Big Sky Outdoor News & Adventure - July 2009
We are experiencing technical difficulties, but will have the latest issue posted asap.
In the meantime, type this link in your browser to view the July issue.
http://issuu.com/bigskyoutdoornews/docs/bsonajuly09
Thank you for your patience.
Big Sky Outdoor News & Adventure - Cover - April 2009
BY NEAL COTE
Tired of looking down a hole up at Georgetown for a few small
Kokanee? You might find that a
different species and some different tactics on a new to you lake or reservoir closer to home might just be the trick to get you out of the “same old same old” icefishing blues! I know that Georgetown is a great place to get your icefishing fix, but what if I told you that there were some other places that you could get to that might just open your eyes to a whole new world of fishing opportunities? Different species of fish that are very eager to bite darn near anything you can throw at them? Well if you are a little adventurous, have I got some ideas and places for you!
SPECIES NUMBER 1: YELLOW PERCH
Places to go: Placid, Seeley, Alva, Echo, and many other lakes, Crow Creek, NinePipes, Pablo, and Kicking Horse reservoirs are just a few.
Yellow perch tend to eat
during daylight hours and maintain an active lifestyle during the winter, making them perfect for those of us that don’t like
getting on the ice before daylight.
Yellow perch are highly
adaptive and feed on so many different types of forage, it’s important to locate large perch schools with sonar, especially if the fish are suspended or schooled over deep flats. Next, it’s important to determine what forage perch in your waters are
targeting, then try to use a presentation that best emulates the preferred forage. If the perch are feeding on insect larvae or
plankton, small ice jigs tipped with grubs or maggots are the best imitators. Dot, Rocker, Tiny Tears and Rat Finkies are good picks for this type of bite. If the
forage base has a good population of
forage fish, minnow imitating baits should be used. Since perch are most likely to be feeding on or near bottom, a small-hooked, but heavy-bodied jigging spoon should be used to facilitate faster, easier drops without the need for sinkers, and help hold your bait near bottom. There are tons of baits that fall into this category, Swedish Pimples, Kastmasters, and Nils Masters are a few good choices.
PRODUCTIVE JIGGING METHODS
Kamikaze perch will sometimes rise 15 feet to hit a descending lure. Perch can see a long way, especially in the clear water of winter. Use this to your
advantage. Reel your lure up to the hole, and on a slack line, drop it back down again. Let it fall all the way to the bottom. This will usually get their attention,
causing them to swim from great distances to see what’s up. Take the lure away from them again, back to the surface, and repeat the process. Pay close attention to your flasher or underwater camera. If you notice a fish that is rising to meet the lure, hit the brakes, and start slowly pumping and swimming the lure upward. The fish will usually follow and strike. If you see the reverse happening, a fish following the lure down after the lure passes it on the drop, let it sit on the bottom until the fish gets there. You’ll be amazed how many will slurp it off the bottom.
If perch are suspended and
feeding on plankton, using a basic,
small-hooked but heavy bodied ice jig (maggot-tipped) is a good bet. Use the standard quivering technique, just gently wiggling the bait with a slight, gradual upward jiggling motion, followed by a slow, quivering fall. Most of the time perch strike as the bait rises. When perch are feeding on insect larvae or worms on deep mud flats you can use a similar tactic, drop your bait to the bottom, and tap it gently several times to kick up the bottom. This commotion attracts perch who believe other perch have found food and attempt to move in on the action.
If the perch are found to be feeding on minnows, variations of basic spoon and jig and twister tail strategies come into play. Try aggressive, pounding actions with standard jigs first. If the fish appear to be more aggressive, try a more aggressive jigging minnow-style bait like Jigging Rapala tipped with maggots. These baits are more efficient, dropping down faster and allowing a more overall aggressive jigging approach.
Should the perch not be striking the previous methods, use of small flash spoons and walleye-style snap jigging strategies can be effective for triggering strikes. Lower your spoon to the desired depth, snap your rod upward with a sharp, sudden twist of the wrist, repeat once or twice, then pause. Strikes usually occur on the pause. These tactics might also get you a few Large mouth or Small mouth Bass depending on where you choose to fish.
DON’T STAY STATIC
Sometimes Ice fishing for perch comes in bursts where you take a few fish for a while then drops off to nothing. What do you do? Do you stay in your current position
hoping for things to pick up or do you move. If you decide to move, how far or where to? Being mobile, does not mean you have to give up comfort. Comfort is important, and can keep you fishing longer, which increases your chance for getting in on the best bite of any given day.
