Waters · United States
Big Hole River (Melrose) fishing report
Updated Friday, 9 October 2026 · refreshed automatically through the day
The last river in the lower 48 holding a native fluvial grayling population, and a brown-trout river that genuinely gets too warm by August — hoot-owl restrictions are routine, so the temperature reading matters.
Today's report: excellent (82/100)
Brown Trout is the most promising species on Big Hole River (Melrose) today. Water temperature at the gauge is 9.0°C (48°F) and barometric pressure is falling. Gauge Big Hole River near Melrose MT shows the water level rising (0 cm/24h).
Big Hole River (Melrose) water temperature and flow
- Water temperature: 9.0°C (48°F)
- Discharge: 9.5 m³/s (335 cfs) — up 2% over 24 hours
- Level trend: rising (0 cm/24h)
Measured at gauge Big Hole River near Melrose MT · reading 27 min ago. Published by the national hydrological service, not estimated by us.
Best time to fish today
- 21:00–23:00 local time — score 84/100
- 00:00–02:00 local time — score 88/100
- 08:00–10:00 local time — score 91/100
3-day outlook by species
| Species | Friday 9 Oct | Saturday 10 Oct | Sunday 11 Oct |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brown Trout | 82 — excellent | 90 — excellent | 60 — good |
| Rainbow Trout | 71 — good | 82 — excellent | 53 — fair |
| Grayling | 80 — excellent | 89 — excellent | 48 — fair |
Why this score
Cast & Scan uses a deterministic, published scoring model — no black box. The strongest influences on today's Big Hole River (Melrose) rating:
- water temperature: helping (+1)
- pressure trend: helping (+1)
- season: helping (+1)
- wind: helping (+0.9)
- precipitation: helping (+0.9)
- cloud cover: helping (+0.85)
Forecast computed Fri, 09 Oct 2026 15:41:31 GMT · data: Open-Meteo + gauge Big Hole River near Melrose MT · refreshed automatically through the day · see our published accuracy
Wondering how this stacks up against the apps you already know? Cast & Scan vs Fishbrain vs BassForecast — an honest comparison, including where they beat us.
Read before you go
- Trout stream tactics, read through the forecast
- How river flow trend changes the bite
- Barometric pressure and fishing, explained
More brown trout waters
- Madison River (Ennis) — Montana, USA
- Lake Windermere — Lake District, England
- Lough Corrib — Galway, Ireland
- Animas River (Durango) — Colorado, USA
- Au Sable River (Foote Dam) — Michigan, USA
Nearby waters
- Madison River (Ennis) — Montana, USA (79 km away)
- Gallatin River (Logan) — Montana, USA (106 km away)
- Yellowstone River (Livingston) — Montana, USA (166 km away)
- Missouri River (Craig) — Montana, USA (172 km away)
- Blackfoot River (Bonner) — Montana, USA (173 km away)
- Bitterroot River (Missoula) — Montana, USA (179 km away)