Freestone · Mixed · Montana, US

Shields River

Shields River venue image
Prime · Brown Trout
Parachute Adams · 16-20
Primelive now
About as good as it gets
River high but settled. Coloured water — fish bigger and deeper, confident takes down the seams.
90% confidence
What moved it
  • Level1.80 mLast reading 1h ago
  • Water temp9.4°C
  • ClarityClear
Today's fly
Parachute Adams
Parachute Adams16-20
Proven pattern for this period
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Level
Steady
1.80 m
Last reading 1h ago
Water temp9.4°C
ClarityClear
Weather13°C
WindSE 6 km/h
Pressure1008 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm
Rain · ahead0.1 mm

Live readings only. Trends shown where the gauge supports them.

Water temperature for Brown Trout
Cool — slow
9.4°Cideal 10–16°C
0°14°28°
How to fish it · for Brown Trout
When
Nymphing can work through most of the day.
Where
Cover mixed depths.
Method
Start with tight-line nymphs and adjust if fish rise or drift higher.
Kit
9 ft #4 rod, floating line, 12 ft tapered leader to 4–5 lb fluoro tippet.
Why this works
Excellent — water clarity is right today, though time of day could be better.
Likely species
Mayflies
Caddisflies
terrestrials
Hatch timeline · todayPeak at 11am

Hatch predictions

Today's headline hatch shown — see all 8 active hatches hour by hour with Pro.

Start free trial

14-day free trial. Cancel anytime.

Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

Top nymph shown — see all 2 guilds with Pro.

Start free trial

14-day free trial. Cancel anytime.

Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey(1)

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 2 with Pro.

Start free trial

14-day free trial. Cancel anytime.

Evidence
Records-basedModerate confidence

Based on species-occurrence records, not local invertebrate surveys.

Through the year
0–3 scale · September highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Trout seasonSeason
2
1
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
Brown DunHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
Western Green DrakeHatch
2
2
Flav (Small Western Green Drake)Hatch
2
3
2
Mahogany DunHatch
2
2

Numbers are intensity 0 (none) to 3 (peak) — a guide, not a guarantee.

Ranked for today
Brown Trout fly box
SD
Sex Dungeon
2-6 · Pattern
Proven pattern for this period
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • Montana licence
  • Mostly private land — secure access first
  • Temperature-sensitive in summer.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 3
Paradise Valley Spring Creeks
32 km
84
Rainbow trout · Brown trout
Boulder River
46 km
Rainbow trout · Brown trout · Brook trout
Hyalite Reservoir
53 km
Cutthroat trout · Brook trout
Gallery · 1
  1. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
Water quality · US Clean Water Act
  • Aquatic life: Impaired
What this classification means

EPA ATTAINS assessment unit 'Shields River' (MT43A001_011), 2021 Integrated Report. Aquatic Life use: Not Supporting. Listed impairment causes: Sediment, Habitat Alterations, Hydrologic Alteration. This is a Clean Water Act assessment-unit classification (the US analogue of WFD), not a live reading.

Status is for the Clean Water Act assessment unit covering this reach.

EPA ATTAINS (Clean Water Act) · MT43A001_011

The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 90%
How the 80 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature89 × 28%24.9
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time55 × 13%7.2
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity62 × 12%7.4
Conditions total= 80
Can you trust it?
Water temperaturelive gauge readinggauge
Level / flowon-river gaugeobserved
Prey activitymodelled from regional profilemodelled
What would change the calculation
The dawn and dusk windows score higher than the midday lull.
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Trout Third Saturday of May → Last day of February
Related guides
Euro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Booking & contacts