Montana Small Stream Fishing Report

This Montana small stream fishing report is valid July 26 through early September.

Rougher mountain-type creeks are now a good bet and will be a great way of beating the heat through the summer, as long as you get away from those that get fished hard like Mill Creek near the road and Big Creek just inside the NF boundary. The meadow-type creeks like the East Gallatin are going to be very tough until fall. The lower East Gallatin is on hoot owls and we expect them to be implemented on the entire stream soon.

On the rough creeks, fish attractor dry/dropper combos as your first choice. A #12 Trude trailing a #16 Prince is the classic combo and a good choice. If these don’t work, try a #12-14 hopper of your choice or perhaps a spruce moth. Fly choice seldom matters all that much. It’s much more important to get on water that isn’t getting thrashed by other anglers. Rougher creeks with rougher banks and longer or harder walks to access are the ticket.

Note: We update our general fishing report far more often than our fishery-specific reports like this one, especially between November and April.