Share your catch
US

Clark Fork River (Missoula) Fishing Report

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

The Clark Fork at Missoula: a free-flowing trout river below the site of the former Milltown Dam, with FWP access sites in and around town.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Flow
1,480 cfs
Air / High
48 / 53 F
Wind
W 6 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 12340500, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Tap a marker for today's tip
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.

Clark Fork River (Missoula) fishes cold and honest: earn your bites in the deep stuff. The river is running 1,480 cfs, steady over the week. Today brings cloud cover, wind W around 6 mph, rising pressure near 1012 hPa and a high of 53. Water sits around 47 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 10:13 AM-12:13 PM and 10:44 PM-12:44 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 50°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 55 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

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 →

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 Clark Fork above Missoula MT.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 12340500.

1,3571,4251,4931,480 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Today’s flow against 96 years of October 23

At 1,480 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 12340500 (Clark Fork above Missoula MT) is at the 46th percentile for the date: normal. In half of the 96 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 1,515 cfs; the highest was 3,730 cfs and the lowest 910 cfs.

p10 1,140median 1,515p90 2,005

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 12340500; 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 temp48 F
High / Low53 / 42 F
WindW 6-19 mph
Pressure1011.9 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain100% cloud, 90%
Sunrise / Sunset08:05 / 18:34
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (gauge)48 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 Clark Fork River (Missoula) this week

Today is the pick of the week on Clark Fork River (Missoula), at 3 out of 5.

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

Today, Oct 23 — Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
10:13 AM-12:13 PM and 10:44 PM-12:44 AM
Minor period
4:39 AM-5:39 AM
Sun
08:05 to 18:34
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Rain, 10 mph
Rain chance
90%

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

Species guide

The species that matter on Clark Fork River (Missoula): 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 50°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 Clark Fork River (Missoula) 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 Clark Fork River (Missoula) 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 69 F, wind to 11 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 64 F, wind to 9 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 63 F, wind to 7 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used if we need to ask you about your report. No mailing list, no spam.

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 fishing license. FWP 2026, Perkins Lane Bridge to the Flathead River: cutthroat catch-and-release; general season (third Saturday in May-Nov. 30) 3 trout combined, 1 over 14 in.; extended season (Dec. 1-third Saturday in May) trout catch-and-release, artificial lures and/or maggots only. FWP can add hoot-owl restrictions (no fishing 2 p.m.-midnight) or closures in drought; none applied to the Clark Fork on Oct. 8, 2026.

Access

FWP fishing access sites: Sha-Ron (East Missoula), Kelly Island (Missoula), Kona Bridge and Harper's Bridge (off Mullan Road west of town), Petty Creek (I-90 Exit 77).

About this water

350-mile river from near Anaconda to Lake Pend Oreille; Montana's largest river at the Idaho line (FWP). Missoula County, MT. USGS gauge: Clark Fork above Missoula.

Fishing Clark Fork River (Missoula): the full guide

The river

FWP describes the Clark Fork as starting at the junction of Silver Bow and Warm Springs creeks near Anaconda and flowing 350 miles to Lake Pend Oreille in Idaho. The middle river, about 115 river miles from Missoula to the Flathead River, is entirely free flowing, and where it crosses into Idaho the Clark Fork is Montana's largest river, averaging 22,060 cubic feet per second.

Milltown Dam and the cleanup

About 6.6 million cubic yards of mining-contaminated sediment built up behind Milltown Dam at the Clark Fork-Blackfoot confluence, according to EPA. The dam was breached on March 28, 2008, under a Superfund remedy that also removed the most contaminated sediment and built a bypass channel. Most of the former dam and reservoir site now lies within the 600-acre Milltown State Park, and EPA issued its latest five-year review of the site in 2026.

Trout and other fish

FWP's species list for the river includes native westslope cutthroat trout, bull trout and mountain whitefish, along with introduced rainbow and brown trout.

Rules

From Perkins Lane Bridge near Warm Springs down to the Flathead River, FWP's 2026 rules make cutthroat trout catch-and-release. During the general season, from the third Saturday in May through Nov. 30, the combined trout limit is 3, with only one over 14 inches, and only artificial lures may be used within 100 yards of the mouths of several tributaries, including Rattlesnake Creek. From Dec. 1 to the third Saturday in May an extended season applies: all trout must be released, and only artificial lures and/or maggots may be used.

Common questions

Was Milltown Dam removed?

Yes. EPA records the breach on March 28, 2008; the remedy also removed the most contaminated reservoir sediment, and most of the site is now Milltown State Park.

Is the Clark Fork open to fishing in winter near Missoula?

Yes, under FWP's extended season from Dec. 1 to the third Saturday in May, with every trout released and only artificial lures and/or maggots allowed.

Is fishing good at Clark Fork River (Missoula) 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

Bitterroot River7 miBlackfoot River8 miRock Creek18 miGeorgetown Lake57 miFlathead Lake70 miNorth Fork Clearwater River80 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 12340500 — Clark Fork above Missoula MT
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 19:00 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 46.8768, -113.9321 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.
Pages checked
The facts in the written guide were checked against these pages, from the agencies and operators that manage the water, on October 8, 2026. Anything we could not verify was taken out.
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 text was drafted with AI assistance from the official pages listed above, and its facts were checked against those pages by automated verification on October 8, 2026; anything that could not be verified was 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.