Portable shelters set-up in
seconds, and are very comfortable,
especially when the wind is howling. Shelters that take longer to erect, keep you from moving as often as you should.
Another key to mobility, is being able to drill holes in a big hurry. Although you can get by with a hand auger, during the early part of the season, it doesn’t take long before a gas powered model is required, to keep you on the move. New light weight models, like the Strikemaster Lazer, and the Eskimo Shark, cut through layers of ice like a laser, and will let you punch a bunch of holes in short order.
Being mobile works for me when fishing becomes slow. Once you have
established a good spot, I think drilling more holes in the same area again and again is often a waste of time and effort so I go for the easy route. I either move to a completely new area or I just leave the fishing for an hour and go and have a snack and start fishing again about a 1/2 hour later. Keep it simple!!!!
When it comes to early season perch action, look to the shallows for the key. Good shallow locations include reefs, bars, and bays. One of the first places to develop safe ice, is in the shallow bays, off of the main lake. They are usually the first place you can get to, and should definitely be checked out. Look for the mouths of bays to concentrate fish, as they are high percentage spots for contacting fish. Start your search as far out as you can safely venture, and begin looking for fish. If you target Nine Pipes or Pablo Reservoirs, remember that these two don’t open for fishing until January 17th
.
SPECIES NUMBER 2: LAKE TROUT
Places to go: Swan,
McGreggor, and Whitefish Lakes
Being a completely missed
fishery, Lake Trout are probably the
biggest bang for the buck that you can get through the ice besides Northern Pike.
Aggressive feeders, Lakers are a lot easier to catch and great eating fish.
Location is fairly important, look for drop offs, rocky edges, and main lake basin areas to hold fish almost all of the time. Lake Trout can also move right up into 5 feet of water or less, so don’t over look any structure. Keep in mind the same tactics that you would employ for Yellow Perch, if you are not catching fish, keep moving!
Ice fishing equipment for lake trout is straight forward. You will need a good ice fishing rod with at least 10 pound test that can handle larger lures. Super line like TUFF line and Fire Line that has very little stretch is a good choice. Don’t forget a 10 to 20 lb. mono or fluorocarbon leader for some shock absorption and you’re set. A variety of buck tail jigs sized from 1/2 to 2 oz. in Glow white, Glow green, white, and bright yellow always seems to work best. Tubes, jigging spoons, large twister tails, and larger swim baits are also good to have along. Make sure you have some variety with you. Tipping them with cut bait will also up the odds in your favor.
Lake trout typically see their prey much better above them than below. Generally, pounding your jig off of the bottom of the lake floor may prove to be a fish less affair. An aggressive Lake Trout will rise to intercept your lure from as much as 40 feet below. This is the aggressive action you are looking for. But don’t limit yourself to just one depth in the water column. There are times when lake trout will be on the bottom feeding on deadbait. You don’t want to miss these fish. If you head up to Swan Lake, you will also attract another fish that can only be kept In two places in Montana, Bull Trout!
While fishing, start with your jig just off of the bottom. Work this depth for a few minutes. If you don’t get hit, bring it up ten or fifteen feet and work that depth for a short period. Keep bring the jig up to a shallower depth and work that area for a few jigs. Continue this pattern and bam! Just remember how many cranks of the reel off the bottom you were when the fish hit, and you will have the start of that days pattern. This way you will scan the whole water column and understand where the fish are feeding. I have caught Lake Trout at the 10 foot depth while fishing in 70 feet of water, so keep an open mind. Often Lakers will hit your jig while it descends, so be prepared. You may have one on before you know it. They can grow to be well into the 20 pound range and make for an unbelievable battle through the ice. If you are prepared and take your time, you could land the fish of a lifetime.
Be Safe!!!
As with all icefishing, be very careful fishing new water. Do as much research on the body of water as you can, call local stores and shops to get any information on ice conditions. Always tell someone where you will be going, and if the ice looks questionable, don’t even chance it. With the cold spell that is hitting us right now, there should be good ice just about everywhere. So, If you were looking for a new challenge, check out these new targets and try something new that might just net you the fish of a lifetime and not the “same old same old!”
