The Bear River is a freestone river in Idaho, listed as Featured sport-fishing water by Idaho Department of Fish and Game.
3 USGS gauges on the water report flow; Idaho Department of Fish and Game lists 7 species, including brown trout, catfish and cutthroat trout.
Bear River is a freestone river in Idaho.
Pick one of its USGS gauges and hear from us when the flow moves into or out of its usual range for the date, or crosses a flow you set. We check the public USGS reading every 2 hours and email only when it crosses, at most once every 6 hours. Flow alone is not a fishing forecast or a safety call.
Signed in: one step. Otherwise we email a confirmation link first. Every alert has one-click links to stop it.
Start from the agency's public access map. Nothing on this page grants or implies access: check the agency map, posted signs and landowner permission before you fish.
Nothing on this page grants or implies access.
Gauges, shops and guides within 40 miles
Map of Bear River: gauges, shops and guides
Map of Bear River with 3 USGS gauges.
Restrooms within 2 miles of Bear River 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.
No restroom mapped within 2 mi yet — add one you know.
Campgrounds, fishing access sites and boat ramps often have one that isn't on the map yet.
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.
Featured sport-fishing waterRepresentative photo · not Montpelier CreekThe South Fork of the Snake River, Idaho (BLM). Photo: Bob Wick / Bureau of Land Management, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Not Montpelier Creek.
Featured sport-fishing waterRepresentative photo · not Montpelier ReservoirHenrys Lake from Henrys Lake State Park, Idaho. Photo: James Postema, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Montpelier Reservoir.
Featured sport-fishing waterRepresentative photo · not Preuss CreekThe Teton River near Driggs, Idaho. Photo: Waldemarpaetz, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Preuss Creek.
Featured sport-fishing waterRepresentative photo · not Giraffe CreekThe Fall River in autumn, Idaho. Photo: Tony Webster, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Giraffe Creek.
Featured sport-fishing waterRepresentative photo · not Saint Charles Creek
Featured sport-fishing waterRepresentative photo · not Georgetown CreekThe Henry's Fork at Last Chance, Island Park, with the Centennial Mountains. Photo: Z3lvs, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Georgetown Creek.
Seasons, limits, special regulations and closures for each reach are on the agency pages below. Read them before you go.
Each comes from the agency's own published list; where the list names a reach it is quoted. A designation applies to the listed reach, not necessarily the whole water. Listed in the finder under trout, bass.
On the IDFG Recommended Fishing Waters (Idaho Fishing Planner) list (Idaho Department of Fish and Game, read 2026-11-05). All waters with this designation
Listings marked Unclaimed are built from open map records and the business's own website: confirm licensing, rates, dates and hours directly.
No guide within 40 miles yet.
No shop nearby yet.
The species the agency lists here; presence varies by reach and season.
Listed by the state agency
Species guide
Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), illustration by Duane Raver for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Photo: Duane Raver, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Species guide
Brown trout (Salmo trutta), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service illustration. Photo: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Species guide
Cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii), photographed by James E. Johnson for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Photo: James E. Johnson, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Species guide
Smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu), illustration by Duane Raver for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Photo: Duane Raver, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
5 hatches charted for the region, not measured on this water. From Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks.
Mother's Day caddis (Grannom) (May) · Salmonfly (May to June) · Salmonfly (May to July) · Salmonfly (July) · Trico (August to September)
None of our destination hubs is within 40 miles in a straight line. The trip planner builds a trip around the water itself: the guides and shops listed within 40 miles of it, its gauges and its nearest towns and airports.
No hub within 40 miles
Matched on the fish the agencies list for both waters first, then the same water type, an official designation or flagship listing on both, and a similar mapped size where USGS hydrography covers both.
At most two waters per country. A shared fish is a listing, not a promise: presence varies by reach and season.
Like the Bear River? Same fish, overseas.
Flagship waterThe Tongariro River from the Tree Trunk Gorge track. Photo: Pseudopanax at English Wikipedia, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Flagship waterThe Clutha River / Mata-Au at Albert Town, near the Hāwea confluence. Photo: Photo by Lewis: Verduyn-Cassels, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Otago, New Zealand
Same fish: rainbow & brown trout · also a freestone river
Flagship waterThe River Moy at Banada Priory. Photo: Andreas F. Borchert, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Freestone riverThe Derwent River from the Pulpit Rock lookout, Tasmania. Photo: Bill, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Freestone riverThe Credit River at Streetsville. Photo: Mustang Joe, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Southern seasons open while ours close.
Flagship waterPenstock Lagoon, Central Highlands, Tasmania. Photo: Mike Cline, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Freestone riverRepresentative photo · not Río PetrohuéThe Río Puelo at Las Gualas, Cochamó. Photo: Nicolás from seno de reloncaví, Chile, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Río Petrohué.
Lake or reservoirRepresentative photo · not Lago LlanquihueThe Río Simpson passing Coyhaique, Aysén. Photo: Manxuc, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Lago Llanquihue.
Lake or reservoir
Flagship waterRepresentative photo · not Mataura RiverThe Oreti River near Lumsden, Southland. Photo: Krzysztof Golik, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped, via Wikimedia Commons Not Mataura River.
Flagship waterGreat Lake, Tasmania. Photo: Peripitus, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
A wade-fishing checklist for big western trout rivers: a 9 ft 5–6 weight outfit, nymph, dry and streamer setups, waders, boots and a wading staff, with estimated prices by tier and where to buy.
9′ rod, 5–6 weight, floating line · Rainbow and brown trout, whitefish
Open the checklistSeams, shelves and soft water, shown on real rivers.
Public YouTube videos from established channels, chosen by us to support this page. Not sponsored; the creators are not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear.
Not sponsored All videos on reading water
Indicator rigs, depth and detecting the take.
Public YouTube videos from established channels, chosen by us to support this page. Not sponsored; the creators are not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear.
Not sponsored All videos on nymphing
Trip stories anglers chose to share publicly and tagged with Bear River.
No stories from here yet.
Not a statement of access, fish presence or conditions.
A water page organises discovery. It does not assert public access, legal access, current fish presence, guide availability or fishing conditions.
Flows, gauge statistics and flood stages come from USGS and the National Weather Service when the page is shown. Regulations, stocking, species and season statements link to the agency that publishes them; this page copies only the species names and the quoted sentences. Guide and shop listings come from the Legendary directories. Position: the USGS gauge BEAR RIVER AT BORDER, WY. Water type is our own classification.
Featured sport-fishing waterRepresentative photo · not Montpelier CreekThe South Fork of the Snake River, Idaho (BLM). Photo: Bob Wick / Bureau of Land Management, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Not Montpelier Creek.
Featured sport-fishing waterRepresentative photo · not Montpelier ReservoirHenrys Lake from Henrys Lake State Park, Idaho. Photo: James Postema, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Montpelier Reservoir.
Featured sport-fishing waterRepresentative photo · not Preuss CreekThe Teton River near Driggs, Idaho. Photo: Waldemarpaetz, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Preuss Creek.
Featured sport-fishing waterRepresentative photo · not Giraffe CreekThe Fall River in autumn, Idaho. Photo: Tony Webster, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Giraffe Creek.
Featured sport-fishing waterRepresentative photo · not Saint Charles CreekFeatured sport-fishing waterRepresentative photo · not Georgetown CreekThe Henry's Fork at Last Chance, Island Park, with the Centennial Mountains. Photo: Z3lvs, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Georgetown Creek.
