Montana Fish Report

The trout are starting to show up in main lake pockets and over the river channel.  The trout are targeting large balls of shad in deep and shallow water.  The trout will feed heavily on these bait balls during the late spring and summer months.  Watch for surface activity, once you locate feeding fish try casting a shad patterned lure toward them.  Trolling anglers try using your electronics to find these large balls of shad.  The trout will be near them waiting for a few to stray away from the school. Use shad patterned Needlefish, Excel spoons, and Rapalas, to target these fish.  The brown trout bite has been good for a few weeks now.  e are getting a lot of reports of anglers catching limits of kokanee.  They seem to be in many different areas all over the lake.  The dam, spillway, Glory Hole Point, Rose Island, and the 49 bridge are a few places to go to get a limit.  A very important thing to remember is the kokanee feed on plankton.  Pay close attention to the direction of the wind, it will blow the plankton from one side of the lake to the other.  The fish will follow the food. Small baits will get more bites. The fish are finishing up with the spawn and are in a post spawn mode.  There are a lot of fish being caught shallow in the early morning and evening.  The larger fish will be in deeper water, recovering from the spawn.  Early morning top water bite is on.  Try using a walk the dog type bait such as a Spook, Rover, or Sammy.  Or, twitch a popper near the shoreline.  Add a feather tail to your bait to improve the action and get a few more blow-ups. Once the top water bite dies, switch to a soft plastic presentation. Glory Hole Sports  (209) 736-4333