Bob Ward and Sons Helena Recreation Report for 1-17-13
By angelamontana

Posted: January 18, 2013

Hi, this is Angie from Bob Ward & Sons, with the week’s fishing in icy-cold Helena!

The most productive type of fishing on the MISSOURI right now is nymph or streamer fishing—the weather looks to be warming up thru most of this week.  Things got decidedly cold on the MO last week & there was a lot of slush out on the river…we’ve also been told of some ice buildup on a few of the boat ramps, so be careful!  If you’re stripping Streamers in line, you could run into problems with ice buildup—the ‘norm’ at this time of year.  A couple nymphs I recommend trying are San Juans or Pheasant Tails in sz 16-18. For Streamers, use a White Clouser Minnow…

CANYON FERRY got more ice over last weekend, ranging now from 10-15” of the hard stuff.  Most reports recommend heading out by the Silos & fishing in 6-8′ of water.  We recommend jigging with maggots or crawlers.  Things are picking up here, & we’ve gotten reports of perch starting to get taken.   The fish move around a lot on this lake, since there isn’t a lot of structure out there.  We haven’t heard much about Walleyes being caught yet, however.  HELENA VALLEY REGULATING RESERVOIR has a good amount of fishermen trying it out.  The perch fishing is sweet here! Fish a little deeper, in 20-30 ft of water.

Ling fishing below the Dam & at the Causeway is still quite productive too.

Do the Friday Night Ski at Great Divide for a terrific adventure…they’re sitting on a 35-40” base now, & the Friday Night tickets are just $10!  Remember to dress WARM!  Our Bob Wards store manager skied Showdown last weekend & found it positively excellent!  They’ve got a 28-36” base & are fully operational!  Ya gotta get up there a couple times a year anyway….

Come see us in the store if you need warm techie clothing to keep you going all day on the lakes or the slopes—we’ve got everything you love and want at our Midwinter Sale this weekend! We’ll keep you updated again next week, friends!

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