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Big Hole River Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

The last river of the grayling: Montana's undammed freestone jewel, salmonfly June and the Wise River braids running wild since forever.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Flow
477 cfs
Air / High
45 / 49 F
Wind
N 20 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 06025500, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
23
October 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

3/5Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Big Hole River fishes cold and honest: earn your bites in the deep stuff. The river is running 477 cfs, steady over the week. Today brings cloud cover, wind N around 20 mph, rising pressure near 1010 hPa and a high of 49. Water sits around 47 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 10:08 AM-12:08 PM and 10:39 PM-12:39 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Rainbow troutExcellent

In cold water rainbows use the deepest pools in rivers (Vermont), so slow, deep drifts there are the usual approach; Michigan DNR notes lake rainbows are also taken with bait or by jigging through the ice.

Brown troutExcellent

Below 50Β°F, fish slowly through the deeper pools; in early spring on the Great Lakes, Michigan DNR notes browns are often caught inshore before other species start biting.

Tomorrow: Similar at 45 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

Before you go

Montana requires a fishing licence from age 12, from $31.00 for residents. What a Montana licence costs and where to buy it β†’

Chasing rainbow trout here? Check the size and bag limits with FWP before you keep anything. The season dates for Montana, read off the agency, are on the Montana seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings from Big Hole River near Melrose.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 06025500.

356404452477 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Today’s flow against 103 years of October 23

At 477 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 06025500 (Big Hole River near Melrose) is at the 45th percentile for the date: normal. In half of the 103 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 501 cfs; the highest was 1,690 cfs and the lowest 221 cfs.

p10 304median 501p90 763

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 06025500; today’s reading is the latest instantaneous value. Classes follow the ones the USGS used on its WaterWatch maps (retired at the end of 2025): below 10th, much below normal; 10th–24th, below; 25th–75th, normal; 76th–90th, above; over 90th, much above.

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp45 F
High / Low49 / 35 F
WindN 20-27 mph
Pressure1009.6 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain100% cloud, 100%
Sunrise / Sunset07:58 / 18:31
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (gauge)47 F USGS
Water temp (seasonal)~47 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Which day to fish Big Hole River this week

Today is the pick of the week on Big Hole River, at 3 out of 5.

Best day this week: today, Oct 23 β€” fair at 3/5, rising pressure behind a front, typically the slowest.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
10:08 AM-12:08 PM and 10:39 PM-12:39 AM
Minor period
4:33 AM-5:33 AM
Sun
07:58 to 18:31
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Rain, 20 mph
Rain chance
100%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

The species that matter on Big Hole River: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Rainbow trout illustration

Rainbow trout

Spring and fall in most lakes; rivers fish year-round while the water stays cool

A cold-water trout native to Pacific drainages from Alaska to Baja California, now stocked in most states and fished in rivers, tailwaters and lakes. In cold water rainbows use the deepest pools in rivers (Vermont), so slow, deep drifts there are the usual approach; Michigan DNR notes lake rainbows are also taken with bait or by jigging through the ice.

Brown trout illustration

Brown trout

Spring along Great Lakes shorelines; low light and overcast days in rivers; fall spawning runs

A European trout first stocked in the US in 1883 and now fished in rivers and lakes nationwide; it tolerates warmer water than other trout, and mature stream fish feed mostly at night. Below 50Β°F, fish slowly through the deeper pools; in early spring on the Great Lakes, Michigan DNR notes browns are often caught inshore before other species start biting.

When to come: the Big Hole River calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Rainbow trout
Brown trout
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 47 F (estimated, not a reading).

30405060JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~47 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Big Hole River today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 66 F, wind to 16 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 66 F, wind to 17 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 64 F, wind to 6 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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Before you go

License

Montana requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Montana license + AIS pass. Grayling: release immediately. Hoot-owl closures common late summer: check FWP.

Access

Divide, Melrose, Maiden Rock canyon, Wise River, Fishtrap FAS accesses along MT-43.

About this water

153 undammed miles, Beaverhead/Deer Lodge counties, MT. The last grayling river of the lower 48.

Fishing Big Hole River: the full guide

The wild one

The Big Hole runs undammed from the Beaverhead's high valley: Montana's most beloved freestone and the last river in the lower 48 with native fluvial Arctic grayling. Browns and rainbows fill the famous miles (Melrose, the canyon, Wise River's braids): brookies and grayling hold the upper meadows: and the river's moods: flood, glory, drought: set southwestern Montana's fishing calendar.

Salmonfly royalty

Mid-June's salmonfly emergence is the Big Hole's carnival: size-4 naturals crawling the willows from Melrose through the canyon, drift boats bumper-to-bumper, and browns that forget every lesson they ever learned. The golden stones and caddis that follow keep the dry-fly month running: if you get one Montana float a year, June here makes the case.

The grayling covenant

The upper river's grayling: sail-finned, iridescent, fragile: survive through cooperative flow agreements with ranchers: a conservation landmark. Fish them gently in the meadow reaches (small attractors, quick releases) and watch for closure notices in hot, low summers: hoot-owl rules protect the river that protects them.

Reading the Big Hole year

May: pre-runoff streamers and the first big fish of the year. June: runoff drops into salmonfly glory. July: hoppers start, flows drop: fish mornings. August: low-water finesse and the drought watch (closures possible: check FWP). September-October: streamer browns in the canyon and solitude. The river runs on snowpack: our gauge at Melrose is the season's dashboard.

Common questions

When is the Big Hole salmonfly hatch?

Typically June 10-25 as runoff drops: Melrose through the Maiden Rock canyon is the epicenter. Book shuttles and lodging a year out: Montana plans around this fortnight.

Can you fish for grayling in the Big Hole?

Yes, gently: the upper meadows hold the last native river grayling in the lower 48: small dries, quick release, and closure-notice awareness in hot years. Catching one is Montana history in hand.

Is fishing good at Big Hole River right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Nearby waters

Beaverhead River22 miClark Canyon Reservoir44 miGeorgetown Lake48 miMadison River50 miEnnis Lake50 miJefferson River58 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 06025500 β€” Big Hole River near Melrose
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 19:15 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 45.6300, -112.6850 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written guide was drafted with AI assistance. Unlike our newer pages, it does not yet list the official pages its facts were checked against: that audit is under way, and anything it cannot verify will be taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.