Musselshell River Ranch Fishing

Season: April 1 - July 31, September 1 - October 31

Fishing is closed from August 1 - August 31 due to low water conditions on the Musselshell River. 

Important Note: You can purchase fishing for the same day up until the start time of 7:00 a.m. Mountain Standard Time. You can fish the entire day once you've paid for the slot. 

At the Montana Mexican John Ranch, the Musselshell has many undercut banks, bushy riverbanks, small riffles and a few deep pools. Brown trout in this section average around 15 inches, but many exceed five pounds. Roughly 95% of the trout are browns and the rest are rainbows. The trout you’ll catch rarely see an imitation fly because of the lack of fishermen on this stretch of river. This is far different than stretches of the Madison, Bighorn or Big Hole rivers where the same fish may see twenty to thirty imitation flies per day from scores of fishermen fishing the same holes.

The ranch offers limited DIY fly fishing along 3.1 miles of the Musselshell River upstream of bridge 191 near Harlotown, MT. Additional fishing of .94 miles to the west is available based on the Montana stream access law which allows navigating the river up to the high water mark. Access to this section of the river must occur from the Montana Mexican John Ranch and not from the roads off the highway. Fishing is limited to 4 rods per day. Boats are not included, but if you prefer to float you can!

Note: Water will be available to fill up your camper at the Fisherman's Cabin hose or the hose at the Ranch Shop. (Cannot leave camper hooked up to water hose)

Parking information: https://www.mtmjranch.com/riverranchfishing