BY CHRIS MADSEN
Another year in review:
With 2008 behind us and 2009 looming on the horizon, it’s time to make the annual New Year’s Resolution. This year I suggest making it one you might keep: to get out and fish more this year. On that note, you will be pleased to hear that the ice fishing season is in full swing, and it looks like a banner year. The belated cold weather of December has given us good, safe ice on nearly all area fisheries, and as usual the early bite has been excellent. As is typical of the early ice season, fish are still feeding heavily, although we expect the bite to steadily slow down as the oxygen levels beneath the ice drop, and fish become more lethargic. One trick to extending your peak season is to fish lower elevation lakes later in the winter, as later and usually thinner ice may extend the window of aggressively feeding fish, perhaps right through the entire season! Meanwhile, our flowing waters that have extended seasons on them are seeing typical winter fishing. When the weather warms enough that the rivers aren’t frozen bank to bank, anglers will find the ever present whitefish podded up in slower runs. The hearty trout-chasing fly rodder (catch and release, of course) can find good fishing during warmer periods of the day, and sometimes an occasional midge hatch will provide some excitement, although most success will be found drifting a tandem of nymphs. Whatever you’re preferred method might be, whether sitting on frozen water or standing in freezing water, you’ll have plenty of options.
Here is a rundown of local ice-fishing options.
GEORGETOWN LAKE: The early season on Georgetown has been a mix of good and fair. We finally had fishable ice in early December this year and while the trout fishing has been good the Kokanee fishing has been up and down. Early season at Georgetown usually finds fish located around the remaining weed beds, and traditionally good spots to try are Piney point, Rainbow Bay, Denton’s point or the Pump House area. There are lots of favorite lures at Georgetown, but Swedish Pimples, Rocker Jigs, Ratsos and Rat Finkees are good choices to try. Often, size and color will matter more than the specific jig, so carry some in pink, orange, green, white or glow, and tip them with maggots or mealworms for best success.
CLEARWATER LAKES: The Clearwater lakes chain offers a little bit of everything. If trout are your quarry, Alva and Rainy are good choices for nice cutthroats. A small Swedish Pimple or rocker jig with a maggot should keep you in business. Harper’s Lake is also a popular trout hole, it is regularly stocked with 4-10lb brood stock, and these fish provide excellent sport through the ice although they are not the best for eating. They may not be the prettiest trout you’ll ever see, but five pound trout will allow you to overlook some aesthetic deficiencies. If perch or pike are your quarry, try out Salmon or Seeley. Most anglers will set up a tip-up rigged with a smelt, and fish a second rod with jigging Rapala or larger Air plane jig for pike, or a Tear-drop jig and maggot for perch. Both of these are good bets for spearing pike as well, if that is your game.
BROWNS LAKE: What on earth would make a normally sane person spend all their waking hours staring through a hole on what might very well be the coldest, windiest slab of ice on the face of the earth? How about a five fish limit heavy enough to win the Bass Master Classic. These are trout we’re talking about, but you get the idea. Brown’s lake has more than it’s fair share of enormous trout, but they can also be notoriously difficult to catch, and I was only barely kidding about the wind. Most successful anglers will concentrate their efforts around the weed beds and points by the boat launch. Successful baits include Swedish Pimples, jigging Rapalas, and rocker jigs. Fishing a partial or whole night crawler or power bait on a tip-up or dead-stick rig is sometimes very productive as well. Try different combinations until you get it right.
Reservation Lakes: Just a short drive north of town there are numerous lakes that offer excellent opportunities for the ice fishing angler. Ninepipes, Kicking Horse, Pablo and Crow Reservoirs are a few of the waters with good fishing. Ninepipes probably has the best ice fishing for bass in our area; just make sure you wait until after waterfowl season to fish on this one. Winter probably gives one of the best chances for numerous bass in the five plus pound range. Jigging Kastmasters, Swedish Pimples or Jigging Raps are sure to get you some looks from these hard fighting predators. The pike in Crow can be caught with smelt on a tip-up or spoons tipped with cut-bait. Some of these reservoirs also have good populations of perch. Small Swedish Pimples or a basic teardrop jig are good bets and small Jigging Raps can be effective. Make sure you have them tipped with a maggot.
Area Rivers: For those out there who would prefer not to have to drill a hole to go fishing, never fear. Local rivers will still offer up some good fishing for trout and whitefish if conditions permit. Any time we see a few days of
above-freezing temperatures, grab your favorite nymphing stick and your neoprene waders and head out to the Clark Fork, Bitterroot or Rock Creek. Most any tandem of nymphs will suffice, but personal favorites include San Juan worms, glo bugs, Copper Johns and Lightning Bugs. Keep your drifts slow and tight to the bottom. If you aren’t too snooty a trout fanatic, whitefish pod up in slower runs and bite readily during the winter, and are dynamite in the smoker. What whitefish may lack in aesthetic beauty, they more than make up for smoked, and served with cheese and crackers. A number of nymphs will work but they seem to have an affinity for the color chartreuse and anything that sparkles. Most days the bite will last for an hour or two during the warmest part of the day, giving you plenty of time for that much needed second cup of coffee.
