When to come.
Typical windows from the record, by month. A legal season and a run are two different things: the season says when you may fish, the run says when the fish are there.
Typical run This year's run, from verified reports Legal season for the method Run on, season closed
| Run or event | J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake trout on spawning points, shore and flatline Flathead Lake |
October: typical run | November: typical run | ||||||||||
| Lake whitefish at the Polson end of the lake Flathead Lake |
October: typical run | November: typical run | ||||||||||
| Kokanee spawning color-up Lake Mary Ronan |
October: typical run | |||||||||||
| Fall Mack Days Sep 10 to Nov 8 |
September: Fall Mack Days | October: Fall Mack Days | November: Fall Mack Days | |||||||||
| Chancy's Fall Whitefish Festival Oct 12 to Nov 21 |
October: Chancy's Fall Whitefish Festival | November: Chancy's Fall Whitefish Festival |
Windows come from FWP and the gauge record; each one is checked before it appears here. Legal seasons come from the FWP regulations, checked each license year.
Worth the drive
Kokanee runs a morning's drive from Kalispell. More on the kokanee page.
Kootenai
| Run or event | J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Snagging allowed Sept 15 – Nov 30, downstream of Highway 93 to mouth Grave Creek, 1 h 25 min from Kalispell |
September: legal | October: legal | November: legal | |||||||||
| Snagging allowed Sept 15 – Nov 30 Tobacco River |
September: legal | October: legal | November: legal | |||||||||
| Kokanee run up from Lake Koocanusa Tobacco River, 1 h 25 min from Kalispell |
September: typical run | October: typical run | ||||||||||
| Snagging allowed Sept 15 – Nov 30, Kootenai Falls to 0.8 miles downstream of Swinging Bridge Kootenai River, 2 h from Kalispell |
September: legal | October: legal | November: legal | |||||||||
| Snagging allowed Sept 15 – Nov 30, downstream of Troy Dam Lake Creek, 2 h 10 min from Kalispell |
September: legal | October: legal | November: legal |
Blackfoot–Clearwater
| Run or event | J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Snagging allowed Sept 15 – Nov 30, Lake Alva outlet to Lake Inez inlet, and Lake Inez outlet to Seeley Lake inlet Clearwater River, 1 h 45 min from Kalispell |
September: legal | October: legal | November: legal | |||||||||
| Snagging allowed Oct 15 – Dec 31 Seeley Lake |
October: legal | November: legal | December: legal | |||||||||
| Kokanee spawning run, Clearwater chain Seeley Lake, 1 h 45 min from Kalispell |
October: typical run | November: typical run | ||||||||||
| Snagging allowed Oct 15 – Dec 31 Placid Lake, 2 h 5 min from Kalispell |
October: legal | November: legal | December: legal |