Troutline

Smith River

Montana·Central Montana·46.98° N, 111.28° W
Flow
164 CFS
Smith River bl Eagle Cr nr Fort Logan
Water Temp
69°F
Smith River bl Eagle Cr nr Fort Logan
Condition
Above Normal
Weather
71°F
Partly Cloudy
near Monarch

Insights

Pressure
Pressure dropping
Fish often move up to feed before a front.
Flow
164 CFS — higher than typical
Push to the banks and softer water. Heavier flies.
Snowpack
Snowpack snowpack update
Snowpack data for Smith River basin is limited right now. The June–July runoff forecast for Smith R bl Eagle Ck is 71% of average.
Water Temp
Water 69°F — stress zone
Trout are oxygen-stressed. Fish dawn only, or pick a colder water — survival rates drop fast above 68°F.

The Smith is the trip you plan a year ahead of and might never draw. It's a 59-mile limestone-canyon float between one put-in — Camp Baker — and one take-out — Eden Bridge, with no road access and no bailout in between, which is exactly why anglers fixate on it. Montana FWP rations the whole thing through a February lottery: for the 2024 season roughly 12,400 applications competed for about 868 resident and 111 nonresident private permits, and only nine launches leave Camp Baker per day. Nonresidents are capped at 10% of permits and there's a separate Super Permit lottery that lets one winner launch any date they choose. Win a permit and you're floating four days through 400-foot cliff walls for wild rainbows and browns; don't win, and the realistic option is booking one of the handful of licensed outfitters who hold commercial launches.

It fishes like a big freestone that's really a tailwater-of-nothing — flows ride the snowmelt curve and the irrigation calendar, not a dam. The float window is essentially mid-April through mid-July, and water is the whole game: drift boats get sketchy below about 350 cfs, rafts below 250, canoes below 150, so late July and August usually go too skinny to float and too warm to fish hard. The fishing is classic Montana searching — big attractor dries and hopper-droppers pounded against the banks and structure, with genuine hatch windows layered on top: Blue-Winged Olives in the shoulders, a salmonfly and golden-stone stretch from roughly mid-May into early July if your dates line up, then PMDs and caddis. It's rarely technical; the challenge is timing your one launch to catch decent flow, cool water, and a hatch at the same time.

This is a wilderness-logistics fishery, not a pull-over-and-wade one. There is functionally no public bank access between Camp Baker and Eden — the upper river above Camp Baker (White Sulphur Springs down through the meadows) runs almost entirely through private ranchland and doesn't fish as a public option. Bring a groover: FWP pulled the pit toilets along the river in spring 2024, though there's now a SCAT machine at the Eden Bridge take-out. Nearest services are White Sulphur Springs on the put-in side and Great Falls on the take-out side; most anglers stage out of Great Falls, Helena, or White Sulphur Springs.

Species

  • Rainbow Trout
    Primary · May-Jul, Sep · 10-16"

    Predominant fishery alongside browns. Bank-oriented, aggressive on attractor dries and hopper-droppers; the occasional larger fish comes off deeper structure.

  • Brown Trout
    Primary · May-Jul, Sep · 12-18"+

    Co-dominant with rainbows. The best fish come off undercut banks and structure on streamers, and they turn more aggressive in the fall shoulder.

  • Mountain Whitefish
    Common · Year-round · 10-16"

    Abundant native that readily takes nymphs through riffle seams — a good sign the drift is fishing well.

  • Brook Trout
    Present · Summer · 6-11"

    Found in colder tributaries and headwaters, not a mainstem canyon target.

Ideal wading flow300–800 CFS
Blow-out>1,500 CFS
Ideal water temp48–62°F

Prime is late May through early July: floatable flows overlapping salmonflies, golden stones, and PMDs. A secondary September–October window opens if fall rain or irrigation shut-off restores floatable water (terrestrials, BWO, October caddis). Flow is the gating factor — drift boats trouble below ~350 cfs, rafts below ~250, canoes below ~150; prime float-and-fish water is roughly 300–800 cfs. Peak snowmelt (often May–early June) can push it muddy above 1,000+ cfs, and by late July/August it routinely runs too skinny to float and too warm to fish, with the Fort Logan gauge reading water in the upper 60s°F.

