Montana Fish Report

Trout: Fair.  The fish have moved out to deeper/cooler water.  The fish are feeding in 40-60' of water on main lake points near the old river channel and main creek channels.  Night fishing anglers are catching limits of fat healthy trout under a submersible light.   Try anchoring the boat in 25-50' of water, and dropping the light 15-25' feet down.  Be patient, it may take awhile for the light to attract plankton, baitfish, and trout.  To catch them, try using live minnows, mini jigs, Power Bait, and crawlers.  Trolling anglers should target trout in 40-60' of water.  The trout are feeding heavily on 2-4" shad.  Anglers should try using baits that match the size, profile and color of the baitfish.  Rapala Shad Raps, Scatter Raps, and Jointed Shad Raps are a very close match to the natural forage.  Another way to get a few more bites is to add scent to your lures.  Pro Cure gel in shad scent, or threadfin shad scent will do the trick.  Don't forget to bring some crawlers.  A single crawler threaded on the hook fished behind a single gold or silver blade is a great way to pick up a few fish.  Bank anglers should try using a bubble and a fly rig in the mornings and evenings. Fair.  There are a lot of schools of kokanee holding tight to cover.  Fish near deep under water points and humps to target them.  The fish that are being caught are very fat and up to 15-16" in length.  Anglers should try fishing the main lake near the dam, spillway, and Rose Island. Lures with blades will produce flash and vibration that aggravate fish and trigger more bites.

Early morning top water bite for bass has been good.  Anglers should try using smaller top water lures to get more bites.  Poppers, Zara Puppies, Tiny Torpedos, and Rovers have been working well.  Once the sun comes up the fish will pull off of the shoreline and out to deeper water.  Use you electronics to locate them and then target them with a jig or drop-shot rig. 4-6" shad patterned worms will get plenty of bites throughout the day.  In areas where the water has a little stain to it, try using baits that will move more water.  Such as, lizards, brush hogs, and curly tail grubs. Catfish: Very good.  Anglers are catching plenty of nice cats with average size being 4-8 pounds.  Most fish are in shallow water from 5-20".

 Glory Hole Sports  (209) 736-4333, (209) 586-2383