Eastern Montana Fishing Report for the Week of 10.21.13
By angelamontana

Posted: October 23, 2013

(Report compiled by Carol Henckel)

Please be advised that conditions can change daily so please call the contact person in the area you are planning on FISHING for current daily information.  

Weather is changing and some days wind can be a big factor.  Keep an eye on the weather while you are out there and stay safe.

Good luck fishing from the Montana Outdoor Radio Crew.

Rock Creek Marina-Bill 1-406-485-2560

Bill says “The northern pike are still biting. Not a lot of fishermen up here. Clay from pikemasters was up here with Rob Marshall.  Rob caught a
nice pike 46 ½ inches and 28 pounds. Catch the pike on spoons and cranks casting towards shore.  Blue and silver seems to be the color.  I will not be open for a few months.  I have pulled all docks except the two courtesy docks.We will have minimum services but if you need information
leave a message on the answering machine and I will try to get back to you.  I will not be around but we will open when the ice comes in later.”

Tongue River Reservoir
Tongue River Marina  1-406-757-2225 Colton/Bob Pederson/Wardon Jordon

There has not been a lot of use with the hunting season going on.  Fishing has been inconsistent.  The fishermen have caught walleye, crappie and pike off shore.  I haven’t heard any specific locations ,“Jordon said. The bass fishing has quit. The marina is closed for the year.

Clint Thomas- Hell Creek Marina 1-406- 557-2345
Hell Creek-Fort Peck Reservoir
They are still catching a few Bass. One guy caught a 4 ½ pounder. I can’t believe the bass are still hitting they usually are done b now. The guys
coming in usually have 4 to 5 pike. Guys who know more are getting more fish right now. Northern Pike have slowed but are still biting.   On the
lake the walleye are not there yet.  The weather has been up and down and cooler. The docks are still in.

Gene Moore Lake Ridge Motel 1-406-526-3597
Gene Moore, of Lake Ridge says,” Lake trout are turning on.  Some nice ones are being caught in the 20# range.  Try at a depth of 13 to 20 feet.
They are finding them at Hacksbee point, the face of the dam and at Bear Creek. Use a crank and hit bottom with it and just let it bounce. Right
now any color works.   They are getting only a few walleyes. The dredge is better than the lake. Northern pike are biting like crazy. The small mouth bass  are still on the rocks.”

Lake Elmo Billings
Shore fishing has slowed.  Not lot of fishermen out there. Trout are still being caught.

Cooney Reservoir Jenny/ Maleri
The rainbow trout bite seems to be picking up. Perch fishing is still good.  Walleye fishing has picked up a bit as well we are hearing.
Maleri says,” the netting brought some nice 12 and 8 pound walleye. We got a lot of 3 to 5 pound walleye. So they are out there.  We caught
about 600 perch 10 inch to 7 inch size.  It was windy on the weekend,“Camp spots are first come first serve.

Deadmans/Martinsdale Justin
“Martinsdale is fishing good. Some people are catching 2 pound trout from shore. The cooler temps are helping. It is difficult to launch a boat and will be from now on,” Justin says.

 Deadmans
Deadmans can only be accessed by the ramp not the dock because of very low water.  FWP did their netting this week.  They got a couple of nice “wild” browns in the 4 to 5 pound range. The nets were full of lots of cocanese salmon a half to one half pounds.  Only one stocked brown was netted but there is a lot of water for them to go to.  We stocked 11,000 in early summer.  No tiger muskees were netted.

Yellowtail
Mike says, “I heard fishing at Yellowtail is okay.  Some guys are catching.

Don’s Lewistown- Dale
“The browns are running on Spring Creek.   Use the blue fox, panther martins, and colored rapalas.  You can also catch small mouth, rainbow and browns”, Charlie says.

Achley Lake is fishing well. They are using worms and spawn sacks.

The Missouri is clear.  You can catch catfish.  They are also finding some walleye and sauger ”, Dale said.

Crooked Creek-Grant
The water is a long way out so boat launching is not possible. The marina is not open.  It is closed but cabins are still available for other uses
just call 1-406-429-2999.

Minnow Bucket-Allen Camarillo 861-0156
“The river is clear. Some people are catching small mouth at Huntley.  At Custer I hear they are catching some sauger using minnows. I do have some at the shop. Right now cat fish would be better to catch with cut bait in the evening,” Allen says.

Cooney– I hear they are catching a few trout.  I also hear nice perch are
also being caught about 1 foot down

Silos Canyon Ferry-Sharon
“Fishing has not been too bad. We haven’t  had windy days this week .  The water has lowered some.  The few fishermen cming in have had 3 to 4 a piece.  They are getting some walleyes about 16 to 18 inhes.  They are catching some nice rainbow trout.  It is still good fishing just not a lot
of catches per day. I suggest you call if you need information on the water at the Silos.  We will give you the latest information. The docks are low. Be careful at Broadwater Bay.  Stay to the north away from the sandbar near Gazebo 1,” Sharon says.

West Side Sports Dan 1-406-654-1611
Nelson is good. Use bottom bouncers and a jig for walleye at 12 to 20 feet deep.  Northerns are at 8 to 12 feet right now use cranks.

Forchette
The bite is hot for Northern pike.  There has been some wind.  They seem to be in shallow water.

Billings-Scheels Nate
Nate says,” Cooney is fishing well for perch.  They are catching nice ones.  Some eater size walleye are also being caught I hear. Haven’t
heard much more than that.” Lucky says, “ I fished the Yellowstone early this week up in the Forsythe area.  The river was pretty dirty.  I think it probably has cleared some now. It was rough fishing, “I also fished Castle Rock by Colestrip.  There were lots of sunfish. I also got lots of bluegills but only a few walleye.  I think in a week or so we will see the great fall fishing.”

Rich’s Tackle Richard
Things have been real quiet this week.  Everyone is hunting so I did not see any fishermen.

Stillwater Anglers-Chris 406-322-4977
The Stillwater and the Yellowstone have picked up for streamers. Success seems to be after 2 or 3 pm using blue wing olive.  The Stillwater is down to 700 CFS.   The lower Stillwater is still floatable. The Yellowstone River is clear.  It is floatable. Use streamers early in the day and then
try dry flies at around 2 pm.  Hours during the week have changed in the shop and they are open Tuesday to Sat from 9 am to 2 pm now. We are closed Sunday and Monday.

Fort Smith Trout Shop 666-2375 Rich
Fishing is pretty good.  You can try caddis, midges and baetes.  Streamers have picked up and are bring success.  The browns are stacking up.  We got a water bump the other day.  So the water is clear.
Use dry fly black caddis and caddis pupa. Also use gray Ray Charles and olive pheasant nymphs as they are working. Try pink soft tackle sow bugs and static back baetes are working.
Use dry fly black caddis and caddis pupa. Also use gray Ray Charles and olive pheasant nymphs as they are working. Try pink soft tackle sow bugs and static back baetes are working. The Big Horn has  some color but is starting to be better fishing at Gray Cliffs and beyond.

(Cover photo: mabrycampbell.com)

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