Belt Creek

Type
Freestone river, Montana (West)
Designation
Among the state's most-fished waters (agency angler survey)
USGS gauges
1 live
Guides
None listed
Shops
None listed

Today on the Belt Creek

Reading the gauge…

Regulations & access Guides & shops

Belt Creek is a freestone river in Montana, listed as Among the state's most-fished waters (agency angler survey) by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks.

More about the Belt Creek

1 USGS gauge on the water reports flow.

Updated · Sources: Montana's most-fished waters (FWP statewide angling pressure estimates, 2023 license year, top 250 by state rank), USGS Water Data

Representative photograph of similar water; not a photograph of this place.
Representative photograph, not this water.
Where it is

Belt Creek is a freestone river in Montana.

Flow now at the gauge
Reading the gauges…

Follow Belt Creek for flow alerts

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.

Follow this water

Signed in: one step. Otherwise we email a confirmation link first. Every alert has one-click links to stop it.

Where to fish

About this

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.

Belt Creek on the map

About this

Gauges, shops and guides within 40 miles

Map of Belt Creek: gauges, shops and guides

Map of Belt Creek with 1 USGS gauge.

Restrooms near Belt Creek

Restrooms near Belt Creek

Restrooms within 2 miles of Belt Creek 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.

More water near Belt Creek

  • A raft on the Smith River below snowy limestone cliffs during a spring snowstormAmong the state's most-fished waters (agency angler survey)
    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

    Smith River

    Montana · about 29 mi

    Rainbow, brown & brook trout

  • 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)Representative photo · not Warm Springs Creek
    Photo credit

    The Missouri River by the Craig Frontage Road, north of Helena (1991). Photo: Lankyrider, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Warm Springs Creek.

    Warm Springs Creek

    Montana · about 28 mi

  • 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 Newlan Creek Reservoir
    Photo credit

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

    Newlan Creek Reservoir

    Montana · about 39 mi

  • Marshy shallows at the edge of Henrys Lake, with the Henrys Lake Mountains behindAmong the state's most-fished waters (agency angler survey)Representative photo · not Ackley Lake
    Photo credit

    Henrys Lake from Henrys Lake State Park, Idaho. Photo: James Postema, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Ackley Lake.

    Ackley Lake

    Montana · about 50 mi

  • The lower Blackfoot River running deep blue beneath a rocky bank and pine forestAmong the state's most-fished waters (agency angler survey)Representative photo · not Sun River
    Photo credit

    The lower Blackfoot River east of Missoula. Photo: Bureau of Land Management, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Not Sun River.

    Sun River

    Montana · about 51 mi

  • Lake Billy Chinook filling a basalt canyon, with layered rimrock cliffs along the waterAmong the state's most-fished waters (agency angler survey)Representative photo · not Holter Reservoir
    Photo credit

    Lake Billy Chinook, Oregon. Photo: icetsarina, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Holter Reservoir.

    Holter Reservoir

    Montana · about 52 mi

Regulations

About this

Seasons, limits, special regulations and closures for each reach are on the agency pages below. Read them before you go.

Official designation: Among the state's most-fished waters (agency angler survey)

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.

The water on the map

About this

Measured from the NHDPlus High Resolution (flowlines and waterbodies) (U.S. Geological Survey, read 2026-11-05) for this water’s own mapped feature. Rounded figures; they describe the channel, not today’s conditions.

Length
90.2 mi (87.5 in MT)
Drains
786 sq mi
Drop
4,867 ft · 53.9 ft/mi
Flows into
Missouri River
Watershed
Belt

Public land along it

About this

Areas the Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), public access (U.S. Geological Survey, Gap Analysis Project, read 2026-11-05) lists as owned or held in easement and open to the public, crossed by the mapped channel. Boundaries are mapped, not surveyed. Nothing on this page grants or implies access: check the agency map, posted signs and landowner permission before you fish.

24.9 of 87.5 mi on public land

  • Lewis & Clark National ForestForest Service · 16.1 mi
  • Sluice Boxes State ParkState Fish and Wildlife · 6.1 mi
  • Montana State Trust LandsUnknown · 2.5 mi
  • Lewistown Field OfficeBureau of Land Management · 0.2 mi

Nothing on this page grants or implies access.

Guides and shops near Belt Creek

About this

Listings marked Unclaimed are built from open map records and the business's own website: confirm licensing, rates, dates and hours directly.

Guides

No guide within 40 miles yet.

Shops nearby

No shop nearby yet.

How these are chosen

Guides whose own website names this water come first, nearest first. Distances are straight-line.

Shops: fly shops first. A distance is shown when the shop’s website gives its location (within 60 miles); otherwise the shop is in one of the towns within 25 miles of the water.

Guide and shop listings come from the Legendary directories.

Species and hatches

About this

The hatch and season chart for this water's region.

When the bugs come off

Regional hatch months: Northern Rockies
About this chart

5 hatches charted for the region, not measured on this water. From Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks.

  1. January: no charted hatch
  2. February: no charted hatch
  3. March: no charted hatch
  4. April: no charted hatch
  5. May: 3 charted hatches
  6. June: 2 charted hatches
  7. July: 2 charted hatches
  8. August: 1 charted hatch
  9. September: 1 charted hatch
  10. October: no charted hatch
  11. November: no charted hatch
  12. December: no charted hatch

Mother's Day caddis (Grannom) (May) · Salmonfly (May to June) · Salmonfly (May to July) · Salmonfly (July) · Trico (August to September)

Plan a trip here

About this

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

Gear checklist

About this

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.

A woman in waders and a sun hat wades a broad river and casts, bluffs on the far bank

Big western rivers (wade fishing)

9′ rod, 5–6 weight, floating line · Rainbow and brown trout, whitefish

Open the checklist
Videos for this water (5)

Watch: reading a trout stream

About this

Seams, 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.

  • How I Learned to Read Water (Fly Fishing)Embedded from YouTube · Mad River Outfitters · not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear. Watch on YouTube
  • How To Read The Water with Tom RosenbauerEmbedded from YouTube · The New Fly Fisher · not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear. Watch on YouTube
  • Reading the Water to Successfully Locate TroutEmbedded from YouTube · Orvis Guide to Fly Fishing · not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear. Watch on YouTube

Not sponsored All videos on reading water

Watch: nymphing basics

About this

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.

  • 90° Nymph RigEmbedded from YouTube · Huge Fly Fisherman · not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear. Watch on YouTube
  • Casting with an Indicator & Better Nymphing TechniquesEmbedded from YouTube · The New Fly Fisher · not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear. Watch on YouTube

Not sponsored All videos on nymphing

Fish Tales

About this

Trip stories anglers chose to share publicly and tagged with Belt Creek.

No stories from here yet.

Sources for this page

Not a statement of access, fish presence or conditions.

Something wrong?

All 12 sources and dates

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 Belt Creek near Monarch MT. Water type is our own classification.