Waters · United States
Bitterroot River (Missoula) fishing report
Updated Tuesday, 25 August 2026 · refreshed automatically through the day
The Bitterroot opens Montana's dry-fly season in March with its skwala stonefly hatch, weeks ahead of anything else. Braided channels shift with every runoff, so last year's seam may not exist.
Today's report: fair (47/100)
Rainbow Trout is the most promising species on Bitterroot River (Missoula) today. Water temperature at the gauge is 18.0°C (64°F) and barometric pressure is rising. Gauge Bitterroot River near Missoula MT shows the water level falling (1 cm/24h).
Bitterroot River (Missoula) water temperature and flow
- Water temperature: 18.0°C (64°F)
- Discharge: 20.0 m³/s (706 cfs) — down 3% over 24 hours
- Level trend: falling (1 cm/24h)
Measured at gauge Bitterroot River near Missoula MT · reading 52 min ago. Published by the national hydrological service, not estimated by us.
Best time to fish today
- 07:00–09:00 local time — score 47/100
- 11:00–13:00 local time — score 39/100
- 19:00–21:00 local time — score 36/100
3-day outlook by species
| Species | Tuesday 25 Aug | Wednesday 26 Aug | Thursday 27 Aug |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rainbow Trout | 47 — fair | 40 — poor | 42 — fair |
| Brown Trout | 46 — fair | 35 — poor | 42 — fair |
Why this score
Cast & Scan uses a deterministic, published scoring model — no black box. The strongest influences on today's Bitterroot River (Missoula) rating:
- water temperature: helping (+1)
- pressure trend: helping (+1)
- cloud cover: helping (+0.95)
- precipitation: helping (+0.9)
- light: helping (+0.85)
- river flow: helping (+0.85)
Forecast computed Tue, 25 Aug 2026 12:07:10 GMT · data: Open-Meteo + gauge Bitterroot River near Missoula MT · refreshed automatically through the day · see our published accuracy
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Nearby waters
- Blackfoot River (Bonner) — Montana, USA (24 km away)
- Missouri River (Craig) — Montana, USA (156 km away)
- Big Hole River (Melrose) — Montana, USA (179 km away)
- Kootenai River (Libby Dam) — Montana, USA (199 km away)