Montana Freestone
Stillwater River Fishing Report, Flows and Hatches
A freestone tumbling out of the Absaroka-Beartooth mountains near Absarokee, strong stonefly water with good salmonfly and golden stone hatches. An underused gem for wild rainbows and browns, best from May into October.
Freestone
Montana
3,960 ft
Gauge 06205000
Right now
Live conditions
The hatch chart
Stillwater River hatch chart
The emergences that come off the Stillwater by month, straight from the Rivus hatch model.
| Hatch | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Midge Midge, #18-22 | ||||||||||||
Caddisfly Caddis, #14-18 | ||||||||||||
Blue Winged Olive Mayfly, #16-18 | ||||||||||||
Salmonfly Stonefly, #2-4 | ||||||||||||
Golden Stonefly Stonefly, #6-8 | ||||||||||||
Pale Morning Dun Mayfly, #16-18 | ||||||||||||
Green Drake Mayfly, #10-12 | ||||||||||||
Pale Evening Dun Mayfly, #16-18 | ||||||||||||
Pale Morning Dun Spinner / Rusty Spinner Mayfly, #16-18 | ||||||||||||
Little Yellow Sally Stonefly, #10-12 | ||||||||||||
Crane Fly Crane Fly, #12-14 | ||||||||||||
Callibaetis Mayfly, #14-16 | ||||||||||||
Grasshopper / Terrestrial Hopper, #10-12 | ||||||||||||
October Caddis Caddis, #6-8 |
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 Stillwater is metered at USGS gauge 06205000. 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.