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Three anglers in a drift boat on the calm Missouri River under a big sky with green hills beyond

Craig & the Missouri

Craig is a small town on the Missouri River in Lewis and Clark County, below Holter Dam and the town of Wolf Creek, between Helena and Great Falls.

  • Montana · West
  • 3 waters
  • 5 guides nearby
  • 12 shops nearby
  • HLN airport · 32 mi
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Photo credit

A drift boat on the Missouri River beside the Wolf Creek Bridge, Montana, 1991. Photo: Lankyrider, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped, via Wikimedia Commons

More about Craig & the Missouri

Craig is a small town on the Missouri River in Lewis and Clark County, below Holter Dam and the town of Wolf Creek, between Helena and Great Falls; the Dearborn River joins the Missouri to the north.

Waters around Craig

About this

Tap a water for its live flow, access map, regulations and hatches.

All Montana waters
  • The Missouri River near Craig spreading around grassy islands below rolling hills, with a drift boat on the waterAmong the state's most-fished waters (agency angler survey)
    Photo credit

    The Missouri River by the Craig Frontage Road, north of Helena (1991). Photo: Lankyrider, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    Missouri River

    Montana · 6 mi from Craig

  • Ennis Lake partly iced over in early spring, with the snow-covered Madison Range across the waterAmong the state's most-fished waters (agency angler survey)Representative photo · not Holter Reservoir
    Photo credit

    Ennis Lake, Montana, in March, with the Madison Range beyond. Photo: Gloria Cabada-Leman, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr Not Holter Reservoir.

    Holter Reservoir

    Montana · 9 mi from Craig

  • A raft on the Smith River below snowy limestone cliffs during a spring snowstormAmong the state's most-fished waters (agency angler survey)Representative photo · not Dearborn River
    Photo credit

    The Smith River canyon in early-season snow (US Forest Service work trip, 2010). Photo: USDA Forest Service, Northern Region, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Not Dearborn River.

    Dearborn River

    Montana · 4 mi from Craig

Distances and official pages

The rivers, lakes or flats this hub is organised around, each with its straight-line distance from Craig. Within 40 miles a water's own page names this hub as near; a farther one shows its distance instead. Where a nearby guide names a water on its own website, we say how many do. Access, seasons and special regulations differ by reach: check the agency pages under license and rules.

All gauge readings

The first USGS gauge on each water: the latest reading, how it compares with that gauge's record for today's date, the 24-hour trend and the NWS flood stage. Open a water for what the level means.

Reading the gauges around Craig…

Check any river's flow Dated report publishers

All Montana waters

Meet local guides

About this

5 guide listings within 60 miles (5 fly-focused), fly-focused first. Unclaimed listings say so on their page: confirm licensing, rates and dates with the outfitter.

All Montana guides

All Montana guides

Fly shops nearby

About this

12 shop listings in the towns around Craig, fly shops first. Confirm hours with the shop before you go.

All Montana shops

All Montana shops

Fish around Craig

Species guides mention (5)

Counted from the species each guide lists on its own site. This is what guides advertise, not an agency species list or a promise of what you will catch. We hold no agency species page for this hub yet.

  • Brown trout4
  • Northern pike3
  • Rainbow trout3
  • Tarpon2
  • Bonefish1
  • Cutthroat trout1
  • Steelhead1
  • Tuna1

Things to know

Official license and rules pages

Buy the license from the agency and read its current regulations before you go. These links are the authoritative pages; nothing on this page grants or implies access to any water, and fees are only shown when read from the agency page on a stated date.

Nothing here grants or implies access to any water.

Veteran-owned and veteran programs

About this

Near Craig & the Missouri. Each fact comes from the business's own website, an official register or an approved claim; the listing page links the source.

Veteran programmes and licences

The Craig & the Missouri area

About this

The circle is the 60-mile area this page covers, around Craig. Tap a water for its page. Shops and guides appear where they publish a street address on their own website; all of them are listed above.

Map of the Craig & the Missouri area: its waters, shops and guides

RestroomsWaters

Map of Craig & the Missouri: the 60-mile area this page covers, its waters, and shops and guides with an exact address.

Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors · OpenFreeMap · © OpenMapTiles

Restrooms near Craig & the Missouri

Restrooms near Craig & the Missouri

Restrooms within 5 miles of the centre of Craig & the Missouri in a straight line, nearest first, with what anglers found when they went. The map says a restroom is there, not whether it is clean or open today.

Map of 3 restrooms near Craig & the Missouri

Skip the map; every place is in the list below

Map of 3 restrooms near Craig & the Missouri, numbered as in the list, with the town centre marked.

Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors · OpenFreeMap · © OpenMapTiles

  1. Restroom

    4.4 mi away in a straight line
    • Vault or pit toilet (mapped)

    Not rated yet — be the first to tell other anglers if it's clean.

