in the Rockies this December, you likely noticed something missing: ice. A record-slow start to the Western snowpack began this fall, with snow water equivalents tracking at barely 30% of average in parts of Colorado and Montana.
For the weekend warrior, this has been a unexpected gift. Guide reports from the South Platte and the Madison describe “balmy” 50-degree days with active midges and even late-season Baetis hatching in late December. Reddit’s r/flyfishing is flooded with “New Year’s Eve on the River” posts showing anglers in hoodies rather than parkas.
In a typical December, the fly fishing narrative shifts decisively to tailwaters, size 24 midges, and the numb-fingered perseverance of the die-hard nympher. However, late 2025 delivered a climatic plot twist. An unseasonably warm weather system, stretching across the Northern Hemisphere, has stalled the winter freeze-up, keeping river flows stable and insect hatches active long past their usual expiration date. For anglers willing to brave the shorter days, this anomaly has unlocked a “bonus season” of dry fly fishing that feels more like late October than the winter solstice.
But the veteran guides are nervous. This unseasonably warm winter action suggests a brutal low-flow summer ahead for 2026. The chatter in fly shops from Missoula to Durango is cautious: “Enjoy the easy wading now, but pray for a Miracle March dump.”
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