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Clark Fork River (Missoula) Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Sep 4, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Missoula's town river: recovered, resilient and full of cutthroat character.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Flow
1,260 cfs
Air / High
63 / 68 F
Wind
NW 4 mph

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

Satellite view
Friday
4
September 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.

2/5Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Clark Fork River (Missoula) is in transition: bait on the move and predators following. The river is running 1,260 cfs, on the rise. Today brings clear skies, wind NW around 4 mph, rising pressure near 1012 hPa and a high of 68. Water sits around 54 F for the season (estimated). With the last quarter, the solunar majors run 5:39 AM-7:39 AM and 5:39 PM-7:39 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Rainbow troutGood

Blue-winged olives and midges on soft seams; streamers on overcast days move the better fish.

Brown troutGood

Pre-spawn aggression: this is streamer season for the fish of the year.

Tomorrow: Warmer at 73 F with a rain chance. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Sep 5, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Water and weather

Live readings from Clark Fork above Missoula MT.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 12340500.

1,1571,2451,3331,260 cfs08/0508/1508/2509/04

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp63 F
High / Low68 / 51 F
WindNW 4-9 mph
Pressure1012.3 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain9% cloud, 84%
Sunrise / Sunset06:59 / 20:09
MoonLast Quarter, 50%
Water temp (seasonal)~54 F est.

Bite planner

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

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunset

Next 7 days

Tap a day for the detailed outlook.

Fri Sep 4 · Rain, 68/51 F, wind 10 mph, rain 84%

Slow. High rain chance; fish the front edge before it arrives.

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

Best: Apr-Jun, Sep-Oct

The workhorse of western rivers: riffles, seams and dry-fly eats. Blue-winged olives and midges on soft seams; streamers on overcast days move the better fish.

Brown trout illustration

Brown trout

Best: Sep-Nov

Wary, predatory and nocturnal by preference. The big ones eat streamers. Pre-spawn aggression: this is streamer season for the fish of the year.

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 54 F (estimated, not a reading).

30405060JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~54 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, Sep 3

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at good. High of 66 F, wind to 7 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at good. High of 67 F, wind to 16 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at good. High of 88 F, wind to 22 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

Standard FWP rules; hoot-owl watch in hot summers. Confirm with FWP.

Access

FAS ramps through and below Missoula (Kona, Harper's, Petty Creek, Forest Grove...).

About this water

Montana's largest river by volume at the Idaho line; restored steadily since Milltown Dam's 2008 removal.

Fishing Clark Fork River (Missoula): the full guide

A comeback river

The Clark Fork has been restored from mining damage into Missoula's everyday trout water: cutthroat and rainbows on dries through town, browns in the softer water below, and the Blackfoot and Bitterroot joining as tributaries of legend. Evening caddis in July is the city's happy hour.

Town water, real fishing

Through Missoula the Clark Fork fishes between bridges: caddis evenings, hopper banks, cutthroat that forgive and browns that do not. The Kona and Sha-Ron access points bracket town floats; wade anglers work the braids by the university.

The bigger river below

Downstream of the Bitterroot confluence the Clark Fork becomes Montana's biggest trout river by volume: long pools, bank streamers, fewer anglers per mile than any famous neighbor. Superior-to-St. Regis floats find solitude with fish counts that keep improving post-restoration.

The big river's second act

The Clark Fork rebuilt itself after the Milltown Dam removal: the river now runs free past Missoula, and the fishery reflects it: native cutthroat mixing with browns in renewed side channels, and steadily improving insect biomass. Summer hopper banks below town draw drift boats; the huge lower river toward Superior fishes streamer-big for brawny browns few anglers target. It is Montana's comeback story in progress.

Common questions

Is the Clark Fork clean now?

The Superfund work paid off: Milltown's removal and upstream cleanup rebuilt insect life and fish numbers. It is a recovery story still compounding annually.

How did the Milltown Dam removal change the Clark Fork?

Reconnected 500-plus miles of habitat and released the river's sediment burden: trout numbers and native fish passage have climbed since 2008. The Blackfoot and Bitterroot junctions now function as true fish highways.

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: Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Nearby waters

Bitterroot River6 miBlackfoot River11 miRock Creek20 miGeorgetown Lake58 miFlathead Lake70 miNorth Fork Clearwater River77 mi
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