Montana Fish Report

The trolling bite has been very good along the east shore from the Snag to Skinny Dip Beach. Lake Cove has green midge hatches happening big time, stimulating the hungry trout and salmon populations.  Fish are active and feeding on midge larva as they move up toward the surface, where swallows are waiting to grab them as they make their break airborne. Look for swallows; the fish are just below.

Bug hatches are starting to happen all around the lake, but the east side is well ahead of most areas. And the fish are right there...all of them.

 Browns, rainbows, and king salmon, and we got many of each the last couple of days. Lake Cove has been my #1 go to spot this past week. We have been working that area and have got limits of 10 fish and up everyday. The bite really picks up after 8:00 am and has been solid to 1:00 p.m., and even after that fish continue to casualy feed.

The salmon, were all running 19 to 19.5 "one was  24" and weighted 4.8 lbs..and they all looked very good. Rainbows were all over the range, running from 13" to 20".

Brown Trout are showing up in bigger numbers too, as the fish have started to concentrate in areas where the bug hatches are abundant, it took them a while, but they figured it out.

All our strikes have come in the top 16 ft. of water, most fish have been in the 2 lb. range. If you go deeper than 25 ft., set your releases light, theres a bunch of small recently planted salmon down there, and you could be dragging one around and not even know it!.. happened twice to me this week.

 

We limited out in 2.5 hrs yesterday, trolling a UV treated silver "Strike Master" dodger from the folks at Seps Pro Fishing. Running threaded crawlers 18" behind the Strike Master,  I also added a blend of Carp Spit and Trophy Trout scents to the crawler. Be prepared to change up you presentation,conditions are always changing. Last week they were all over the Rainbow Runner, 2 days later they didn't want it.

But now with the bite so good, you could probably pull anything and get fish.

 

Fishing pressure has been ultra light.

Creeks and streams are flowing strong, lots of sticks, bark and a couple of logs floating around. Most of the big logs have been removed, but new ones are always possible, so watch where your going.

 

Spots to watch that are overdue:

 

Doug Neal (530) 258-6732 http://www.almanorfishingadventures.com