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Blackfoot River Fishing Report

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

The river that ran through it: Norman Maclean's home water, restored to wild-trout health, floating brown-and-cutthroat canyons northeast of Missoula.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Flow
600 cfs
Air / High
42 / 51 F
Wind
WNW 11 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 12340000, 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.

Blackfoot River asks for patience today: short windows, precise presentations. The river is running 600 cfs, steady over the week. Today brings cloud cover, wind WNW around 11 mph, rising pressure near 1012 hPa and a high of 51. Water sits around 47 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 10:12 AM-12:12 PM and 10:43 PM-12:43 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: Cooler at 46 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 Blackfoot River near Bonner.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 12340000.

592613634600 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Today’s flow against 93 years of October 23

At 600 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 12340000 (Blackfoot River near Bonner) is at the 47th percentile for the date: normal. In half of the 93 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 611 cfs; the highest was 1,770 cfs and the lowest 369 cfs.

p10 429median 611p90 898

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 12340000; 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 temp42 F
High / Low51 / 35 F
WindWNW 11-17 mph
Pressure1011.6 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain100% cloud, 95%
Sunrise / Sunset08:04 / 18:33
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (gauge)46 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 Blackfoot River this week

Today is the pick of the week on Blackfoot 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
10:12 AM-12:12 PM and 10:43 PM-12:43 AM
Minor period
4:38 AM-5:38 AM
Sun
08:04 to 18:33
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Rain, 14 mph
Rain chance
95%

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

Species guide

The species that matter on Blackfoot 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 Blackfoot 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 Blackfoot 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 59 F, wind to 13 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 59 F, wind to 8 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 57 F, wind to 7 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. Bull trout: mandatory release, no targeting. Hoot-owl afternoon closures possible July-August: check FWP.

Access

Corridor accesses along Hwy 200: Johnsrud, Whitaker Bridge, Roundup, Weigh Station launches.

About this water

130 miles from the Continental Divide to the Clark Fork at Bonner. The restored classic of Missoula's backyard.

Fishing Blackfoot River: the full guide

The literary river, recovered

The Blackfoot of 'A River Runs Through It' nearly died of mining and dewatering: three decades of restoration brought it back to wild-trout standing. Today it fishes as Montana's comeback story: westslope cutthroat and browns in the canyon pools, bull trout ghosting the depths (release on sight), and a corridor protected by one of the state's great conservation partnerships.

Canyon floats and pocket water

The river braids personality by reach: the upper meadows fish intimate, the Box Canyon and the lower river's ledge-rock pools run big and dramatic. Floats from Roundup to Weigh Station cover the famous water; wade anglers work the fishing-access pullouts along Highway 200. Salmonflies in June, golden stones after, hoppers through the heat: a freestone calendar with a canyon accent.

The recreation corridor

The Blackfoot's access model is unique: a cooperative corridor where ranches open banks under shared rules. Respect the signage and the system keeps working: it is Montana's proof that private land and public fishing can share a river.

Timing the Blackfoot

Pre-runoff (April) offers skwalas and quiet; runoff blows it out May-June; July-August is prime dry-fly float season (mornings beat the afternoon heat in low years); September-October turns the browns aggressive and the cottonwoods gold. Hoot-owl restrictions can close afternoons in hot summers: check FWP.

Common questions

Is the Blackfoot really the movie river?

It is the book's river: the film shot mostly on the Gallatin. The real Blackfoot's recovery since then means today's angler fishes better water than Maclean's ghosts did.

When are salmonflies on the Blackfoot?

Mid-June into early July as runoff recedes: the canyon reaches hatch first. Big foam and short casts to the banks: the year's most violent eats.

Is fishing good at Blackfoot 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

Clark Fork River (Missoula)8 miRock Creek14 miBitterroot River14 miGeorgetown Lake53 miFlathead Lake72 miMissouri River (Craig)85 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 12340000 β€” Blackfoot River near Bonner
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 18:30 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 46.8770, -113.7560 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.