Montana Fish Report

The perch have moved off of their spawning beds all over the lake. After they finish with their spawn, they start to suspend over deep water. The best way to catch them is to slow troll with 1 to 2 colors of lead core. Go as slow as you can, even less than 1 mile per hour. You don't have to be very deep; the fish are usually only 15 to 20 feet down. Slow troll a small broke back rapalla, or small crank bait.  As the fall progresses, they will continue to move towards the deeper sections. Remember you can’t use any bait, or scented lures, and your hooks must be barbless
The fly fishing on Crowley has slowed down a bit this past week.  We have been seeing more and more algae floating about in McGee Bay.  There is still a bunch of fish working the creek channels, but you have to start watching the algae.  When the wind starts to blow it into the bay, make a move to a different spot.  You can move closer to the mouth of the creek, this area usually stays pretty clear.  You will want to anchor outside of the channel, and fish into the deeper pools.  The other option is to move over in the direction of Sandy Point.  There are fish holding on the deep side of the weed beds out in 16 to 18 feet of water. Mickey Baron Crowley Lake Guide Service
 Trolling: I was on the lake Fri, Sat and Sun this weekend for fabulous fishing. 15-25 fish days and around 40% good fish over 18”.  Fri and Sat were the quantity days and Sun was the quality with a 5# hook-jaw brown the top fish. The fish was all lit up in spawning colors and the nicest looking brown of the season. The water temps are falling slowly with the top layer getting to 67 on Sun. The days are shorter and weather feeling like fall so I expect the fish to start charging towards the Owens any time now. Late Sept and Oct the north end is the place to be. But for now I would concentrate on McGee Bay outside the midgers in the 23-28 foot water putting the lures down 16-18 feet. Use the bathroom as your starting point and don’t go too far away. The fish seem to concentrate on specific spots so when you find them go back through. Lures that will work are Rapalas in the size 9 floater, silver and black and rainbow, Tasmanians in bull frog, funky frog and green frog, Arctic Fox trolling flies in the tui chub color. I did not try much else but needlefish would work and the Cultivas and Mirashad certainly would also work. I did go up thru the North end for not much luck yet but there are fish starting to show on the meters so exploratory trips will be the call for now. Start looking towards Sandy Point from McGee as this is a path the fish will take (old timers will know this pass as brown alley). Good luck and fight these fish quickly as they can be tough to revive when the water is so warm (keep the fish upright in the water), use a rubber net to save their slime. We want these fish to live for another time. Don Meier CPR Guide Service   760 784 1524  cprguideservice@hughes.net