Montana Fish Report

Water temperature is 52 to 55 degrees and crystal clear. Trout bite has slowed. Last week brought a good amount of rainfall and very few anglers. The bite is usually pretty good in the rain. Try fishing areas that have water inlets nearby. Fish will move into these spots to feed on nightcrawlers and other insects that get washed into the lake. Also, with rain and wind, the surface of the water will be disrupted. This makes it easier to trick the fish into biting a lure, because they won't get a clear look at it. Try using gold, copper, and firetiger in low light conditions. Power Bait continues to be producing a lot of nice fish. Multi-colored Power Bait and garlic scented bait seems to be working well. Bass were starting to move shallow, but this cold front pushed them off the banks. The spotted bass are in the pre-spawn stage and being caught at 20 to 45 feet deep. The fish are very fat this year and full of shad. The average size spotted bass is two pounds. The BBT held a tournament on the lake March 17th. First place went David Homen and Scott Summers. They weighed in a 13.83-pound five fish limit, with a 4.43-pound kicker fish. Of the 47 boats, 23 brought in bags over 9 poounds. Fish are being caught on soft plastics, fished on a Carolina or drop shot rig. There has been a pretty decent jig bite.  (209) 736-4333, (209) 586-2383