GREAT FALLS AREA FISHING REPORT

July 17, 2025

Summary 

Hot, Hot, Hot, including water temps, which means early mornings are best. While fishing in those hot temperatures, try to reduce fish handling by increasing your tippet diameter, which will allow you to land fish quickly. During these low water times being super stealthy is key. Thats why I like hitting the water in the AM from sunrise to around 10 a.m.  
Running dry droppers seems to be the name of the game. Make sure your dropper is not weighing down the dry, but still getting down quickly. For dry/dropper rigs, I like to run a nylon or mono 7.5-foot 2X leader, snipping back a foot or so then double clinching an oval tippet ring to it. The reason for doing so is that I'm not cutting back the leader and tying everything to the tippet ring. The reason for 2X is, I can snip off my 3X dry fly tippet and throw on 2X fluoro and throw streamers, or 3X fluoro and run a nymph rig without cutting my leader back. 

Go-To Flies for the rig:
Dry 
- YFG Ugly Delicious olive, sizes 12, 10 
- Voodoo Doll red sizes 12, 10 
- Water Walkers royal purple, sizes 12, 10, 8  
Dropper 
- Batman Nymph purple, sizes 16, 14, 12 
- Space-X black, size 16 
- FB Pheasant Tail, sizes 20, 18, 16  

Stillwater

Only reports on lakes I’ve heard have been high up in the mountains. Throwing small terrestrials can be key, but don't be afraid to strip a little streamer or something down deep to get the big boys out.  

Lake Flies 
- Adult Damsel, sizes 10, 12 
- Fat Angie purple, sizes 18, 16 
- Ground Beetle, size 10 
- Zack Attack Damsel olive/orange, size 14 
- Willy’s Fruit Roll Up black or blood, size 10 

Carp 
Carp have been cooking up! Warmer weather is promoting their feeding activity. Drang N’ Drop is producing. 


Carp Flies: 
- Beard Louse olive or brown, size 4 
- Carp Hex, size 6 
- Carp Nugget, size 8 

Bass

Bass are on the move. Heading down past Maroney Dam I have been hearing a lot of reports on smallies. Same for trout. Again, getting out there in the first half of the day, hitting them with topwater or subsurface patterns can be fun! 


Bass Bugs:
- Etoucray olive, size 2 
- Killed Over Perch, size 6 
- Clydesdale Perch, size 1/0 
- Devil Dog, size 2 


MISSOURI RIVER FLOW DATA


MISSOURI RIVER WEATHER FORECAST


OTHER REPORTS WE LIKE TO FOLLOW


Missouri River fishing reports aren't always the same. One stretch of the river may fish better than others which is why we like to check a number of different fishing reports from other shops in the area. We've gathered our favorite fishing report sources in the links below.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Where is the best fishing on the Missouri River?
The Missouri River below Montana's Holter Dam is one of the most productive trout fisheries in the world with over 5,000 trout per mile averaging 16 inches or better. Abundant hatches throughout the season feed large groups of rising fish setting the stage for the finest fly fishing you'll ever experience. As a tailwater fishery regulated between dams, water levels and temperatures remain consistent allowing for a longer season than many other rivers in Montana. As a prime dry fly fishery, this stretch of the Missouri River is renowned for epic waters boasting large pods of fish rising rhythmically on midges, mayflies, caddis and terrestrials. The shear variety of fishing techniques that work on this river is second to none. Streamer fishing, nymphing, dry fly fishing, and skating mice all work well bringing fish to hand.
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