Have a safe and happy new year, and as I stated at the beginning, resolve to spend more time fishing this year.
The geese are flying low, the Griz have just beaten the Cats again, and as I write this month’s fishing report there is more of a chance of rain
than snow. Can it really be December? A dry, temperate November has stalled the start of ice fishing season this year, and by the time you read this, unless there is a severe change in our long term forecast, it will still be stalled. Hopefully by Christmas just about all of our water should be hard and the shacks and augers can come out of storage. If ice fishing isn’t your bag, most of our rivers will still offer some good opportunities for trout and whitefish, weather allowing.
First, let’s look at some good early season ice fishing options
GEORGETOWN LAKE: In western Montana, the first ice and often the best fishing occurs on Georgetown. There is finally some ice on this favorite winter fishing destination. Most anglers will fish small jigs like Rat Finkees, Ratsos and rocker jigs, tipped with maggots. For added flash try removing the hook from a Swedish Pimple or Kastmaster and running your jig as a dropper about six inches below the spoon. The flashing spoon will entice the fish in close, where they usually won’t be able to resist the tasty morsel suspended below. Generally the bite is best early in the morning, and usual hotspots are Piney point, Rainbow point, Denton’s point or the Sunnyside area.
CLEARWATER LAKES CHAIN: The Clearwater lakes will usually start to fish a couple of weeks after Georgetown, first up high on Rainy and Alva, and a bit later on the lower lakes like Salmon, Seeley and Harper’s. There is a lot of water to fish up here, and quite a few species to hunt. For trout, try Rainy, Placid, Harpers or Alva. Jigging Swedish Pimples, Buckshots or small jigs tipped with maggots is the preferred technique. Placid is also home to a good population of Kokanee, which are scrappy fighters on light tackle and readily take a glow hook tipped with a maggot or corn. If pike are your quarry, Salmon and Seeley have gained quite a reputation in recent years for kicking out some decent specimens through the ice. These toothy denizens are usually taken either by fishing dead smelt or herring on a tip-up, or jigging airplane jigs or Jigging Raps. Either way, dragging ten pounds of angry, slimy, toothy pike through a hole in the ice is
world-class sport any way you slice it.
BROWNS LAKE: While not the numbers fishery that Georgetown is, there isn’t a better place to catch big trout through the ice than Browns. Brown’s lake experts jealously guard their favorite baits and hotspots, but the observant angler will find that the time it takes to get the hang of things up here is well worth the effort. Try small spoons like Swedish pimple and Buckshots, or Jigging Raps for best success. Baiting with maggots or a bit of night crawler is generally a good idea as well. Carry lots of colors and sizes, and try different combinations until you hit on the right one. Don’t forget to set up a tip up. It may take some time to get it right, but you will be rewarded by trout that are often measured in pounds instead of inches.
FLATHEAD LAKE: Flathead will rarely freeze much in December, and fishing is often as good as it gets here. Lake trout cruise very near the shorelines this time of year, and can be caught from the boat or even from shore by the enterprising angler. Cast heavy spoons like Country Miles, Bomber Slabs and Kastmasters, and cover as much water around
drop-offs, ledges and shoreline structure as possible. Even though the white fish bite never got going this year, fishing for them in December can be excellent as well, as these fish prepare to head downriver to spawn. Fish can be caught from the boat, or off of Polson Bridge itself. Jigging spoons, grubs or whitefish flies tipped with maggots will be the best way to fill the smoker one last time.
AREA RIVERS: Our local rivers will still fish very well at times throughout the month. Ideally, pick a day when the air temperature is above freezing, and fish the warmest part of the day. Concentrate your efforts on holding water that is slower than what you would fish in the summer, and fish more deliberately as well, as trout won’t move a long ways to eat in water this cold, so precise drifts will be key. Often times a number of drifts through the same spot are necessary to coax a fish to bite. Expect most of the action to be subsurface, but you can do surprisingly well some times nymphing San Juan Worms, glo bugs and small bead head nymphs. The bite will not generally last very long, but a couple of hours standing in thirty four degree water is generally enough to take the edge off your fishing jones.
Wherever you go this month, remember that winter in Montana can be dangerous, so stay warm, safe and smart when you head out. Fish with a partner, and make sure someone back home knows where you are.
For those of you who prefer your water in it’s liquid state, there are still plenty of places to wet a line.
