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Jefferson River Fishing Report

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

The forgotten fork: brown-trout water the crowds drive past, where the Big Hole and Beaverhead marry and float traffic disappears.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Flow
1,180 cfs
Air / High
44 / 51 F
Wind
N 17 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 06036650, 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.

Jefferson River asks for patience today: short windows, precise presentations. The river is running 1,180 cfs, dropping and clearing. Today brings cloud cover, wind N around 17 mph, rising pressure near 1009 hPa and a high of 51. Water sits around 47 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 10:03 AM-12:03 PM and 10:34 PM-12:34 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 47 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 Jefferson River near Three Forks.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 06036650.

7919681,1451,180 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Today’s flow against 47 years of October 23

At 1,180 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 06036650 (Jefferson River near Three Forks) is at the 31st percentile for the date: normal. In half of the 47 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 1,450 cfs; the highest was 3,050 cfs and the lowest 775 cfs.

p10 963median 1,450p90 2,214

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 06036650; 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 temp44 F
High / Low51 / 33 F
WindN 17-27 mph
Pressure1009.1 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain100% cloud, 100%
Sunrise / Sunset07:54 / 18:26
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (gauge)51 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 Jefferson River this week

Today is the pick of the week on Jefferson 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
10:03 AM-12:03 PM and 10:34 PM-12:34 AM
Minor period
4:29 AM-5:29 AM
Sun
07:54 to 18:26
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Rain, 17 mph
Rain chance
100%

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

Species guide

The species that matter on Jefferson 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 Jefferson 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 Jefferson 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 73 F, wind to 10 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 68 F, wind to 5 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 65 F, wind to 8 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. Hoot-owl and closure watch in hot summers: check FWP region 3.

Access

Hells Canyon, Mayflower, Cardwell, Sappington, Drouillard FAS accesses.

About this water

83 miles from Twin Bridges to Three Forks, MT. The unsung brown-trout fork of the headwaters.

Fishing Jefferson River: the full guide

The quiet confluence

The Jefferson forms where the Big Hole, Beaverhead and Ruby merge at Twin Bridges: and inherits their browns without their fame. Anglers rushing between famous forks skip it: which is precisely its value: 80 miles of cottonwood bends, undercut banks and brown trout that see a fraction of the pressure their cousins endure.

Brown-trout water, honestly

The Jeff fishes warm and moody: summer flows drop with irrigation and the river suffers in drought years (hoot-owl closures come here first): but spring and fall it becomes what it always was: streamer water for 20-plus-inch browns hunting the banks, hopper flats in wet Augusts, and crayfish-pattern floats through the Cardwell canyon.

Where to work it

The upper river (Twin Bridges to Silver Star) runs coldest and fishes most reliably: the Cardwell-to-Three-Forks canyon adds scenery and deeper holding water. Access sites space generous floats: Hells Canyon, Mayflower, Sappington: and wade anglers work the riprap and bend pools at each between hatches.

Timing the Jeff

April-June: the prime: pre-runoff streamers, then caddis as it clears. July-August: watch temperatures (our Three Forks gauge tracks it): fish dawn or rest it: the river repays restraint. September-October: the payoff: big browns eating streamers in empty water while the crowds queue on the Madison. The Jefferson rewards anglers who think in seasons, not hatches.

Common questions

Why is the Jefferson less famous than the Madison?

Warmer, moodier and harder to time: the crowds follow reliability. In its windows (spring, fall, wet summers) the Jeff's browns match anything in the valley: with the banks to yourself.

When should I float the Jefferson?

April-June and September-October: streamer seasons bracket the year. Skip hot low-water weeks: the river needs the rest and fishes poorly anyway.

Is fishing good at Jefferson 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

Gallatin River4 miEnnis Lake33 miCanyon Ferry Lake37 miMadison River39 miYellowstone River50 miBig Hole River58 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 06036650 β€” Jefferson River near Three Forks
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 45.8920, -111.5450 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.