Fly Fishing the Jefferson River

The Jefferson is Montana's overlooked gem: a wide, slow freestone winding through cottonwood bottomlands from Twin Bridges to Three Forks, where Lewis and Clark paddled through in 1805. Low summer flows concentrate fish and bring out hungry browns on hoppers; the spring window before runoff and the fall BWO season reward anglers willing to seek it out.

11 shops nearby

See fly shops ↓

When to fish

Spring and July–October

Best months: March–May, July–October

Best
Runoff
Off-peak

Skwala Stonefly: mid–late March. Mother's Day Caddis: May, conditions permitting.

Today's conditions

Where to fish

Along the Jefferson River

Twin Bridges3 shopsSheridan1 shop

Butte1 shopDillon2 shops

Access is limited to Montana FWP fishing access sites and bridge crossings; float fishing is strongly preferred over wading given the river's depth and structure. Major access points run from Twin Bridges downstream to Three Forks where the Jefferson meets the Madison and Gallatin to form the Missouri. Highway 41 parallels much of the river.

The water

Freestone

Key hatches