Share your catch

Fort Peck Lake Fishing Report

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

Montana's badlands sea: a quarter-million acres of walleye, pike and Chinook silence.

2/5
Slow. The wind owns today.23 mph gusts make boat control the real battle.
Water temp
~66 F est.
Air / High
88 / 94 F
Wind
SSE 10 mph

Sources: 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. The wind owns today.23 mph gusts make boat control the real battle.

Fort Peck Lake sits in the sweet spot of the season: active fish and workable weather. Today brings clear skies, wind SSE around 10 mph, steady pressure near 1002 hPa and a high of 94. Water sits around 66 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

WalleyeGood

Jig and minnow on rock reefs and points; the evening bite on wind-blown shores is the one to plan around.

Northern pikeGood

Weedline spinnerbaits, spoons and jerkbaits; bays with fresh green weed hold the active fish.

White bassFair

The spring river run: small crankbaits and roadrunners up the tributaries.

CrappieSlow

Spawning shallow around cover in spring; jigs under a float near buck brush and laydowns.

Tomorrow: Cooler at 86 F. 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.

No live gauge on this water

Conditions here are modeled from weather, season and the nearest stations. Water readings appear when a USGS gauge is available.

304050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~66 F now

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp88 F
High / Low94 / 59 F
WindSSE 10-14 mph
Pressure1002.4 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 1%
Sunrise / Sunset06:30 / 19:42
MoonLast Quarter, 50%
Water temp (seasonal)~66 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 · Clear, 94/59 F, wind 23 mph, rain 1%

Slow. Wind at 23 mph makes boat control the day's real problem; find protected banks.

Species guide

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

Walleye illustration

Walleye

Best: May-Jun, Oct

The glass-eyed prize of northern lakes. Low light, wind-blown structure and live bait. Jig and minnow on rock reefs and points; the evening bite on wind-blown shores is the one to plan around.

White bass illustration

White bass

Best: Mar-May run

River-run spawners and open-water schoolers. Fast limits when you find them. The spring river run: small crankbaits and roadrunners up the tributaries.

Northern pike illustration

Northern pike

Best: spring, early winter

The ambush predator of weedbeds and cabbage edges. Aggressive, big and always worth a wire leader. Weedline spinnerbaits, spoons and jerkbaits; bays with fresh green weed hold the active fish.

Crappie illustration

Crappie

Best: Nov-Mar

Brush piles, bridge pilings and standing timber. The fish fry favorite. Spawning shallow around cover in spring; jigs under a float near buck brush and laydowns.

When to come: the Fort Peck Lake 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
Walleye
White bass
Northern pike
Crappie
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 66 F (estimated, not a reading).

304050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~66 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 Fort Peck Lake today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Sep 3

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Walleye led the card at excellent. High of 83 F, wind to 12 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Walleye led the card at excellent. High of 90 F, wind to 22 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Walleye led the card at excellent. High of 83 F, wind to 15 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used to send you this water's report each week. No spam, ever.

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

Walleye 5/day standard: check MT FWP. Paddlefish snagging by permit in season.

Access

Fort Peck Marina, Hell Creek SP (36 gravel miles in), Rock Creek, Duck Creek ramps.

About this water

245,000 acres on the Missouri, northeastern MT. Corps, Fort Peck Dam (1940): the New Deal giant.

Fishing Fort Peck Lake: the full guide

The frontier lake

Fort Peck feels like fishing on the moon: 134 miles of badlands reservoir with walleye on the points, pike in the bays, lake trout and salmon in the depths, and days where the only company is antelope. Services are sparse and distances real: plan like an expedition, fish like a pioneer.

The last frontier of walleye

Peck fishes like an inland sea with no crowd: 245,000 acres and you may not see another boat off the main ramps' sight lines. Walleye school the points and bars of the Big Dry Arm; summer trolling covers water until the graph lights. Bring fuel, filters, and self-reliance: services are generational rumors.

Lakers and everything else

Montana's biggest lake trout swim Peck's 200-ft channels: jigged in deep winter or trolled at the thermocline in July. Northern pike prowl the timbered bays, smallmouth own the riprap, and the chinook program adds a fall wildcard below the dam faces.

Common questions

How remote is Fort Peck really?

Genuinely: cell service dies off the main bays, ramps sit an hour apart, and weather owns you. File a float plan; the reward is having a sea to yourself.

Dry-arm smallmouth surprise

Peck's smallmouth colonized its rocky arms quietly and thoroughly: the Big Dry's points and the dam's riprap now hold 3-4-lb brown fish that eat Neds and tubes all summer, essentially unpressured. Between walleye passes, an afternoon of smallmouth on virgin rock is the lake's best-kept simple pleasure: no other boat within miles, fish that have never seen a tube.

What is the Governor's Cup at Fort Peck?

July's signature walleye tournament out of the marina: 200-plus teams, the lake's biggest social weekend. Book Glasgow and Fort Peck lodging a year ahead if you visit then.

Is fishing good at Fort Peck Lake right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Slow. The wind owns today. 23 mph gusts make boat control the real battle.

Nearby waters

Bighorn River114 miFresno Reservoir155 miBighorn Lake191 miBoulder River202 miBighorn Lake207 miLake Sakakawea211 mi
Share your catch