Montana Fish Report

The lake level has been steady and slowly rising for the last few weeks. It is currently at 1050 ft. above sea level and 38 ft. from full.  The water temperature is 52-54 degrees and crystal clear. Continues to be amazing!   Still seeing a lot of nice, colorful holdovers as well as planters- DFG is planting again next week.  Trout are right up in the shallows, spawning.  Bank anglers have been using Berkley Power Bait (the scented kinds are working great), Power Eggs, or Gulp Bait- pink, chartreuse and rainbows are the best colors.  A Marshmallow/nightcrawler combo or a crawler inflated with a worm blower is also a good choice.  It is important that your bait floats. Use small hooks and light leader, and test your bait in the shallows before tossing it out.  To catch bigger fish try using minnow-like lures such as Rapala CD7 or CD9, or a shad-patterned spoon such as a Kastmaster or Excel.  On overcast days, gold and brightly painted lures will generally attract more fish than silver and natural colored baits- these work better on clear days.  Bass are in their winter haunts. Most fish are being caught on main lake structure from 25 to 65 feet deep. The fish are very fat and full of shad.  The average size spotted bass in 2-pounds.  Most anglers are catching fish using shad-patterned worms on a drop-shot rig.  We have also had reports of a pretty decent jig bite. Try using Yamamoto hula grubs in natural crawdad colors.  Try targeting the big fish with large swim baits, like a Spro BBZ or a Huddleston if the weather turns.  (209) 736-4333, (209) 586-2383