Hello, Angie here from Bob Ward & Sons, & more cold & more ICE are definitely the name of the game, in BUTTE & BOZEMAN!
BUTTE sez Ice Fishing is still pretty darn excellent on all of the local reservoirs and ponds ’round their neck of the woods! Georgetown Lake is fishing well both sided of the lake for trout.
Delmoe Lake has been good fishing although road conditions are not good going into the reservoir. Exercise caution or plan a day with the 4-wheelers going in!–or, of course, do both! Clark Canyon is low this winter, however, fishing is reportedly good near the dam and in the river channel. The Ruby Reservoir has been steady this past week for rainbow trout. Maggots and Glo Hooks seem to be the lure favorite at all of these locations, but don’t discount your hot pink Jigs, either…Smith River float permit applications are available until Feb. 15th…go on line at FWP website of fwp.mt.gov. I don’t think I’ve personally ever had a better fishing trip than when I floated the Smith a couple years ago, & the canyon is as fabulous a sight as you’ll ever see!
Discovery Basin Ski Area near Anaconda is reporting 23” at the base and and 33” at the top.
They are skiing on mostly packed powder, & more snow is coming! Skiing is good on the front side but still a little thin on the backside…Drop into your BUTTE Bob Ward’s and pick up your lift tickets here. Remember you can also get discount lift tickets for Maverick Mountain Ski Area at the Butte Bob Wards as well!
BOZEMAN sez: The weather is warming up and is affecting the ice formation. We’re still hearing 4 to to 5″ on Hyalite, with best fishing conditions near the Dam. The Ponds around BOZEMAN town were NOT great this past week, but given the latest storm, we expect they’ll be just fine in the upcoming week!
If you want to brave the weather then the Lower Madison is the place to go. Nymphs are working the best– suggested set is something big on top (options include a sculpin, crayfish, yuk bug or san juan worm), with Smaller patterns as a dropper including small pink lightning bugs, cdc baetis nymphs, pheasant tails and egg patterns
On the Upper Madison, the waters around Ennis are a good bet since there are several really nice big winter runs that concentrate a lot of trout.
On the Yellowstone, Nymphing the deeper runs are always a good producer but keep an eye out for some fish, after the midge hatch in the slower waters, on the nicer days!
The Gallatin is fishing VERY well again wherever you can find open water, which will be mostly just above the Canyon right now…Nymphing is still the best bet; stone fly nymphs with a baetis nymph or midge larvae dropper is producing great results. Try out egg patterns if you want to switch it up a bit.
Ski fanatics, Bridger BOWL has a base depth of 37 inches & with this new storm, should be skiing marvelously…we needed this! Big Sky has a base depth of 37″, & plenty of snow in the wake of the storm…If you have the ski itch, don’t discount Moonlight as a solid bet with its North facing slopes it h& SWEET conditions–38+ inch of base depth & new snow coming! Get your Moonlight Basin tickets & 5-packs at Bozeman Bob Wards!
Stop by the store for WARM deals on all your winter sports favorites….check out the latest ice fishing technologies, pick up more of whatever’s working for you! We’ll be back next week!
