Montana Fish Report

We fished Saturday and Sunday and had no problem hooking a fish about every 15-20 minutes. Both days we practiced catch and release and hooked up and brought to the boat about 15 fish.  Our biggest fish of the weekend was a 3lb, 5oz beauty caught by Bill Soderlund of Susanville on Saturday. 

Water temperature in the middle basin where we fished was 57 degrees F on the surface, about perfect for Eagle Lake Trout.  The extended weather forecast calls for night time temperatures to be in the mid 30’s to low 40’s so the water temperatures should remain favorable for good shallow water fishing for a few weeks.

Trolling:

We started fishing on Saturday on the west side of the lake just south of Pelican Pt and followed the buoy line down past the “Broccoli Tree”.  This area was very productive so we stayed there and also fished there Sunday. 

We trolled pumpkinseed grubs set on the downriggers at 4 feet deep, 125 feet behind the boat. There is good “structure” here and the fish were in it with water depths ranging between 6 and 12 feet deep.  The fish we kept to fill our limits were loaded with snails and their flesh was bright orange. 

Launching is available at the Spalding Launch Ramp as evidenced by the “full” parking lot over the opening weekend.  The water you have to cover on the way out to the main lake is very low.  No one that I know of was NOT able to launch from the Spalding ramp.  Elevate your motor, or go in and out on your kicker motor.

I used the launch ramp at the southern marina at Gallatin Beach.  It is a 25 minute run from Spalding and launching will be available there all season.  Access at the bottom of the ramp includes a turnaround so you can drive straight down and turn around at the bottom of the ramp and then back your boat in.  There is a courtesy dock so you can launch, pull your boat around to the far side of the dock to get it out of the way for the next party ready to launch.  There is also plenty of parking.  Fish Traveler Guide Service, 530-825-3524, tnoxon@gmail.com, www.fishtraveler.com; www.eaglelakefishing.net