GAZETTE FISHING REPORT Anxious anglers ready for rains to stop By JOHN LETASKY Of The Gazette Staff How does that old saying go? "Rain, rain, go away. Johnny and Lisa want to play." That's how most of Montana's fishermen, at least the ones I've talked to, feel about the downpour we've been getting. Like youngsters, it's time for the anglers to go out and play and test their new flies, rods and reels. Most of us have an itch to get out. But like last week, many spots have been affected by the rain. Either it's been too wet and muddy to go out, or the precipitation, added to the spring runoff, has made the streams high and muddy. But I still feel if anyone really wants to get out and fish, they can find a place to go. Just take an extra long-sleeved shirt and maybe extra pair of shoes. Here's The Gazette's Weekly Report. montana Ackley Lake It rained all weekend, so not many people ventured out. Normally, anything big and black would work this time of year. - Dale Pfau, Don's, Lewistown. Beaverhead River The upper stretch is fishing well. Small nymphs and streamers are working well below High Bridge. Fishermen using blue-winged olives are having some success. - Scott Barber, Four Rivers Fishing Company, Twin Bridges. Big Hole River It's fishing very well. The cool weather has caused it to drop and clear considerably. Streamers are working and there are a lot of caddis beginning to appear. - Paul Redfern, Fish On! Fly and Tackle, Butte. Bighorn River As of Monday, the river is flowing at 9,570 cfs. Scuds, sow bugs (pink and gray) and hare's ears are the best flies. Red San Juan worms are also producing fish. There hasn't been a whole lot of top-water activity. - Jake Means, Bighorn Fly and Tackle, Hardin. Boulder River Running high. Fishing is poor. Below McLeod, it's unfishable. Best spot on upper river is far up the canyon. - Jim McCall, Rainbow Run Fly Shop, Billings. Canyon Ferry Reservoir Trout fishing is pretty darn decent for trollers. You are going to want to fish from around the White Earth area toward the dam. The water is clearer in this area. The South end of the Reservoir is muddy and the river has washed a lot of debris into it. Try to get your bait down in the 15-foot range. Use leaded line or downriggers or just add some weight. Use spoons, like a Rock-N-Roll, or a Rattlesnake for best results. A few walleyes have been caught in the midsection of the lake. The water temperatures need to warm up some. Anglers need to go 18-24 feet deep. Use bottom bouncers and spinners for walleyes. - Terry McArdle, Townsend Marine, Townsend. Clark Canyon Reservoir Fishermen are reporting good luck with San Juan worms, bitch creeks, woolly worms and large prince nymphs. - Josh Lindgren, Watershed Fly Shop, Dillon. Cliff & Wade Lakes Fishing is good using leech patterns. Quite a few fisherman are using hardware. Strip away from the bank. - Glen Gallentine, The Tackle Shop, Ennis. Cooney Reservoir Fishing is fair. Some good reports of nice walleyes being taken in the late evening with leeches. Trout fishing is still decent for trollers. - Dan Montoya, Cooney Dam Country Store. Deadman's Basin The last report was worms and marshmallows were working from the bank and the boat - when the weather permitted. Salmon and trout are both biting on the worms and mallows. The fish are averaging about a pound. - Kelly Newman, Cozy Corner Bar, Lavina. Fort Peck Reservoir: Big Dry Arm There are a ton of really, really small walleye being caught. A few 8-10 pounders have been landed. The fish are in shallow water. Chartreuse and deep green are the hot colors. Kay Jacobson of Billings caught an 81/2-pound walleye last Tuesday. Some northerns (8-14) pounders are still coming in. A 24-pound northern was caught last Tuesday by Scott Heafield. The Rock Creek Walleye Tournament is this weekend and is sponsored by Walleyes Unlimited. We're hoping to see some good numbers caught. - Kim Whiteman, Rock Creek Marina. Fort Peck Reservoir: Crooked Creek Tammy Siroky, of Roy, won the kids tournament with three fish - a walleye, goldeye and carp. Keith Meckling and Ron Portner, of Winifred, won the adult tournament with 18 pounds of walleyes. Shore fishing has slowed down a bit. Martin Parisi of Livingston caught an 18-pound northern pike from the bank on a smelt. Boat fishing has been good for walleyes. - Ron Ronningen, Fort Musselshell Marina. Fort Peck Reservoir: Dam Area Fishing on the Big Dry Arm has been real good for walleye. Lake trout are biting good at 65 feet deep. Use Evil Eye spoons and Flatfish. Watermelon, blue chrome and chartreuse chrome are good colors. A good report came from Duck Creek. Some real nice walleye were caught. Use jigs and minnows and jigs and leeches in 8-15 feet of water. A few fish have been caught in the dredge cuts. Some nice walleye and sauger are being caught and it is getting better every day. - Gene Moore, Lakeridge Motel. Fort Peck Reservoir: Fourchette Bay It's been so rainy, nobody has traveled down there. The roads are muddy. - Robert Twiford, Malta Marine, Malta. Fort Peck Reservoir: Hell Creek Fishing has been exceptional, if we are going to count small fish. There are droves of small fish. Boats of 3-4 people are landing 50+ fish