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Montana: the months when each species peaks and when it goes quiet. The current month is outlined.
| Fish | January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black crappie | active | active | active | peak | peak | peak | active | fair | fair | fair | active | active |
| Lake trout | active | peak | peak | peak | peak | active | fair | fair | slow | fair | active | active |
| Whitefish | fair | slow | slow | fair | active | peak | peak | active | active | peak | peak | active |
| Cutthroat trout | fair | slow | slow | slow | fair | peak | peak | active | active | active | active | active |
| Brook trout | slow | slow | slow | slow | fair | active | peak | active | active | active | active | fair |
| Largemouth bass | slow | slow | slow | slow | fair | active | peak | peak | peak | peak | active | fair |
| Pike | active | fair | fair | fair | fair | fair | fair | active | active | peak | peak | peak |
| Rainbow trout | slow | slow | slow | slow | fair | active | peak | active | active | active | active | fair |
| Walleye | slow | slow | slow | slow | fair | active | peak | active | active | active | active | fair |
| Brown trout | slow | slow | slow | slow | fair | peak | peak | peak | peak | active | fair | slow |
| Yellow perch | slow | slow | slow | slow | fair | active | active | active | active | active | fair | fair |
| Burbot | peak | active | fair | fair | slow | slow | slow | slow | slow | slow | active | peak |
| Bluegill | slow | slow | slow | slow | slow | slow | active | active | active | fair | slow | slow |
| Carp | slow | slow | slow | slow | slow | fair | active | peak | active | fair | slow | slow |
| Smallmouth bass | slow | slow | slow | slow | fair | active | active | active | fair | fair | fair | fair |
| Channel catfish | slow | slow | slow | slow | slow | slow | fair | active | fair | fair | slow | slow |
South Boulder River (Montana) — one of the area's fishing spots. About 33 km long. A smart bite calendar — moon phase, atmospheric pressure, and weather combined into an hourly fish-activity forecast for the coming days.
Other nearby places to fish
Other nearby waters
The course runs nearly straight: there are few bend pools, and the structure to look for is riffles and scour holes.
Work the cover — snags, weed edges, hole entrances; retrieve the lure with pauses.
South Boulder River — Tuesday, October 20
The bite is moderate — fish feed in short bursts. Pressure is dropping — this usually boosts the bite. Peak 08:00–09:00 and 19:00–20:00.
The computed water temperature is around 42 °F — colder than the 57–75 °F comfort range for Black crappie: the fish conserves energy and takes more cautiously.
Black crappie works the twilight: the peaks are pinned to sunrise and sunset — their times are in the sun-and-moon card above.
Pressure is rising 0.18 inHg over the day — the bite usually settles down after a rise.
One more input — the moon's feeding windows: within their hours the score sits higher than across the rest of the day. The window times are in the “Solunar feeding periods” card below.
October is an average month for Black crappie here.
These are the same values the bite curve above was computed from. How the forecast works
Cloudy · feels like +40°
The day is 3 min shorter than yesterday.
Sunshine hours count direct sun only — cloud cover cuts it, so it is shorter than daylight.
Geomagnetic fieldG1 geomagnetic storm, Kp 4.7
Kp index — NOAA data. Not part of the bite score: catches show no link between geomagnetic storms and the bite.
The windows are set by the moon's transit and rise, and the forecast above already accounts for them: within these hours the bite score sits higher than across the rest of the day, while the day's overall level still comes from the catch-calibrated model.
What are solunar periods?Work the cover — snags, weed edges, hole entrances; retrieve the lure with pauses.
South Boulder River — Tuesday, October 20
The bite is moderate — fish feed in short bursts. Pressure is dropping — this usually boosts the bite. Peak 08:00–09:00 and 19:00–20:00.