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Clearwater River

Type
Freestone river, Montana (West)
Designation
Among the state's most-fished waters (agency angler survey) · Special-regulation trout water
USGS gauges
None listed
Guides
8 nearby
Shops
2 nearby

Today on the Clearwater River

No live reading for this water
Why there is no reading

Nothing live is published for this water, so there is no reading or verdict today. The readings section below says what we checked.

Regulations & access Guides & shops

The Clearwater River 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 Clearwater River

8 guides and 2 shops nearby are listed here; the nearest destination hub is Missoula.

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

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

Clearwater River is a freestone river in Montana. Our destination hub Missoula is 31 mi away in a straight line.

No real-time gauge

No real-time gauge on this water. We found no active USGS gauge on Clearwater River or on its stream system within about 25 miles, and no dam operator publishes data for it. A missing gauge says nothing about the water itself. Find the gauges nearest Clearwater River

Check any river's flow

About these readings

Nothing live is published for this water; the note below says what we checked.

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.

Montana FWP fishing access sites

Clearwater River on the map

About this

Shops and guides within 40 miles

Map of Clearwater River: gauges, shops and guides

RestroomsAccess map

Map of Clearwater River, and shops and guides with an exact address within 40 miles.

Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors · OpenFreeMap · © OpenMapTiles

Restrooms near Clearwater River

Restrooms near Clearwater River

Restrooms within 2 miles of Clearwater 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.

Map of 4 restrooms near Clearwater River

Skip the map; every place is in the list below

Map of 4 restrooms near Clearwater River, numbered as in the list, with the water’s point marked.

Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors · OpenFreeMap · © OpenMapTiles

  1. Restroom

    1.1 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

    1.2 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

  3. Restroom

    1.3 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

  4. Restroom

    1.3 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

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 Clearwater River

  • The lower Blackfoot River running deep blue beneath a rocky bank and pine forestAmong the state's most-fished waters (agency angler survey)
    Photo credit

    The lower Blackfoot River east of Missoula. Photo: Bureau of Land Management, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

    Blackfoot River

    Montana · about 22 mi

    Rainbow, brown & brook trout

  • 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 Seeley Lake
    Photo credit

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

    Seeley Lake

    Montana · about 1 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 Placid Lake
    Photo credit

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

    Placid Lake

    Montana · about 4 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 Lake Alva
    Photo credit

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

    Lake Alva

    Montana · about 10 mi

  • Aerial view of Eagle Lake beyond the dry bed of Horse LakeAmong the state's most-fished waters (agency angler survey)Representative photo · not Harpers Lake
    Photo credit

    Eagle Lake, Lassen County, California, with dry Horse Lake in the foreground (aerial). Photo: Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Harpers Lake.

    Harpers Lake

    Montana · about 12 mi

  • The Clark Fork River in Missoula, with willow islands, a riffle and buildings on the far bankAmong the state's most-fished waters (agency angler survey)Representative photo · not Jocko River
    Photo credit

    The Clark Fork in Missoula, Montana. Photo: w_lemay, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Jocko River.

    Jocko River

    Montana · about 28 mi

Regulations

About this

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

2 official designations

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.

The water on the map

About this

Measured from the NHDPlus High Resolution (flowlines and waterbodies) (U.S. Geological Survey, read 2026-11-04) for this water’s own mapped feature. Rounded figures; they describe the channel, not today’s conditions.

Length
45.2 mi (43.3 in MT)
Drains
368 sq mi
Drop
1,043 ft · 23.1 ft/mi
Flows into
Blackfoot River
Watershed
Blackfoot

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.

20.9 of 43.3 mi on public land

  • Lolo National ForestForest Service · 11.4 mi
  • Blackfoot-Clearwater Wildlife Management AreaState Fish and Wildlife · 5.8 mi · restricted
  • Clearwater State ForestState Department of Natural Resources · 2 mi
  • Montana State Trust LandsUnknown · 1.8 mi

Nothing on this page grants or implies access.

Guides and shops near Clearwater River

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

All Montana guides

2 shops nearby

All Montana shops

How these are chosen

Guides whose own website names this water come first, nearest first. After them, fly-focused guides within 40 miles whose website does not name it. 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

What 8 nearby guide websites mention: what guides advertise, not a survey or a promise of what you will catch.

Named on 8 nearby guide websites

  • Trout4
  • Cutthroat trout3
  • Brook trout2
  • Rainbow trout2
  • Brown trout1
  • Northern pike1

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)

How we put this together

Named by guides nearby (within 40 miles), counted from the species each guide lists on its own site. No agency page we hold lists species for this water.

Missoula

About this

Missoula sits where the Clark Fork, Bitterroot and Blackfoot rivers meet in western Montana, with Rock Creek to the east.

Destination hub · 31 mi away in a straight line

Open the hubPlan a trip here

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 Clearwater River.

No stories from here yet.

Write the first story Share your day

Sources for this page

Not a statement of access, fish presence or conditions.

Something wrong?

All 9 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: a point on the mapped channel of “Clearwater River”, halfway along its length in Montana, from the USGS high-resolution hydrography (NHDPlus HR), read 4 Nov 2026. It marks the water, not a particular access or reach. Water type is our own classification.