a day, catching and releasing them. A few decent fish are being kept. These fish are in the 2-5 pound range. An occasional 9-pounder can be caught. Depth has ran anywhere from 10-20 feet, with a variation of patterns. - Joe Herbold, Hell Creek Bar, Jordan. Gallatin River It is dirty. It is high and unfishable. Spin fisherman might have some luck. The best bet would be above Taylor's Fork. When you get above Taylor's Fork, you might have two foot of visibility. - Brian Wainright, Montana Troutfitters, Bozeman. Georgetown Lake It has been spotty, but there have been some good days. Brown leeches and woolly buggers are working well. - Paul Redfern, Fish On! Fly and Tackle, Butte. Hauser Reservoir A good bite is going on below the dam. A lot of rainbows and browns are in the area. There are a lot of 20-24 inchers being caught. Troll forward at the same speed of the current with a Rapala behind the boat. - Terry McArdle, Townsend Marine, Townsend. Madison River: Ennis She is pretty high and muddy yet. There has been a little activity in the lower part, below the Bear Trap Canyon. There is over 4,000 cfs below the Canyon as of Tuesday. A few were out there trying. From Ennis upstream there is a foot of visibility. It is primarily still muddy. The stretch between Hebgen and Quake Lake is marginal fishing. It is at 2,900 cfs going through there. It is also muddy. - Glen Gallentine, The Tackle Shop, Ennis. Madison River: Lower Has 2-3 feet of visibility and is fishing good with streamers. The best color is yellow, but other colors are picking up fish. The salmonfly hatch is still a week or two off. One could try a big nymph. - Brian Wainright, Montana Troutfitters, Bozeman. Martinsdale Reservoir Anglers have been doing pretty good. Fish are hitting on cowbells, Rapalas and spoons. Trolling has been the best. The fisherman aren't doing too well from the shore using bait. Some 11/2- 2-pound rainbows have been caught, with an occasional big brown being landed. - Mint Bar, Martinsdale. Missouri River: Below Holter It is up. It is running at 11,700 cfs as of Tuesday. They are still catching fish. It is hard to wade, however, and you are better off in a boat. Try a parachute baetis, or a baetis transitional. Some caddis are coming off. Lightning bugs and MFG's are working for nymph fisherman. - Garry Stocker, Montana Fly Goods, Helena. Missouri River: Fred Robinson Bridge Those fishing for paddlefish are doing good, and some good-sized fish have been caught. Some 25- 35-pounders have also been caught. The river is still muddy due to the rain, so they are not catching as many walleye and sauger. Maybe by the weekend things will improve. - Tammi Combs, Bohemian Corners Cafe. Musselshell River: Lower Nobody has really been fishing because of the rain. It is still high and muddy and it should get worse, because there was a lot of rain upriver. - Tracy Goffena, Enjoy Sports, Roundup. Musselshell River: Upper It is up and muddy. I would say bait would be your best bet. - Ron Hinand, Ray's Sport and Western Wear, Harlowton. Nelson Reservoir It has been really good and is getting better and better all the time. The cool weather has slowed the bite down, but those anglers jigging are still catching fish. Jig in the 20-foot range with a minnow. Two 10-pounders got caught this weekend by a couple guys from Lewistown. Occasionally, a crawler harness will catch a fish. With the rain, the water temperature has cooled down. - Robert Twiford, Malta Marine, Malta. Rock Creek: Red Lodge It is high and muddy. Below Red Lodge is unfishable. Up higher try stonefly nymphs, bitch creeks and beadhead prince nymphs. - Jake Means, Bighorn Fly and Tackle, Hardin. Smith River It is running at 541 cfs, but is starting to come down. Depending on the weather it could come back up. Golden Stones are starting to appear. So use Golden Stimulators. A brown drake might also take fish. For streamers, try brown and black buggers or yuk bugs. - Garry Stocker, Montana Fly Goods, Helena. Spring Creek It is muddy. It has been pouring rain. - Dale Pfau, Don's, Lewistown. Stillwater River: Lower Runoff has slowed and river is high but fishable. Two to four feet of visibility. Bitch Creek Nymphs and Woolly Buggers are good choices for down under while trout are taking some Stimulators and Wulffs on top. - Jim Yeager, Old West Angler and Outfitters, Columbus. Stillwater River: Upper, middle Running high. Fishing is poor. Wading is treacherous. - Jim McCall, Rainbow Run Fly Shop, Billings. Tongue River Reservoir Crappie and smallmouth bass fishing is excellent. Crappie jigs tipped with small to medium minnows is working. The bright-colored jigs are working the best. Walleyes are hitting on wedding rings, Cha Chas, and Boogie Bait. Tip these with medium minnows. Try casting, trolling is not working. A 5-pound walleye was landed by Jeff Fauth of Ranchester, Wyo., on a Mr. Twister with a crawler. The water is high. - Kelly Eliason, Tongue River Marina. West Rosebud River Trout fishing is good and waters are clear. Prince Nymphs and Pheasant Tails are a good combination for nymph fishermen. On top, try Wulffs and Stimulators. Stripping streamers in Emerald Lake is also taking some trout. - Jim Yeager, Old