Fishing Season: late Winter / early Spring

Missouri River - MT

Fishing Outlook & Conditions

Water Temp:

47

CrossCurrents Fly Shop's Tip of the Week

Have your dry fly rod ready to go in the afternoons! You'll get a good chance of fishing on top.

Directions open in app

Map of Missouri River

Water Flow Data

Orvis-Endorsed guides nearby

Blue Damsel Lodge
Fins & Feathers
PRO Outfitters
Bitterroot Fly Company

5-Day Outlook as of 5/8/25

Baetis (BWO's) are sputtering a bit now that we are more than a week into May. Caddis are beginning to show up in the lower sections of the river. Mother's Day weekend looks nice and then rain forecasted for next week. Maybe Baetis will kick in again!

Techniques & Tips as of 5/8/25

Nymphing with scuds or midges 4-6 feet under the indicator in the morning. Try switching your bottom fly to a pheasant tail nymph or another blue wing nymph in the afternoon. Another productive technique right now is swinging small streamers through the bottom water column near riffles and drop offs. Some browns have been hanging out in shallow water recently so using that same technique near the bank or gravel bars should be productive.

Local Species Available late Winter / early Spring

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    Rainbow Trout

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    Brown Trout

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    and Whitefish

CrossCurrents Fly Shop's Recommended Fly Patterns

"Must-have" fly fishing patterns in descending order of importance:

Name: Colors: Size(s):
TH Zebra Midge N/A #18 - #20
Tungsten Jig Bugger N/A #18 - #20
Hot Head Euro Pheasant Tail N/A #18 - #22
Bead Head Flash Zonker red #10
Firebead Sowbug N/A #14 - #16
Warrior Perdigon N/A #16 - #18
Lightning Bug Gold, Silver #16 - #18
RS2 N/A #18
Sparkle Minnow Pearl, Sculpin #4 - #6
Lil' Kim N/A #4 - #8

TH Zebra Midge

A handy midge fly pattern for stillwater.

2.49

Item #1X94

Buy Now

CrossCurrents Fly Shop's Recommended Gear

Description: About Missouri River

The Missouri River is one of the largest and most easily accessed rivers in Montana. The mighty MO is certainly a trout factory! Three reservoirs in a row make this tailwater fishery have a constant water flow and stable temperatures from day to day. Amazingly fertile, with prolific hatches of mayflies, caddis, and midges, the Missouri is a 365 day river. You'll see fish rising just about every day of the year. Take a float trip down the Missouri and you'll know why it made such a powerful impression on Lewis and Clark during their great expedition. During the summer, caddis and mayfly hatches are so prolific that it looks as though there is a mini blizzard over the river. This river is known for its excellent dry fly fishing. But it's also amazing when fished with emergers. or small bead-heads as a dropper behind a dry fly. The MO fishes fantastically in the shoulder seasons of Spring and Fall with Baetis and Midges for dries and big, ugly streamers! That is when some very big fish are caught! The Missouri throws itself into the heated debate of "Row vs. Wade" because it is so perfectly suited to angle from both a drift boat (or other water craft) as well as wade fishing on foot. With an adult trout population (Rainbows and Browns over 10") between 4000-8000 fish per mile and an average size of 16"-18", it's not too hard to figure out why the Missouri ranks up there with many people's favorite places to fish!

Nearest Airport:

Helena, Great Falls

Hatches:

Midges.

Best Time to Fish:

late AM through early PM

Best Stretch:

Dam to Craig

Best Access:

Holter, Wolf Creek Bridge, Craig, Stickney, Mid-Canon and walk-in between all those.