Soda Butte Creek

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
None listed
Shops
None listed

Today on the Soda Butte Creek

Reading the gauge…

Regulations & access Guides & shops

Soda Butte 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 Soda Butte 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

Soda Butte Creek is a freestone river in Montana.

Flow now at the gauge
Reading the gauges…

Follow Soda Butte 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.

Soda Butte Creek on the map

About this

Gauges, shops and guides within 40 miles

Map of Soda Butte Creek: gauges, shops and guides

Map of Soda Butte Creek with 1 USGS gauge.

Restrooms near Soda Butte Creek

Restrooms near Soda Butte Creek

Restrooms within 2 miles of Soda Butte 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.

Map of the restroom near Soda Butte Creek

Skip the map; every place is in the list below

Map of 1 restroom near Soda Butte Creek, numbered as in the list, with the water’s point marked.

  1. Restroom

    0.7 mi away in a straight line

    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 Soda Butte Creek

  • 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 West Rosebud Lake
    Photo credit

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

    West Rosebud Lake

    Montana · about 22 mi

  • The Boulder River running open between snowy banks and bare cottonwoods in Sweet Grass CountyAmong the state's most-fished waters (agency angler survey)Representative photo · not West Rosebud Creek
    Photo credit

    The Boulder River in Sweet Grass County, Montana, in February. Photo: USDA NRCS Montana, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Not West Rosebud Creek.

    West Rosebud Creek

    Montana · about 23 mi

  • DePuy Spring Creek flowing clear through winter grass and bare trees, with mountains behindAmong the state's most-fished waters (agency angler survey)Representative photo · not East Rosebud Creek
    Photo credit

    The upper section of DePuy Spring Creek near Livingston, Montana, in January. Photo: Mike Cline, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Not East Rosebud Creek.

    East Rosebud Creek

    Montana · about 29 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 Greenough Lake
    Photo credit

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

    Greenough Lake

    Montana · about 29 mi

  • The broad lower Yellowstone River bending past a sandbar below badland bluffs near Terry, MontanaAmong the state's most-fished waters (agency angler survey)Representative photo · not West Fork Rock Creek
    Photo credit

    The lower Yellowstone River at the Badlands Fishing Access Site near Terry, eastern Montana (far downstream of the Paradise Valley trout water). Photo: Bureau of Land Management Montana-Dakotas, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Not West Fork Rock Creek.

    West Fork Rock Creek

    Montana · about 29 mi

  • Navajo Lake's blue water and mesa shoreline seen through juniper from Navajo Lake State ParkAmong the state's most-fished waters (agency angler survey)Representative photo · not Wild Bill Lake
    Photo credit

    Navajo Lake from Navajo Lake State Park, New Mexico. Photo: Larry D. Moore, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Wild Bill Lake.

    Wild Bill Lake

    Montana · about 33 mi

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

Where the map point comes from

Position: the USGS gauge Soda Butte Cr at Park Bndry at Silver Gate.

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
24.6 mi (8.9 in MT)
Drains
103 sq mi
Drop
1,317 ft · 53.5 ft/mi
Flows into
Lamar River
Watershed
Yellowstone Headwaters

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.

18.6 of 23 mi on public land

  • Yellowstone National ParkNational Park Service · 17 mi
  • Gallatin National ForestForest Service · 1.6 mi

Nothing on this page grants or implies access.

Guides and shops near Soda Butte 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 Soda Butte Creek.

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 Soda Butte Cr at Park Bndry at Silver Gate. Water type is our own classification.