Montana Fish Report

Water temperature is 53-58 degrees and clear with mud lines forming around the shore on windy days. Trout bite is fair. The fish seem to be headed for deeper water but there are still some shallow fish to be caught from the shore. We are seeing some nice rainbows this year, with a lot of fish weighing over 3-pounds. Bank anglers have been successful using bait. Try using a nightcrawler/marshmallow combo or Power Bait. When fishing nightcrawler use a worm threader and a worm blower. This way you bait will be on the hook straight and floating. When using Power Bait it is a good idea to use multiple colors to create a contrast. Trout primarily feed by sight and some colors will trigger fish better than others. Guide Gary Burns (Take it to the Limit Guide Service) fished On Saturday. He caught and released a limit of 13 and ½ inch Kokanee, along with some rainbows too. He was fishing chrome or blue Shasta Tackle Sling Blades with a pink Glitter Bug Micro Hootchie tipped with garlic corn. The fish were caught in 13-20 foot of water in the main lake. Bass bite is pretty good.  Fish are starting to move shallow. The spotted bass are in the pre-spawn stage and being caught at 20-45 feet deep. The largemouth are being caught in wind protected coves and bays. Try using a Zoom Baby Brush hog on a Carolina rig or a 6 inch Texas rigged Robo worm. Also, natural colored baits in green pumpkin and watermelon seem to be working well. (209) 736-4333, (209) 586-2383