Kootenai River fishing guide

Public access & launches

Extensive public bank access along the Kootenai River, computed from public land ownership and hydrography.

Explore public access points and the exact bank on the interactive map in the app.

Regulations

• Whitefish

  Gear

  Net/Seine (commercial permit required)

  Net/Seine Permits: Whitefish may be taken from the Kootenai River and tributaries. Application required; fee is $200 plus a $1,000 bond per year.

• Rainbow trout

  Season

  Open entire year.

  Bag

  4 daily and in possession, includes 3 under 13 inches and only 1 over 18 inches.

  Closed to angling June 1 through Sept. 30 within 150-yards upstream and downstream of the Quartz Creek stream mouth unless posted at a greater distance.

• Kokanee salmon

  Season

  Sept. 15 through Nov. 30

  Gear

  Snagging

  Snagging open for kokanee salmon.

• Rainbow trout

  Season

  Open June 1 through Feb. 28.

  Bag

  1 daily and in possession

  Size

  28 inch minimum length

  Gear

  Hooks/lures must have single points, no double or treble hooks.

• Bull trout

  Closed to angling for bull trout; any bull trout caught must be released with no delay.

• Bull TroutWestern Fishing District

  Bull Trout: As per the District Standard Regulations, the Kootenai River is closed to angling for Bull Trout; any Bull Trout caught mustbe released promptly, with little or no delay. Brown Trout: No limit. All Brown Trout caught between Libby Dam and Kootenai Falls must be killed immediately, kept, and theentire fish turned into FWP. Anglers who catch Brown Trout upstream of Kootenai Falls are required to report the catch to FWP within 24hours (406-752-5501). Anglers may be asked to provide their full name, ALS number, phone number, date and time of capture, andlocation on the river. Anglers are required to turn in the whole Brown Trout to a FWP office during regular business hours and within10 days of capture. Burbot: Catch-and release. Libby Dam to Highway 37 Bridge, near Fisher River Open June 1 through February 28. Rainbow Trout: 1 daily and in possession, 28 inch minimum length. Highway 37 Bridge, near Fisher River, to Idaho Border Open entire year. Rainbow Trout: 4 daily and in possession, includes 3 under 13 inches and only 1 over 18 inches. Closed to angling June 1 through September 30 within 150-yards upstream and downstream of the Quartz Creek stream mouthunless posted at a greater distance. Kootenai Falls to 0.8 miles downstream of Swinging Bridge Snagging: open for Kokanee Salmon from September 15 through November 30.

• Brown trout

  Bag

  No limit.

  All brown trout caught between Libby Dam and Kootenai Falls must be killed immediately, kept, and the entire fish presented to FWP.

• Brown trout

  Anglers who catch brown trout upstream of Kootenai Falls are required to report the catch to FWP within 24 hours (406-752-5501). Anglers required to present the whole brown trout to a FWP office during regular business hours within 10 days of capture. Edible portions returned to angler upon request.

• All species

  Handling and Transporting Legally Taken Fish: While fishing or on the water/ice, all fish in possession must be visibly identifiable to species. Unless size limits apply, fish may be cleaned prior to transport so long as the entire skin remains attached to the fish or fillet for identification. Two fillets will be counted as one fish. If frozen prior to transport, each fish or fillet must be packaged so it can be counted. Consumption of fish on the ice or water is allowed but counts toward daily limit.

• All species

  Fishing Methods: Fish may be taken only by hook and line or other approved methods. Regulations for the taking of fish are listed in the standard regulations for each fishing district (see pages 23, 50 & 79).

As of 2026-08-28.Guidance, not legal advice — always confirm current rules with the state.Official Montana regulations

More Montana fishing

Montana field notes

Bozeman, MT

Bozeman Built a Trail System Out of Handshakes and Easements

Nearly 100 miles of trail start inside Bozeman and run to the mountains, and most of it exists because a land trust spent thirty-five years negotiating easements across private ranchland one landowner at a time. The M and Drinking Horse are the famous pair. The system behind them is the actual story.

Missoula, MT

Missoula Hikes You Can Walk To From Downtown

A university town of 78,000 people sits where five valleys meet, with a mountain rising straight off the campus and a 61,000-acre wilderness up the road behind the houses. The famous hike takes forty minutes and most of the town has done it drunk at least once.

West Glacier, MT

The Highline Trail's Hand Cable Is the Least Frightening Part

Every photograph of this trail shows the same thing: a narrow ledge, a garden hose of steel cable bolted to the rock, and a very long way down. In practice that section takes four minutes and the tread is excellent. The parts worth thinking about come later: the shuttle you must book, the parking cap, and the grizzlies.

Babb, MT

Grinnell Glacier Before It's Gone: The Boat Shortcut, the Bears, and the Best Light

A trail cut into a cliff above two turquoise lakes, ending at a glacier that has been measured shrinking for a century. There is a boat that removes 3.4 miles of it, a mid-July opening date that catches people out, and enough grizzly activity that bear spray is standard equipment rather than a precaution.

West Yellowstone, MT

Fly Fishing Yellowstone National Park: Cutthroat in the Meadows, Wolves on the Ridge, and the Strangest Trout Stream on Earth

Yellowstone holds the largest concentration of wild cutthroat trout in the world, a river that flows past erupting geysers, and backcountry meadow streams where you fish with bison grazing behind you and wolves howling at dusk. It's not just fly fishing. It's fly fishing inside the world's first national park.

West Glacier, MT

Fly Fishing Glacier National Park: Native Cutthroat, Wild Rivers, and Backcountry Water That Hasn't Changed in a Thousand Years

Glacier National Park holds 700 miles of streams and over 130 named lakes, most of them holding native westslope cutthroat trout that have never seen a hatchery. The fishing is wild, the setting is the most dramatic in North America, and the native fish are counting on you to handle them with care.

Kootenai River fishing — FAQ