Predictive hatch forecasts · Live angler reports · 11 blue ribbon rivers
3 hatches active across Montana in May. Live USGS flow and water temperature. 7-day hatch forecasts + real-time angler reports — FlyFishFinder shows static charts. PeakScout predicts and shows what anglers are seeing right now.
Updated 6:16 PM
Combines USGS water temperature, Open-Meteo 7-day air forecast, thermal lag modeling, and historical emergence data to predict when hatches will activate on each river. Updated every 45 minutes.
What are anglers seeing RIGHT NOW? Reports from the community — hatch activity, clarity, pressure, patterns. Auto-expire after 72 hours.
What are you seeing on the water? Reports expire in 72 hours. One report per river per 4 hours.
All MT hatches with patterns, guide tips, and current activity scores.
Year-round staple on all MT rivers. Dominates winter tailwater fishing (Missouri, Bighorn). Fish clusters of larvae below the surface or tiny adults in surface film on warmer days.
Montana's legendary early-season hatch — 4–6 weeks before Colorado even warms up. Skwalas crawl to shore and hatch on sunny afternoons in March–April. Large, olive-brown stoneflies bring big fish to the surface.
The most consistent MT hatch across spring and fall. Thrives on overcast, drizzly days — the "bad weather" hatch. Fish love it. When it rains in October on the Madison, the BWO hatch can be extraordinary.
The Mothers Day Caddis (mid-May) on the Yellowstone River near Livingston is one of the most spectacular hatches in the West. Swarms of size 14-16 olive caddis blizzard the river. Fish are feeding to the surface in a frenzy.
THE Montana hatch. Salmonflies are massive (up to 3 inches) and drive large fish absolutely reckless. Madison, Big Hole, and Rock Creek see the most intense hatches. Anglers travel from around the world to fish this event. Hatch moves upstream as water warms — first on lower stretches, then upriver over 2–3 weeks.
Follows and overlaps the Salmonfly hatch. Smaller but more widespread — golden stoneflies hatch on virtually every Montana freestone river. Fish them the same way: banks, morning emergence, nymph when adults are off.
Prolific summer hatch across all MT rivers from tailwaters to spring creeks. PMDs hatch in the morning through early afternoon and the spinner fall returns in evenings. Bitterroot and Missouri are famous PMD rivers. Fish get selective — carry multiple imitations.
Montana's most exciting mid-summer mayfly — large enough (size 10-12) that fish throw caution away. Green Drakes prefer higher-elevation freestone streams and hatch in the afternoon. Big Hole, Rock Creek, and Smith River are standouts.
Caddis are the reliable workhorse hatch of MT summer fishing. Evening hatches happen on virtually every river from June through September. The evening "flush" — where adult caddis skitter across the surface — drives fish into feeding frenzy.
The Missouri River Trico hatch (August–September) is one of the finest dry fly experiences in the world. Tiny spinners (size 20-24) fall in the morning creating spinner mats. Fish rise everywhere in a slow, deliberate rhythm. Requires fine tippet (6X-7X) and precise presentation.
THE Montana summer technique. A large foam hopper pattern with a small nymph dropper (18–24 inches of tippet) covers both surface and subsurface feeding. Grasshoppers are abundant in MT meadows from July through October. Bank-feeding fish are especially susceptible.
Large orange caddisflies (size 6-8) hatch in September and October on freestone rivers. Fall fishing with big flies as browns move into spawning areas. Fish see these as a substantial meal and rise aggressively.