Memorial Day report

[HoweAboutMontana]

Well, they say a bad day fishing is better than best day at work...but three bad days fishing???!!!

Hit Bitteroot Lake Sat afternoon...lake level is up from recent years, trolled all the usual spots and while marking fish at depths of 70 feet over about 100 feet of water, and 100 feet over 130 feet of water, not a bite. Tried up high over 70 feet of water, into 50 feet, out to over 200'...nothing, not a bite. Chalk it up to time of day?

Sunday morning, out to Middle Thompson...started trolling where we left them in the winter...marking fish, varied depths. Threw everything in the boat at them plus varying speed, depth, leader length, baits and scents....

Didn't even pick up a token trout while trolling a long line behind the boat. Water temp around 55 degrees on the surface, a light to medium chop on the water, should have induced some decent surface activity, especial once I got away from any real boat traffice...

Gave up on the kokes, tried jigging for perch, casting for pike, bass, rainbows...not a bite all day. Never saw anyone land one fish, and there were plenty of folks fishing.

Monday morning on Flathead, couldn't even pick up a Laker all morning while trolling 3 lines all day, same story, depths, baits, speeds, etc...

TOUGH weekend of fishing, but still, I guess it was better than working!

Anyone do any good anywhere???

[SilverBullets]

Thanks for the report HoweAboutMontana. Even if the fishing is slow it's still nice to be out on the water enjoying the great outdoors. What I like to do on days like that is drag the downrigger ball on the bottom just to see the rod bounce! I was out a few years back on a slow day, but didn't realize just how slow it was until I looked up and noticed a bird taking a rest on the end of my pole...I guess he thought it was a tree branch since it wasn't moving.

[Kokanee Killer]

howeaboutmontana, great report even though ya did not catch nothing,, it is great to be out though did you ever fish lake mcdonald?? seen it on you tube, looks like a beautiful lake

[Neptune]

HAM, I fished the north end of whitefish for Pike on Monday with the kids, and my daughter got a nice 3.5lb Pike(good eater). That was the only nibble/hit all day and we never saw another fish caught and there were about 4 boats up there...

Sorry you didn't get a single over the 3 days, but boy were they a nice set of 3 days!

[HoweAboutMontana]

KKiller,

I have not yet fished Lake McDonald. I know several people who fish it regulalry, but for Lake Trout mostly. The reports I have gotten on the Kokanee is that they are fat and fiesty!

The only reason I have not yet fished is that it is in Glacier National Park and its a bit pricey for a pass, and I avoid Glacier like the plague due to all the tourists...just too many less busy places I would rather go

Going to try a little lesser known Kokanee fishery this weekend, will post up if it pans out.

[HoweAboutMontana]

Neptune,

I was up to WF Lake two weekends ago and saw several other boats jigging/casting for pike, and only saw 2-3 boated. We were trolling for Lakers, just scouting out some new water, boated only 2 of the skinniest macks I ever saw!

Then about 11:00 all the jet ski's/ski boats hit the lake and it was time to move on.

(Is it me, or do boat ramps/docks really attract the most inconsiderate people, just people hanging around in the way, kids hanging off the edge of the dock while you are pulling up, oblivious parents, etc...never mind...better not get me started...)

Shoot me a PM with your email Jeff, so maybe we can get together one of these weekends

[Piscivorous Pike]

Well, they say a bad day fishing is better than best day at work...but three bad days fishing???!!!

Hit Bitteroot Lake Sat afternoon...lake level is up from recent years, trolled all the usual spots and while marking fish at depths of 70 feet over about 100 feet of water, and 100 feet over 130 feet of water, not a bite. Tried up high over 70 feet of water, into 50 feet, out to over 200'...nothing, not a bite. Chalk it up to time of day?

Sunday morning, out to Middle Thompson...started trolling where we left them in the winter...marking fish, varied depths. Threw everything in the boat at them plus varying speed, depth, leader length, baits and scents....

Didn't even pick up a token trout while trolling a long line behind the boat. Water temp around 55 degrees on the surface, a light to medium chop on the water, should have induced some decent surface activity, especial once I got away from any real boat traffice...

Gave up on the kokes, tried jigging for perch, casting for pike, bass, rainbows...not a bite all day. Never saw anyone land one fish, and there were plenty of folks fishing.

Monday morning on Flathead, couldn't even pick up a Laker all morning while trolling 3 lines all day, same story, depths, baits, speeds, etc...

TOUGH weekend of fishing, but still, I guess it was better than working!

Anyone do any good anywhere???

OH GEE, Missed you! came up the last two weeks from Arizona. Spent time on Bitteroot, Swan, McDonald in Glacier park, hit all of them several times the last two weeks. Got zip.

Think I was on Bitteroot when you were!

I have a new side image side scanning Humminbird 798ci and I am very adept with it. I could find fish this unit really works, but they got lock jaw!!

Every time a new sonar technology come out I usually end up with it. Have used all the 3D types and now love the side image. It is all they advertise it to be.

