Cameron’s World Famous Montana Fishing Reports

Current conditions, hatches, and flies for the waters I fish, distilled from the latest Montana fly shop reports. Click a river above for its reports.

These are honest reports for some of Montana's best trout rivers. I am based in Missoula, so I fish the closer waters often and the farther ones when I can, and each report draws on the best resources for that river, the shops and guides who know it day to day. Below is what each river is known for and when it tends to fish best; pick a river above for its latest report.

The season, at a glance. Spring, from April into mid-June, is runoff: the freestones (Blackfoot, Bitterroot, Clark Fork, Rock Creek) blow out and clear on their own schedule, and the hatches stack up as the water drops, building toward the salmonfly and golden stone weeks that define June. Summer, from late June through August, is prime time: stable flows, big dry-dropper fishing, terrestrials by August, and early starts as the water warms. Fall brings cooler water, blue-winged olives, October caddis, and aggressive browns. The tailwaters (the Missouri, and the stretches of the Madison fed by dams) hold shape across a longer window than the freestones.

Blackfoot River is the classic freestone northeast of Missoula, known for salmonflies and golden stones in June and rewarding anglers who cover water with attractor dries. Bitterroot River, Missoula's home river to the south, offers the earliest dry-fly fishing in the area, skwalas in spring, and a long hatch season. Clark Fork River runs right through town, bigger and more forgiving than it looks, with strong summer hatches. Rock Creek, a blue-ribbon tributary to the east, is tight, wadeable, and famous for its salmonfly hatch and steady summer dry-fly fishing. Madison River, one of Montana's most famous, is a long riffle of holding water whose tailwater influence keeps it fishing when the freestones are off. Missouri River, the premier tailwater near Craig, is a giant spring creek where technical nymphing and prolific PMD, trico, and caddis hatches reward precision.

These reports are a labor of love, and they are possible because of the people behind the counter at the local fly shops. If a report helps you, stop in, buy a few flies, and tell them where you are headed. They are the finest stewards our rivers have.

River photos via Wikimedia Commons: Blackfoot (BLM), Bitterroot (USFS), and Madison (NPS) are public domain; Clark Fork by w_lemay (CC BY-SA 2.0); Rock Creek by Nick Thornton (CC BY-SA 3.0); Missouri by Lankyrider (CC BY-SA 4.0).