Sections

2 sections on this river

Camp Baker to Eden Bridge — The Canyon Float

FloatSalmon · Brown Trout · Rainbow Trout · Whitefish

The whole show: 59 miles of limestone canyon with cliff walls to ~400 feet, riffle-run-pool freestone water, undercut banks, and boulder structure. One public put-in at Camp Baker, one take-out at Eden Bridge, and no road access or bailout between them — a true multi-day (averaging four days) permitted wilderness float with boat camps assigned by FWP. Wild rainbow trout and brown trout come to attractor dries, hopper-droppers, and streamers pounded against the banks; mountain whitefish fill the riffle seams on nymphs.

Best for: Rainbow trout and brown trout on big attractor dries, hopper-dropper, and bank streamers; nymphing riffle seams for whitefish. Prime when floatable flow, cool water, and the salmonfly/golden-stone window line up (mid-May–early July).

Upper Smith — White Sulphur Springs to Camp Baker (private, context only)

WadeBrown Trout · Rainbow Trout

The meadow-and-small-canyon reach above the permitted float, holding reliable PMD and BWO hatches for rainbow trout and brown trout — but running almost entirely through private ranchland with very difficult public access. Documented for completeness; this is not a public fishing section.

Best for: Not a public fishery — access is almost entirely private. Listed only so anglers understand where the permitted canyon float begins.

Regulations

Current fishing rules and restrictions

The entire 59-mile Camp Baker to Eden Bridge float requires a Montana FWP float permit issued by an annual February lottery. Terminal fishing follows standard Montana Central District trout regulations — it's the floating that is specially managed, not the tackle. A valid Montana fishing license plus conservation license is required.

  • Mandatory FWP float permit for the entire Camp Baker → Eden Bridge reach — there is no legal public access to fish the canyon without one (no roads in).
  • 2026 permit timeline: applications open Jan 1, deadline Feb 15, drawing Feb 18. Separate Super Permit lottery: opens Jan 1, deadline Mar 15, drawing Mar 16.
  • $15 nonrefundable application fee; bonus points cost $5/yr resident, $125/yr nonresident and are squared in the draw. Winners reset to zero points; unsuccessful applicants keep them.
  • Nonresidents capped at ≤10% of permits. Nine launches per day from Camp Baker. Maximum party size 15.
  • Camping max 4 nights May 15–Jul 15 (only one layover night in peak season); Camp Baker is day-use only except Sept 1–Nov 30.
  • Pit toilets removed spring 2024 — a portable toilet (groover) is required; a SCAT machine is now at the Eden Bridge take-out.
  • Valid Montana fishing license + conservation license required (resident/nonresident tiers).

Standard Montana statewide/Central District trout rules govern terminal tackle and limits on the mainstem — no special fly-only or catch-and-release designation on the canyon float beyond statewide rules. Confirm exact current-year season dates and limits in the FWP regulations booklet. Warm, low water in mid-summer can push fish toward thermal stress even without a formal hoot-owl restriction.

Source: Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. Regulations change annually — verify before fishing.

Access & Logistics

Getting there, fly shops, and lodging

Getting There

White Sulphur Springs, MT (put-in) / Great Falls, MT (take-out)

~1.5 hrs from Helena, ~2 hrs from Bozeman (BZN), ~30 min from Great Falls (GTF) to Eden Bridge

Fly Shops

Camping & Lodging

The float itself is boat-in tent camping at FWP-designated Smith River State Park boat camps — limited and permit-tied. Lodging before and after in White Sulphur Springs (put-in side), Great Falls (take-out side), or Helena.

The FWP float permit lottery is the gating reservation; there is no day-use fishing permit for the water beyond a Montana license, but no legal public access to fish the canyon without a float permit. Camp Baker put-in is ~20 mi from White Sulphur Springs; Eden Bridge take-out is ~30 mi from Great Falls.

Conditions data is live from public monitoring networks. Regulations change annually — always verify current rules with your state fish & wildlife agency before fishing.

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