Freestone · Mixed · Montana, US

Bitterroot River

Calm stretch of the Bitterroot River with a gravel bar in the foreground and cottonwood trees along the far bank, near Victor, Montana.
Prime · Cutthroat 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
  • Level1.39 mLast reading 3h ago
  • Water temp9.2°C
  • ClarityClear
Today's fly
Parachute Adams
Parachute Adams16-20
Proven pattern for this period
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Level
Steady
1.39 m
Last reading 3h ago
Water temp9.2°C
ClarityClear
Weather6°C
WindSW 13 km/h
Pressure1020 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm
Rain · ahead0.0 mm

The nearest gauge doesn't record temperatures, so we've estimated it — defer to the river keeper's advice.

Water temperature for Cutthroat Trout
Ideal
9°C est.ideal 9–15°C
0°14°28°
How to fish it · for Cutthroat 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 temperature is right today, though time of day could be better.
Likely species
Mayflies
Gammarids
Hatch timeline · todayPeak at 11:00

Hatch predictions

Today's headline hatch shown — see all 7 active hatches hour by hour as a supporter.

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Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

Supporters see the full sub-surface read.

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey(1)

Hatch predictions

Supporters see what else is on the menu.

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Evidence
Records-basedModerate confidence

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

Through the year
0–3 scale · October 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
Fly box · Cutthroat Trout
SD
Sex Dungeon
2-6 · Pattern
Proven pattern for this period
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • Montana licence
  • Spring catch-and-release and side-channel closures protect spawning — check FWP before the March skwala session.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 1
Rock Creek
59 km
63
Rainbow trout · Brown trout · Cutthroat trout
Gallery · 2
  1. Calm stretch of the Bitterroot River with a gravel bar in the foreground and cottonwood trees along the far bank, near Victor, Montana.
    bitterroot-river-near-victor-montana
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
Water quality · US Clean Water Act
  • Aquatic life: Impaired
What this classification means

EPA ATTAINS assessment unit 'Bitterroot River' (MT76H001_020), 2021 Integrated Report. Aquatic Life use: Not Supporting. Listed impairment causes: Temperature, 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) · MT76H001_020

The full read · show the working · for Cutthroat Trout · confidence 90%
How the 81 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature100 × 28%28.0
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity85 × 18%15.3
Feeding Time55 × 13%7.2
Pressure75 × 7%5.3
Insect activity68 × 12%8.2
Conditions total= 82
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
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 Tercer Saturday de May → Último day of February
Related guides
Euro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Booking & contacts