Montana Freestone
Boulder River Fishing Report, Flows and Hatches
A western Montana freestone near Big Timber with excellent stonefly water. Salmonflies come off in June and golden stones peak in July, backed by reliable caddis and good hopper and sculpin fishing through the season.
Freestone
Montana
4,060 ft
Gauge 06200000
Right now
Live conditions
The hatch chart
Boulder River hatch chart
The emergences that come off the Boulder by month, straight from the Rivus hatch model.
| Hatch | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Blue Winged Olive Mayfly, #16-20 | ||||||||||||
Caddisfly Caddis, #12-20 | ||||||||||||
Midge Midge, #18-22 | ||||||||||||
Little Yellow Sally Stonefly, #12-16 | ||||||||||||
Salmonfly Stonefly, #2-4 | ||||||||||||
Pale Morning Dun Mayfly, #14-16 | ||||||||||||
Golden Stonefly Stonefly, #8-12 | ||||||||||||
Spruce Moth Hopper, #12-14 | ||||||||||||
Grasshopper / Terrestrial Hopper, #8-12 | ||||||||||||
October Caddis Caddis, #8-10 |
How it fishes
A Montana freestone
A freestone river runs free off snowmelt and rain, so it swings hard with the seasons. It blows out and browns up in spring runoff, then drops and warms into summer. The hatches track the water temperature more than the calendar, so you time your trip to the flow and the thermometer.
Flow and gauge
Reading the flows
The Boulder is metered at USGS gauge 06200000. Watch the trend as much as the number: a river that is dropping and clearing fishes very differently from one that is coming up.
Access and regulations
Before you fish
Access and the right to fish are the angler’s responsibility, every time. Public access, private water, and seasonal closures vary along the river, so confirm where you can legally stand and wade before you go. We do not point you to a specific spot.
Read the current rules, license requirements, and any special-regulation water before you go. Regulations change season to season, so check them fresh.
Flow and water temperature from USGS, weather from NWS and NOAA, refreshed hourly. Real-time USGS readings are provisional and subject to revision. The hatch chart and river read are Rivus model output.