Waters · United States
Missouri River (Craig) fishing report
Updated Friday, 9 October 2026 · refreshed automatically through the day
Below Holter Dam the Missouri is a giant spring creek — thirty miles of even, cold, weed-rich tailwater carrying more catchable trout per mile than anywhere else in Montana. Releases, not rain, set the level.
Today's report: excellent (83/100)
Brown Trout is the most promising species on Missouri River (Craig) today. Water temperature at the gauge is 15.0°C (59°F) and barometric pressure is stable. Gauge Missouri River bl Holter Dam nr Wolf Cr MT shows the water level steady (0 cm/24h).
Missouri River (Craig) water temperature and flow
- Water temperature: 15.0°C (59°F)
- Discharge: 83.5 m³/s (2,949 cfs) — down 0% over 24 hours
- Level trend: steady
Measured at gauge Missouri River bl Holter Dam nr Wolf Cr MT · reading 12 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 89/100
- 07:00–09:00 local time — score 89/100
3-day outlook by species
| Species | Friday 9 Oct | Saturday 10 Oct | Sunday 11 Oct |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rainbow Trout | 69 — good | 82 — excellent | 47 — fair |
| Brown Trout | 83 — excellent | 91 — excellent | 53 — fair |
Why this score
Cast & Scan uses a deterministic, published scoring model — no black box. The strongest influences on today's Missouri River (Craig) rating:
- pressure trend: helping (+1)
- season: helping (+1)
- water temperature: helping (+0.96)
- wind: helping (+0.9)
- precipitation: helping (+0.9)
- cloud cover: helping (+0.85)
Forecast computed Fri, 09 Oct 2026 14:56:46 GMT · data: Open-Meteo + gauge Missouri River bl Holter Dam nr Wolf Cr 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 rainbow trout waters
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Nearby waters
- Gallatin River (Logan) — Montana, USA (131 km away)
- Blackfoot River (Bonner) — Montana, USA (133 km away)
- Bitterroot River (Missoula) — Montana, USA (156 km away)
- Big Hole River (Melrose) — Montana, USA (172 km away)
- Madison River (Ennis) — Montana, USA (184 km away)
- Yellowstone River (Livingston) — Montana, USA (191 km away)