Little Blackfoot River

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

Today on the Little Blackfoot River

Reading the gauge…

Regulations & access Guides & shops

The Little Blackfoot 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 Little Blackfoot River

1 USGS gauge on the water reports flow. 2 guides nearby are listed here.

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

Little Blackfoot River is a freestone river in Montana.

Flow now at the gauge
Reading the gauges…

Follow Little Blackfoot River 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.

Little Blackfoot River on the map

About this

Gauges, shops and guides within 40 miles

Map of Little Blackfoot River: gauges, shops and guides

Map of Little Blackfoot River with 1 USGS gauge.

Restrooms near Little Blackfoot River

Restrooms near Little Blackfoot River

Restrooms within 2 miles of Little Blackfoot 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 the restroom near Little Blackfoot River

Skip the map; every place is in the list below

Map of 1 restroom near Little Blackfoot River, numbered as in the list, with the water’s point marked.

  1. Riverfront RV Park

    0.1 mi away in a straight line

    At a campground

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

    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.

More water near Little Blackfoot River

  • Rock Creek flowing over a cobble riffle through a forested valley in the Lolo National ForestAmong the state's most-fished waters (agency angler survey)Representative photo · not Nevada Creek
    Photo credit

    Rock Creek on the Missoula Ranger District, Lolo National Forest. Photo: USDA Forest Service, Northern Region, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Not Nevada Creek.

    Nevada Creek

    Montana · about 20 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 Flint Creek
    Photo credit

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

    Flint Creek

    Montana · about 22 mi

  • The Jefferson River partly iced over in winter, curving below a brushy bank with mountains on the horizonSpecial-regulation trout waterRepresentative photo · not Silver Bow Creek
    Photo credit

    The Jefferson River near Waterloo, Montana, in January. Photo: Mike Cline, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Silver Bow Creek.

    Silver Bow Creek

    Montana · about 23 mi

  • The Big Hole River in October, with golden cottonwoods on the banks and mountains in the distanceAmong the state's most-fished waters (agency angler survey)Representative photo · not Warm Springs Creek
    Photo credit

    The Big Hole River near Twin Bridges, Montana, in October. Photo: Mike Cline, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Not Warm Springs Creek.

    Warm Springs Creek

    Montana · about 27 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 Georgetown Lake
    Photo credit

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

    Georgetown Lake

    Montana · about 31 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 Browns Lake
    Photo credit

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

    Browns Lake

    Montana · about 32 mi

Sources Montana FWP fishing access sitesOverture Maps places (guide map points)

Where the map point comes from

Position: the USGS gauge Little Blackfoot River near Garrison MT.

The map shows USGS gauges (tap one for its flow reading), and shops and guides within 40 miles that publish a street address on their own website. Everyone else is in the lists below.

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
43 mi (41 in MT)
Drains
397 sq mi
Drop
1,979 ft · 46 ft/mi
Flows into
Clark Fork
Watershed
Upper Clark Fork

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.

4 of 41 mi on public land

  • Helena National ForestForest Service · 2.6 mi
  • Montana State Trust LandsUnknown · 1.4 mi

Nothing on this page grants or implies access.

Guides and shops near Little Blackfoot 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

  • PRO Outfitters

    Ovando, MT · 35 mi

    Float trips · Smith River

    • Unclaimed

    Nearby

  • Agee Outfitting

    Helena, MT · 38 mi

    Saltwater & ocean charters · Beginners & lessons · Missouri & Holter Lake

    • Unclaimed

    Nearby

Shops nearby

No shop nearby yet.

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

Named on 2 nearby guide websites

  • Bass1
  • Bonefish1
  • Brown trout1
  • Cutthroat trout1
  • Northern pike1
  • Rainbow trout1
  • Tarpon1
  • Tuna1

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.

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 Little Blackfoot River.

No stories from here yet.

Sources for this page

Not a statement of access, fish presence or conditions.

Something wrong?

All 13 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 Little Blackfoot River near Garrison MT. Water type is our own classification.