I trolled scaled down silver flasher with e-chip wobblers, ice jigs behind Swedish pimples etc. I even used my Canon, no I did not shoot them, the down rigger, and nothing there either. I got a frig with four packs of maggots today still! Usually by now I have a years supply of my limit of salmon. Today I just got worms, er, maggots.

The fishing is the worst I have had since '87 at this time of year. I fished every day since the 19th. Found Macs under the Kokanee in McDonald, got two 10-12 # macs last sunday, caught a 25# in 13 feet of water in Swan wednesday fishing for pike, but no Kokanees!

I have a brother living on the water at Ashley, nice property, the report there is he ain't caught anything either! He is a fanatic like the rest of us and if he don't catch Kokes, likely they aint there.

I think it was because there was no spring, ice out then right into hot weather with no transition. Now the lake temperatures dived and dropped as the snow did the mountain top melt off the las week. 80 degree days are not the norm. Now that I have to leave we are finally going back to some cooler weather. If it weren't for bad luck I would have none at all.

Two years ago Swan was 55 degrees at this time of year, last year it hit 62, way too warm for the time of year and really messed up the pike and these last two weeks because of the vast melt off and the influx of icey flood waters Swan was 46, but on wednesday with the sun the surface on the south end hit 52 but was down again by morning of Thursday. High water run off had set back a lot of the fishing grounds for the next few days for sure.

Well, I am going south 1400 miles monday and will be back for deer and the whitefish run and possibly the Bitteroot Kokanees in Nov.

PP

[rodeobrandon]

First time really Jigging for Kokanee. We usually fish these ridiculously deep reservoirs you can't anchor in to jig for Kokes, but this week-end we hit Mary Ronan and battled the relentless rain... and I mean relentless rain! Everyone seemed to come-in empty handed at the cabins we stayed at (not our type of camping, but got invited from friends so we thought we'd try it). Didn't see much action from other boats just heard lots of complaining, but we filled limits every day, lucky I guess used ice-jig setup. sweedish pimple or jigging spoon with small leader (4"-12") tipped with glo-hook/ice glo-jig corn or maggot or fire corn or shrimp or ?? everything worked equally well. fished near bottom bottom (that lake is only 35-45' deep and has no structure, so doesn't matter where you jig). This tip though... it was the lightest bite you've ever seen in your life. I mean that our extra fast tips on our spendy rods wouldn't even budge. switched to our ice poles and most of them you couldn't even see move (that was with flat water, had it been rough we would've been skunked). went to our lightest tipped poles with the flexy tips for super small panfishing, they would barely move, no joke! but once we got it dialed-in. it was all worth it. really nice quality too. smallest of all our fish was maybe 11". Most were pushing 14"+. biggest was 16". They'll be big fish this fall. We had a handful of people and took a pile home. Water temp was 50-52, miserable rain, calm. Fish had super small little clear worms in their guts (almost like a short tape-worm), don't know what they are, but they seemed to be eating them. So, Out comes the smoker for the first time this year. Can't wait! oh yeah, got a Jumbo Perch too, pushing 15". I would bet the Bass would be huge in their, given a chance to gorge on those fish. But we never got a chance to look for Bass.
We're gonna try Koocanusa next.

[Jim F]

... it was the lightest bite you've ever seen in your life.

The bite is always like that here, if you don't have the 6th sense working , you don't catch many kokes

[Piscivorous Pike]

Wish I could be there now, always jig them this time of year. Here is some help for light bites. These ideas just might give your the edge not to have a fishless day.

Something that I found to be true in Ashley and Bitterroot. Kokes eat plankton which do follow moon movements. These two lakes on the days kokes are hitting will have the best bite within 15 minutes of the lunar chart peaks published in In-Fisherman mag and web site, what ever formula they use works for NW MT. I have top of line sonars, and you can watch the schools move off the bottom to coincide with the lunar cycle, eerie scene! Being on time really helps with those light bite days.

Another cute trick is I find that the local market for swedish pimples to be a rip off as far as pricing. I found a great substitute that works as well. I work at an airport. The bag belts tear zipper pulls off the suit cases by the millions and collect there like fall leaves. These pulls are all sizes and shapes and weights. These substitute for the flasher the pimple is used for in a jig set up. I use flourocarbon between the spoon and ice jig and only about 10 inches of line there. I find any spoon or metal the size of a pimple works, it is technique not equipment here. The exception is the flash of real silver works better than nickel as an attractor. Shiny silver relflects light different than shiny nickel, proven point in many books on fish vision (http://www.amazon.com/What-Fish-See-.../dp/1571881409). Use real maggots too, not those gulp things.

If you are into making your own lures, silver works better on salmon than nickel for a flash attractor. From a pawn or antique shop get old real silverware, polish up the handles of the forks, spoons and cut them off; you put a bend to them too and make your own real silver Koke attractor.

[rodeobrandon]

good thoughts here, I'll give them a try. Particularly watching the lunar phase, I'm not a believer (being inland at higher elevations), so this will be fun to see if I can find a reason to be converted. Love the zipper handle idea and am VERY intrigued about the "what fish see". gonna try the silver deal. thanks again- brandon