    Directions
    We don't know yet: is it clean? · free? · open to everyone? · step-free? — tell other anglers: show the questions
    • Is it clean?
    • Free?
    • Open to everyone?
    • Step-free?

    Mapped on OpenStreetMap · see or fix it on the map

  2. Restroom

    4.8 mi away in a straight line

    Not rated yet — be the first to tell other anglers if it's clean.

    Directions
    We don't know yet: is it clean? · flush or vault? · free? · open to everyone? · step-free? — tell other anglers: show the questions
    • Is it clean?
    • Flush or vault?
    • Free?
    • Open to everyone?
    • Step-free?

    Mapped on OpenStreetMap · see or fix it on the map

  3. Restroom

    5.0 mi away in a straight line

    Not rated yet — be the first to tell other anglers if it's clean.

    Directions
    We don't know yet: is it clean? · flush or vault? · free? · open to everyone? · step-free? — tell other anglers: show the questions
    • Is it clean?
    • Flush or vault?
    • Free?
    • Open to everyone?
    • Step-free?

    Mapped on OpenStreetMap · see or fix it on the map

Restroom locations and map details: © OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database License, read Oct 24, 2026. Ratings, answers and photos are members' own; who shared them is never shown, and every photo is reviewed before it appears. Visits older than 18 months no longer count. Distances are straight-line miles, not driving. Nothing here grants access to private land. Community guidelines.

Base yourself nearby

About this

Craig and Wolf Creek are small river towns; Helena and Great Falls are the nearest cities with more places to stay. We do not list or price properties. The search opens an outside site.

Find lodging on Google Maps

Nearest airports

About this

Distances are straight-line from the town centre, computed from OurAirports open data; distances by road are longer. Fares are never estimated here.

  • HLN Helena Regional AirportHelena, MT · 32 mi · regional
    Search flights
  • GTF Great Falls International AirportGreat Falls, MT · 40 mi · regional
    Search flights
  • BTM Bert Mooney AirportButte, MT · 81 mi · regional
    Search flights
  • GEG Spokane International AirportSpokane, WA · 263 mi · major hub
    Search flights

Rough out the trip

About this

Set nights, anglers and guided days. Each line says where its figure comes from, and anything we cannot source honestly (guide rates, fares, license fees not read from the agency page) stays a link rather than a number.

Estimates, not quotes

  • Fishing licenseSee source
    Agency page
    Source

    One per angler (2 anglers). Fees are set by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks; see the agency page.

    Source: Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks
  • Guided days1 rates page
    Living Water Guide Service and Outfitting
    Source

    1 guided day for 2 anglers. We do not copy guide rates: 1 guide near here publishes a rates page on its own website.

    Source: Guide websites (rates pages linked, never copied)
  • Find lodgingSee source
    Search lodging
    Source

    Search places to stay near the destination. We do not list or price properties.

    Source: Lodging search link
  • FlightsSee source
    Search flights
    Source

    Fares are not estimated here. Search flights to HLN (Helena Regional Airport).

    Source: Flight search link (no fares quoted)

No priced itemsUse the links for real figures.

How we estimate

Estimates, not quotes. Nothing here is a price from a guide, a property or an airline; confirm every cost with the provider before you book. No placeholder lodging range is configured for this region, and licenses, guided days and flights are never priced here.

Parks, forests and visitor offices

About this

For the non-fishing days, or the people traveling with you. Official sources only; what to do there is for their pages to say.

Gear checklist

About this

What to bring on a guided float fishing trip: rain gear, polarized sunglasses, sun protection, a dry bag and your license. Most guides supply rods and flies. Estimated prices and where to buy.

A woman rows a drift boat while a man stands in the bow and casts

Guided float trip

Usually supplied by the guide; a 9′ 5–6 weight if you bring your own · Trout on most western float rivers

Open checklist

Watch: what to expect on a guided float trip

About this

What the guide brings, what you bring, how the day runs.

Public YouTube videos from established channels, chosen by us to support this page. Not sponsored; the creators are not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear.

  • FLOATING ETIQUETTE (fly fishing)Embedded from YouTube · Huge Fly Fisherman · not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear. Watch on YouTube
  • HOW TO FLY FISH FROM A DRIFT BOATEmbedded from YouTube · Huge Fly Fisherman · not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear. Watch on YouTube

Not sponsored All videos on guided float

Stories from Montana

About this

Trip stories anglers chose to share publicly, tagged with a water in Montana.

No Montana stories yet.

Share a storyAll Montana stories

Sources for this page

All 7 sources

Guide and shop listings come from the Legendary directories (open map records checked against each business’s own website). Everything else links to the publisher below; this page copies none of their text. A destination hub organises discovery; it does not assert public access, current fish presence, guide availability or fishing conditions.

Links checked 24 Oct 2026. Not a claim of access or conditions.