North Fork Flathead River
The rule for this water, with the receipt.
Special regulations for North Fork Flathead River including headwaters to confluence with Middle Fork Flathead River, as the state words them
Flathead County · River · MT
Today's rule hereParsed
- Season
- Not captured yet - consult the statewide regulations
- Gear
- Not captured yet - consult the statewide regulations
- Bait
- Artificial lures and/or maggots only.This water
- Poles
- Not captured yet - consult the statewide regulations
| Species | Daily limit | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|
Brook Trout Varies by water: limit 10 daily and in possession. (Eastern District) | 20 daily and in possession. | - | Statewide |
Lake Trout Varies by water: limit 20 daily and 40 in possession. (Western District); limit 3 daily and 6 in possession. (Eastern District) | 3 daily and in possession. | - | Statewide |
Bass | 5 daily and in possession. | - | Statewide |
Burbot (Ling) Varies by water: limit 2 daily and in possession. (Western District) | 5 daily and in possession. | - | Statewide |
Channel Catfish Varies by water: limit 10 daily and 20 in possession. (Eastern District) | 10 daily and in possession. | - | Statewide |
Crappie Varies by water: limit No limit. (Western District) | 15 daily and 30 in possession. | - | Statewide |
Northern Pike Varies by water: limit 15 daily, no possession limit. (Western District); limit 15 daily and in possession. (Western Fishing District standard limits) | 10 daily and in possession. | - | Statewide |
Pallid Sturgeon Varies by water: limit None - this is an endangered species and all fish must be released promptly, with little or no delay. (Eastern District, all waters) | None - this is an endangered species and all fish must be released immediately. | - | Statewide |
Salmon (Kokanee & Chinook) Varies by water: limit 5 daily and 10 in possession. (Eastern District) | 10 daily and in possession. | - | Statewide |
Sauger/Walleye Varies by water: limit 5 daily and 10 in possession. (Eastern District) | 5 daily, only 2 may be sauger. Possession limit is 10, only 4 may be sauger. | - | Statewide |
Shovelnose Sturgeon | 5 daily and in possession, none over 40 inches. | min. none over 40 inches | Statewide |
Tiger Muskie | 1 daily and in possession, must be over 40 inches. | min. must be over 40 inches | Statewide |
Whitefish | 20 daily and 40 in possession. | - | Statewide |
Cutthroat Trout Varies by water: noneover 12 inches, limit 3 daily and in possession, noneover 12 inches. (Western District, rivers/streams); No size limit. (Western Fishing District standard limits, lakes/reservoirs); None over 12 inches., limit 3 daily and in possession, none over 12 inches. (Western Fishing District standard limits, rivers/streams) | 3 daily and in possession, no sizelimit. | min. no sizelimit | Statewide |
Largemouth Bass Varies by water: Only 1 greater than 12 inches., limit 5 daily and in possession, only 1 greater than 12 inches. (Western Fishing District standard limits); Must be over 22 inches., limit 1 daily and in possession, must be over 22 inches. (Western Fishing District standard limits) | 5 daily and in possession, only 1 greater than 12inches. | min. only 1 greater than 12inches | Statewide |
Smallmouth Bass Varies by water: No size limit all year. (Western Fishing District standard limits) | 15 daily and in possession, no size limit all year. | min. no size limit all year | Statewide |
Kokanee Salmon | 20 daily and 40 in possession. | - | Statewide |
Sturgeon | 0 - All waters are closed to angling for sturgeon. | - | Statewide |
Paddlefish | 1 per season and in possession. | - | Statewide |
Shortnose Gar | 3 per season and in possession. | - | Statewide |
Rainbow trout | 5 daily and in possession. | - | This water |
The official text, verbatimOfficial text
Straight from MT's official regulations. Rules in force today lead; out-of-season rows are dimmed. Nothing is paraphrased. Not legal advice: verify the posted rules at the water.
- All fishGear Single-pointed hooks only. No treble or double hooks. Anglers may remove treble or double hooks from the lure and replace them with a single hook, or the shanks may be cut off the other hook points to leave a single hook. Lures with multiple hook attachments may still be used but any treble hook must be replaced by a single hook.Montana/Glacier National Park boundary is the middle of the river.
- cutthroat troutCatch-and-release.
- Rainbow troutDaily limit 5 daily and in possession.
- All fishJune 1 through Sept. 30 - does not apply todayClosed to angling June 1 through Sept. 30 within a 150-yard radius of the Big Creek stream mouth unless posted at a greater distance.
- All fishDec. 1 to third Saturday in May - does not apply todayGear Artificial lures and/or maggots only.Bait Artificial lures and/or maggots only.Extended season open.
How this answer was assembled
- StatewideStatewide river rules are the base layer: default season, gear, bait, and limits.
- This waterSpecial rules written for this exact water replace the statewide defaults where they speak.
- Emergency orderEmergency orders in effect today override everything else. They sync quietly when the phone has coverage and never lock you out of the app.
Where this section begins and ends
The drawn shape is the named water, matched from the official list against OpenStreetMap and accepted only because the name resolved to a single feature in this water's county.
Different sections of this water can have different rules. The exact section boundaries are not marked on the map yet; each rule above describes in plain words where it starts and ends, and that written description is the authoritative boundary. Map boundaries come water by water, never as a guess.
Season at a glanceDerived
Next change: opens Dec. 1, 2026.
Sampled mid-month from the dated rows; short windows can slip between samples. The rows above are authoritative.
At the water nowContext
Streamflow: 269 cfs at flathead river at flathead british columbia (2026-10-13 06:45)
Forecast: National Weather Service. Flow: nearest active USGS gauge in this water's area, which may sit on a different reach. Conditions are context, not rules.
What are you fishing for here?Advice
Pick from the species named in North Fork Flathead River's rules. Setups are checked against the gear rules in force today, and your picks are remembered on this device only. These are rule-aware suggestions, not a claim about what is biting; advice, not law, and the rules above govern.
You also need (Montana)
- AIS Prevention Pass. Montana's extra mandatory item is not a trout stamp but an Aquatic Invasive Species Prevention Pass. Every angler 16 and older must have one; anglers under 16 do not.
- Tribal permits on reservation waters. A Montana state license is not enough on some major waters. Waters inside the Flathead Reservation (which includes the southern half of Flathead Lake) and inside the Fort Peck Reservation require a separate tribal permit. The Bighorn River inside the Crow Reservation is the opposite case: the state license works and no tribal permit is needed.
- Free fishing weekends. Montana has two free fishing weekends a year, Mother's Day and Father's Day weekends, which in 2026 are May 9-10 and June 20-21. Anyone, resident or nonresident, can fish without a license on those days as long as they follow seasons, restrictions and bag limits. Paddlefish and bull trout are excluded and still require the full license set.
- Carry rule and license year. You have to have the fishing license on you while fishing, and a copy on your phone counts. The license year runs March 1 through the end of February, so a season license bought in the fall does not carry through the following summer.
Checked against Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks - 2026 Montana Fishing Regulations (official FWP digest) on Aug. 4, 2026.
Receipts
Local services near North Fork Flathead River
Tackle shops, guides, and boat launches that serve this water will appear here - a separate lane below the rules, so a local business can reach you without ever getting between you and the regulation.
Run a shop or guide service on North Fork Flathead River? Get listed.