Montana Fish Report

Trout fishing has really turned on for trollers this week. Trout are feeding heavily on shad- use your graph to locate shad balls- the rainbows will be there, too. Troll 35-50 feet near mouths of coves and creek arms such as Carson or Coyote Creek. Use a shad-patterned or firetiger lure such as an Excel, Apex, Needlefish, or Rapala Countdown, and use Bang or ProCure threadfin shad scent on your lures. Gary Burns of Take It To The Limit Guide Service has been having great luck with Shasta Tackle Cripplures, while Danny Layne of Fish'n Dan's Guide Service brought in rainbows, brown trout, and kokanee on Cop Car Needlefish. Also you can use two lures in tandem to simulate fleeing shad. Bass success is tough to come by. With so many bait fish available the bass are very healthy. Timing is very important when targeting bass feeding on shad. Morning and evening are the best times to locate feeding fish. Use lures that mimic injured and fleeing shad. Topwater baits such as Pop-Rs, Spooks, and Gunfish will work best. Also, hard and soft jerkbaits work well sub-surface. Fall is a great time to fish at night. Be very quiet and move your baits slowly. Dark colored baits work best. (209) 736-4333, (209) 586-2383