Fishermen:
What a great time of year it is for both hunting and fishing. My forte of course is fishing so I’ll give you a brief synopsis of what is currently hot in the Flathead area.
Waters have cooled to the point where warm water species such as bass, pike, perch and crappie have slowed but the cold water groups are active and have moved into the shallows. The rocky shore lines of Flathead Lake are providing great lake trout fishing with some lake whitefish also being caught. Glen Hoffman reports catching both species using 1 oz. and 1 ½ oz. Glow Rattle D Zastors in the White Swan Point to Blacks Point area. Rich Coulson with a young friend reports catching fish from shore near Blacks Point using a ½ oz. white Trilobite.
Monday, Nov. 3rd, I loaded up my little row boat (one of my life philosophies is “the fewer motors you have in your life the less trouble you have. “ Using the rowboat eliminates one motor anyway. I launched at Riverside Park and rowed to the Westside of the Armed Forces Memorial Bridge. The time was just after dark but the lights on the bridge illuminated sufficiently to see what I was doing and also to attract fish. Those overhead lights bring incredible numbers of multi-species of aquatic life. All kind of larva and other creature fish can stay active all night long for which the fish to take advantage.
From the time I anchored up until I quit I had very few lulls in action. Not only was I catching Lake Whitefish which was my target fish but I also caught lake trout and every variety of baitfish pike minnows, pea mouth and some monster suckers. For sheer power the suckers are hard to beat although a 10 pound lake trout was for sure the most challenging of the evening.
These were all caught on 2 size 10 dark green LMR Specials above a ½ oz. Dark green bottom weight. Using a fluorocarbon leader is probably a good idea as well. Maggots for bait imitates the larva scents to which they’re attracted. I replace maggots often. An ultra-light pole for fishing close to the boat and a medium action rod for fishing away from the boat are a good combination
For those itching to go ice fishing Georgetown Lake between Phillipsburg and anaconda is one of the first lakes to freeze and usually has safe ice by Thanksgiving. This lake offers Kokanee and rainbow trout along with a few brook trout.
For more information give us a call at: 406-675-0068. My personal cell (if you can get through) is 250-0241. Email us at: macman@ronan.net
The girls try to keep in touch with me and can give you decent information about the fishing if you call the store number. Also check our website: www.zimmertackle.com
We are happy to let our fishermen know that Missoula and Kalispell major sporting goods stores have gotten serious this year and you can find our tackle just about anywhere now.
Our sincere thanks to almost 30 years of business and to the best people in the world for trusting us and buying our lures.
Good Fishing and enjoy the winter,
The Macman