West Angler and Outfitters, Columbus. Yellowstone National Park Fishing has been fair. The Firehole is picking up. It has cleared up, but it still has a little too much water. In the mornings, use small nymphs. In the midafternoon, we get some PMDs and a blue olive in size 16. Around 5 there is an evening caddis hatch in about size 16. There is a little bit of dry fly fishing in the Gibbon Meadows above the falls. The Madison should be picking up within a week and we'll have some evening caddis hatches. There are salmonflies in the Firehole Canyon, but the weather has limited their movement. Right now we are nymph fishing with stonefly nymphs in the Firehole Canyon. Yellowstone Lake is doing really good and most of the ice is off. Try woolly buggers down deep with a slow retrieve. This is the time of year to catch lake trout there. They get close to the shoreline and you can catch them from shore. Most of the high mountain lakes still have ice and the small creeks aren't doing too well. The Nez Perce Creek would be the best bet with some small woolly buggers. - John Hudgens, Jacklin's Fly Shop, West Yellowstone. Yellowstone River: Billings For catfish, it is better towards Pompey's Pillar and Hysham. Try shrimp or cut bait. - Minnow Bucket, Huntley. Yellowstone River: Intake They have been catching quite a few. The water has come back up after it dropped, so the fishing is as good as it's been for a number of years. A total of 873 paddlefish have been taken so far this year. The largest fish is now 102 pounds. The big fish was caught by Darrell Baldwin of Pinehurst, Idaho. - Les Reichelt, Intake concessionaire. Yellowstone River: Livingston Still very, very muddy. I would say there is zero visibility. All of the fishing here is on the spring creeks and some ponds. Some PMDs are hatching in the spring creeks. It won't be too long before we see some damsel flies crawling around the ponds. - Will Lassiter, Dan Bailey's Fly Shop, Livingston. Yellowstone River: Columbus River is high and very muddy. Fishing is poor. - Jim Yeager, Old West Angler and Outfitters, Columbus. northern wyoming/idaho Bighorn Mountain Creeks All the creeks are high and discolored. People who are catching fish are using beadhead nymphs and hellgrammites.- Sheri Gould, Just Gone Fishing, Buffalo. Bighorn Mountain Lakes Sherd Lake is open. Three 18-inch cutthroats were caught a few days ago by fisherman using mosquito larvae flies. Long and Willow Lakes are still frozen. - Sheri Gould, Just Gone Fishing, Buffalo. Bighorn River They are catching quite a few below the dam. It is at 6600 cfs. They are doing really well below the spillway catching walleye. A lot of people have been fishing it, they are elbow to elbow, but they are catching fish. The anglers are using jigs. - Melanie Stine, The Outdoorsman, Worland. Box Canyon of the Henry's Fork The water is very high and running out of the dam. Fish are being caught on black and brown rubber-legged stonefly nymphs. The salmonflies will be in the Box Canyon area in a couple days. Henry's Lake is fishing pretty good, with some big brook trout being caught quite frequently. Strip olive-colored woolly buggers. - John Hudgens, Jacklin's Fly Shop, West Yellowstone. Boysen Reservoir It has been fishing good the last few days. Walleyes are being taken in 8-12 feet of water with jigs and crankbaits. Catfish are biting at Poison Creek. One guy brought in three of them that weighed 5 pounds apiece. Crappies are also biting. Everybody going out for walleyes is getting their limit. If the weather would cooperate, we'd have some good weekends. - Gary Hackett, Boysen Lake Marina. Buffalo Bill Reservoir It is dirtied up quite a bit. They are running Crocodiles and Rapalas and catching some fish. Trolling has been the best, but they are catching a few from the shore. - Scott Aune, Absaroka Angler, Cody. Lake DeSmet It is doing great. There was a great fishing derby, sponsored by the Buffalo Lions Club. 29 tagged fish were caught for $4,700 worth of prizes. - Sheri Gould, Just Gone Fishing, Buffalo. Meadowlark Lake Anglers use a lot of Thomas Cyclones and Thomas Colorado spoons. This time of year, the red and brass hammered colored spoons also work good. - Melanie Stine, The Outdoorsman, Worland. Middle Fork of the Powder River The water is high, but anglers should be able to use stoneflies shortly. - Sheri Gould, Just Gone Fishing, Buffalo. Muddy Guard Reservoirs For flies, try woolly buggers, Griffith's gnats and beadhead nymphs. - Sheri Gould, Just Gone Fishing, Buffalo. Newton Lake It is fishing fair. It's featuring good midges and callibaetis fishing and a few damsels are starting to move. - Scott Aune, Absaroka Angler, Cody. Ten Sleep Creek All the creeks are really running wild and are out of their banks.- Melanie Stine, The Outdoorsman, Worland. Perry Backus, of the Montana Standard, contributed to the report. The Billings Gazette Fishing Report runs each Thursday in The Gazette and billingsgazette.com. For comments or questions, contact Gazette outdoor editor Mark Henckel by phone at: (406) 657-1395, or by e-mail at: henckel@bsw.net

Updated: Thursday, June 10, 1999
Copyright © The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises.