By the time you read this, Montana's general deer and elk rifle season has been open for five days. It runs through Nov. 29. On the river side, the Western District's general fishing season ends Nov. 30, and one Bitterroot fishing access a few miles north of town locks up the same day. All of that sounds like a shutdown. Around Florence it isn't one. The forest gets busier with orange, the river picks up a new set of rules, and the one access that stays open every day of the year sits a mile east of town at Florence Bridge.
The dates are listed on Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks' hunting seasons page: the general season for deer and elk runs Oct. 24 to Nov. 29, 2026. Archery ended Oct. 18 and muzzleloader season follows Dec. 12 to 20.
Five weeks of orange at the west-side trailheads
FWP's 2026 hunting regulations require anyone hunting with a firearm, and any outfitter or guide with them, to wear at least 400 square inches of fluorescent hunter orange above the waist, visible at all times. The rule covers hunters. It doesn't say anything about the person walking a dog up the same drainage. But if you take that dog up the same drainage, you'll be sharing trailheads with people who are wearing it.
Here's how the Bitterroot National Forest currently describes the trailheads closest to Florence:
| Trailhead or trail | What the Forest Service lists | Dogs |
|---|---|---|
| Bass Creek Trail #4 | 8.6 miles, hikers and horseback riders, wilderness boundary at mile 2.5 | Leashed at the trailhead |
| Bass Creek Trailhead | Open 24 hours, no fee | Leashed |
| Charles Waters Campground | Operating season May through October | Leashed |
| Sweeney Trailhead | Access to Holloway Lake Trail #393 and the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, conditions "snow dependent" | Not listed |
| Kootenai Creek Trail #53 | 10.6 miles, hiking, horseback riding and backpacking | Under control, leash recommended |
Two of those entries are on the clock right now. Charles Waters' campground season is listed as May through October, and October has three days left. The Forest Service page doesn't give a specific closing day. Sweeney's conditions depend on snow and nothing else, which in practice means the first real storm decides whether you get up there. Kootenai Creek's page doesn't carry a live status at all. It sends visitors to the forest's interactive trail-clearing map for current conditions.
Recreation.gov lists another date: the gate to the Larry Creek Group Site closes Dec. 1. Between the end of Charles Waters' season, the end of rifle season and that gate, the forest side of Florence's outdoor year lands on a short list of dates.
Three days in a row at the end of November
For anyone who walks or fishes near Florence, the end of November comes down to three consecutive dates:
- Sunday, Nov. 29. The general deer and elk rifle season ends.
- Monday, Nov. 30. Chief Looking Glass Fishing Access Site closes for the season. It's open May 1 to Nov. 30, and you reach it 6.5 miles south of Lolo on Highway 93, then a mile east on Chief Looking Glass Road. The Western District's general season on rivers and streams also ends that day.
- Tuesday, Dec. 1. The Bitterroot's extended season opens, and the Larry Creek Group Site gate closes.
On its own, the Western District's "third Saturday in May through Nov. 30" reads like the river closes. The district rule applies "unless otherwise specified," though, and the Bitterroot is specified. Here's the wording in FWP's 2026 fishing regulations for the whole river, East and West Forks included, down to the mouth near Missoula:
Extended season for northern pike and whitefish and catch-and-release for all trout open Dec. 1 to third Saturday in May. Artificial lures, maggots and/or aquatic insects only. All other live/dead bait prohibited.
Florence Bridge is the line on the river
Once Chief Looking Glass locks its gate, the access closest to town is still open. FWP lists Florence Bridge Fishing Access Site, one mile east of Florence on the East Side Highway, as open Jan. 1 through Dec. 31.
The bridge is also where the river's rules change. The Bitterroot flows north, so "below" Florence Bridge means toward Missoula. Through Nov. 30, the 2026 regulations split the river at that bridge:
- North boundary of Woodside Bridge FAS down to Florence Bridge: catch-and-release for all trout, artificial lures only, live and dead bait prohibited.
- Florence Bridge to the mouth: catch-and-release for cutthroat, and a combined limit of three rainbow or brown trout daily and in possession, with only one over 14 inches.
- Ditches, canals and sloughs between US 93 and the East Side Highway, from Hamilton to Florence Bridge: the same rules as the river section next to them.
One rule downstream of the bridge never changes with the seasons. From Florence Bridge to the mouth, all year, every smallmouth bass caught has to be killed immediately and kept. You report it to FWP at 406-542-5500 within 24 hours and turn in the whole fish at an FWP office within 10 days. Frozen is fine. On Dec. 1 the trout limits change to catch-and-release, but the bass rule stays exactly the same.
That's the summary. The regulation booklet is the actual rule, and FWP's current closures and restrictions page carries any temporary changes not printed there. This post is general information, not legal advice, so check FWP's own text before you fish a new stretch.
The walk-in site south of town has its own rules
Poker Joe Fishing Access Site sits 3 miles south of Florence. Take Highway 93 to Luby Lane, go half a mile to Simpson Lane, then follow the signs for 0.6 miles. It's walk-in only, a quarter mile to the river. For a rifle-season walk, the detail that matters is in the weapons restrictions on FWP's Poker Joe page: big game hunting there is archery only, and target practice and sighting in are not allowed.
The same FWP page carries a management note: "Site will be closed beginning July 7 while a new parking area and latrine are installed." The note doesn't give a year. Check that listing before you drive over, so the walk doesn't end at a closed gate.
What the water looked like in mid-October
Freestone Fly Shop's Oct. 13, 2026 Bitterroot report suggested these patterns:
- Baetis, sizes 18 to 22
- Mahogany Duns, sizes 14 to 18
- October Caddis, sizes 8 to 12
- Nymphs or streamers when fish aren't rising
The same report puts the better fall window at late morning through the afternoon. It points anglers to slower seams, runs moving at walking speed, and soft water next to deeper holding areas. That schedule fits a short fall day. You can be at Florence Bridge after the morning chill burns off and off the water before the light goes. By the time you read this, the report is two weeks old, so check the shop's newer posts before you pick flies.
After dark, Wednesdays on Rodeo Drive
When the light goes early, an evening in Florence usually means somewhere indoors. Backyard Tap House, at 281 Rodeo Dr., has been open seven days a week since March. Its site lists Monday through Saturday from 11:30 to 9, and Sunday from noon to 8.
Bingo runs every Wednesday. Through the rest of rifle season, the listed dates are Nov. 4, 11, 18 and 25. The listing doesn't give start times, so call ahead. The last of those dates falls the night before Thanksgiving, four days before the rifle season ends and six days before the river changes to its winter rules.
Owning land near the Bitterroot means knowing which access points stay open in winter and where the rules change along the river. Clinton Roberts works on river and acreage property around Florence every season of the year. If you'd like to know what your place is worth, get your free property valuation.
