Montana Fish Report

The lake level has been steady for the last two months. It is currently at 1049 ft. above sea level and 39 ft. from full. The water temperature is 51 to 53 degrees and crystal clear. There were lots of very nice trout caught this week, with most anglers catching their limits. The average size fish is about 2-pounds. Trout are right up in the shallows, spawning and chasing bait.  Bank anglers have been using Power bait (the garlic scent is working great), Gulp eggs, marshmallows, and nightcrawlers to catch them. It is very important that your bait floats. Use small hooks, plenty of Power bait, and a worm blower to float a crawler. The entire bait rig is very simple but effective. It consists of an egg sinker, barrel swivel, 12" to 48" leader, and a small hook. Most of the fish that are being caught are full of small shad. Try using shad patterned lures. Anything with a little silver on it will resemble fleeing shad. Kastmasters, Krocodiles and casting spinners (Roostertails and Panther Martins) are all great baits to fish from the shore and cover lots of water. Be sure to add scent to your baits. Pro Cure threadfin shad, bloody tuna, and garlic night crawler have been working the best. Trolling anglers have been catching some fish in the back of the major creek arms (Carson Creek, Coyote Creek, and Angles Creek.) Try fishing closer to shore and follow the contour of the bank. A lot of fish are up shallow. Side planning and long-lining a floating or jointed Rapala has been producing a lot of fish and some pretty nice ones too. Also, since the fish have been shallow, some anglers have been doing well casting lures at the bank or dropping an anchor and using bait. retty good. We have Alabama rigs! The fish are in their winter haunts. Most fish are being caught on main lake structure from 25-65 feet deep. The fish are very fat and full of shad. The average size spotted bass is 2-pounds. On Saturday W.O.N. Bass held a tournament on the lake. Most of the teams caught over 10-pounds of fish using jigs, soft plastics, and swim baits. Dennis Tarap had second big fish with a 9.27 largemouth. That's two fish over 9-pounds, Wow! There has been a pretty decent jig bite. California Reservoir Lures has a large selection of jigs tied specifically for our Motherlode lakes. Try using a brown or green pumpkin jig with a matching Yamamoto twin tail grub. If the wind picks up, try targeting the big fish with large swim baits, like a Spro BBZ or a Huddleston. (209) 736-4333, (209) 586-2383