Montana Fish Report

Water temperature is warming daily with the average being 56-58 degrees and some parts of the lake 60-64 degrees in the afternoon. The lake is clear, to slightly stained with some debris floating on the surface. Trout fishing is fair. Most anglers targeting trout are catching a few rainbows along with an occasional brown trout. Trolling anglers try fishing the main lake over the river channel, the 49 bridge or near the dam/spillway. For rainbows use Uncle Larry's Spinners and Wedding Rings tipped with a chunk of crawler. Or, thread a nightcrawler onto a straight shank hook and troll it behind a string of flashers. Bank anglers struggled a bit with very few limits being caught. A great way to catch some nice fish is with a live minnow fished under a slip-float. Kokanee limits are becoming more common. The fish are schooled up in 30-50 feet. Most of the fish are a good size for this time of the year 12 to 14 inches and very chunky. Try fishing the main lake with a finesse trolling setup. A Glitterbugs pink Micro Hoochie or an Anglers Market Kokanee Bites trolled behind a small tear drop dodger is great way to get a limit. Also, we have had reports of fish being caught on Vance's Sockeye Slammers, and Father Murphy's Bugs. Pink, watermelon, and silver have been good color choices for dodgers.  Bass are in three different modes, pre-spawn, spawn, and post spawn. There are a lot of fish being caught shallow. The larger fish will be in deeper water either preparing to spawn or recovering from the spawn. To catch some nice fish try dragging a Brush Hog or a lizard on a Carolina rig. Try targeting areas that are protected from the main lake disturbance (wind and boating traffic). These are places where the bass like to spawn. With the weather getting warmer everyday, the top water bite should be picking up. Try throwing Spooks, Rovers, and Sammys in the morning hours for some exciting blow-ups. Glory Hole Sports  (209) 736-4333