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Old 12-26-2007, 09:06 PM
 
Location: NW MT
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I keep hearing about all this great fishing in western MT. Besides Trout and some Smallmouth that I have heard about, what other fish are popular? Walley, Musky, Pike?

How is the ice in the winter?
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Old 12-27-2007, 09:13 AM
 
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I think the central part of the state has better fishing than the west. The Smith River is a slaughterfest in the spring.
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Old 12-27-2007, 09:37 AM
 
Location: In The Outland
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Flathead Lake has excellent fishing for Macanaw see photo link below.
I like fishing for Perch through the ice, and the Bass fishing on the Lower Flathead river is fantastic if you know where they are hanging out at.
I don't think there are any walleye yet in western Montana except maybe a few in Noxon res. that recently were snuck in there by someone. Many folks go after Pike and Kokanee here and of coarse the trout fishing can be very good at times. I like to eat the small trout found in the mountain streams and perch from small lakes as there isn't as much mercury in the fish compaired to older larger fish. All the big fish I catch go right back in the water.

That big Lake Trout in the picture was caught in October of 06 on Flathead lake.

http://picasaweb.google.com/rickersn...ey=QL5cya0Sc34
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Old 12-27-2007, 11:25 AM
 
Location: NW MT
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That's an awesome steelhead. We get em a little smaller than that in Lake Erie quite regular certain times of the year. Pretty awesome sight on Erie when you get one on in 3 - 4 foot waves with about 100 yards of steel line out . It end up being more work than fun. Once on, it's a mad scramble to get all the other lines in before that sucker gets tangled in them. You can't drink your beer for a half hour ..... and after messing with that fish for almost a half hour and just before you get him to the boat and he makes one last break for ifreedom and a 4 foot wave hits you just right.......the steel line breaks

After this scenario a few times a day, you just want to go home

hehehe.....after all that....I still love it

That is a really nice fish though I saw that pic on a different thread in one of my searches.

I'm surprised to hear that Walleye are scarce there. There is a lot of perfect natural habitat for them in MT. Are Perch pretty much everywhere?

I'm will be visiting in Jan to look at some property in the Kila area. Ya....that's right, I'm coming to MT to live and fish . There are a bunch of small lakes around Flathead Lake. Are they any good?

How about all that water between Flathead lake and Seeley Lake.... Any good?

Any Musky? If you got Pike you should haved Musky. I like my fish with TEETH
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Old 12-27-2007, 11:57 AM
 
Location: In The Outland
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Not a steelhead that is a Lake Trout. Also called Mackinaw or Laker. The Pike are not native to western Montana and either are Muskellunge. The Pike have recently gotten into some waters of the western part of the state and they're here to stay. The state has introduced Tiger- Muskies to some areas and they don't take over because they are sterile. If you want to see a strange fish google "Paddle-fish", these are native to the Missouri and Yellowstone Rivers. The state is determined to keep non-native fish out of Montana, (good luck), and they keep trying to restore the native fisheries. They have tried like heck to keep the walleye out but sooner or later they'll get spread to the warmer lakes. The main target for fly fishing in our part of the state seems to be the Westslope Cutthroat Trout.
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Old 12-27-2007, 12:51 PM
 
Location: NW MT
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ya.....my bad, couldn't be a steelhead.....no ocean close to MT for them to have ever migrated to/from

Tigers....they make a nice wall mount. We have a couple reservoirs in the area that are loaded with Pike and Musky, they are known for their tiger offspring. Why would they introduce Tigers? Is there a specific species they are trying to control or numbers overall in general? Would be the only reason I could think of, especially if they are trying to keep non native fish out.

What reason is there to keep Walley out? Just because they are non native? They are a good fish for the habitat. No different than Perch either, habitat wise.....just bigger I would say if Walleye have already been found there, they are there to stay just like the pike, especially if in the right body of water. The state will have next to an impossible time getting rid of them.

Paddlefish.....you got those ????? I have never seen one, we supposedly have some in a couple reservoirs in PA but we are not allowed to even think about trying to catch one. And if you do, you better treat it better than your new born baby ......before releasing it!
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Old 12-27-2007, 01:36 PM
 
Location: Spots Wyoming
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This shows a list of the fish that are Native to Montana. But like rickers stated. Even though Pike is on the list, it's not Native to "Western" Montana. But it is native to the state.

As a group, all 56 native fish still inhabit Montana but some are facing a long fight for survival. Most of our best-known fish- rainbow trout, brown trout, largemouth bass, and walleye- are not native to Montana, but were introduced by newcomers as sport fish.

http://fwp.mt.gov/wildthings/brochure_fish.html
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Old 12-27-2007, 03:34 PM
 
Location: NW MT
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That's a pretty big list of fish! I see Sauger are native fish. That is just a "retarderd" Walleye........ or vice versa One thing for sure, Sauger/Walley/Saugeye.......they are best freshwater eating fish!

That is a very informative site, thanks for the link. After looking into it a bit, you guys have an amazing amount of water there . I thought PA had a lot of fishing ........
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Old 12-27-2007, 06:15 PM
 
Location: In The Outland
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I forgot about the whitefish, they are good eating and really abundant in western Mt.
Some fisheries dude told me that the crawdads in Lake Mary Ronan and Mcgregor Lake get to nine inches !
There is a limit on trap size but it seems that you can have as many traps as you want !
I just picked up some maggots and I'll be going after perch tomorrow morning on Lonepine Reservoir. I hope there are some perch left in there, I know there are a lot of pike. There is a great lake for small perch at Kila, Smith Lake. Kila also has a nice set of old pictographs along the highway.
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Old 12-27-2007, 08:17 PM
 
Location: NW MT
1,436 posts, read 3,291,006 times
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I'm checking about the Whitefish. Never seen anythign like them before. (in freshwater). Are they as good as Walleye or Trout?

9" crayfish equates to at about 12 count tails. Thats big! And tastey too.

Perching in Dec...... Must be nice. The only place to do any good perching here is Lake Erie. Wouldn't dare try going out on Erie this time of year. There is a very good chance you might not come back I aint kidding either!

Smith Lake is in the back yard of a few of the places I am looking at too.....After looking up all the waters available from the mt.gov site, I have weeks of work to do researching them. From the looks of it I bet you could spend years fishing a 2 hour radius of MT and not touch the same water twice! I wonder just how many of those smaller bodies that are everywhere are just plain bad when it comes to fishing........
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