Hunting:

Archery season is here. Archery for Antelope is open with General season opening on October 8th. Archery for Deer or Elk is also open and General opens on October 22nd. Grouse, Fall Turkey, and Partridge season opened, as well. Pheasant season is still a couple weeks out and will open on October 8th. Duck and Goose will open this Saturday October 1st in both flyways and both zones. Fall bear season opened on September 15th. So swing on into Bob Wards for all your hunting needs.

Fishing:

Canyon Ferry: This weekend should see a good chunk of traffic not necessarily in the way of fishing but the duck ponds will probably be littered with blinds as waterfowl opens up on Saturday. This shouldn’t have much impact on us fishermen though. Trout bit is still decent and if you want to avoid some traffic head up to the north end and chase some trout. If you’re fishing from shore you try snap jigging some night crawlers or try casting out some mid-heavier spinners (you’ll want something heavy so you can get a bit more distance on your cast and get a little deeper drag on your retrieve—you can always try split-shot in front as well). For walleye right now the game is about depth…with colder water temps walleye are going to be a bit deeper then they were a couple of months ago. If you got your boat it time to let your down-riggers to some work and try trolling in 25+’ of water and test out the different depths. Once you get into one or two walleye at a certain depth stay there and jig some night crawlers off a perch colored jig for best results.

Helena Valley Reservoir: It’s snagging season at the reservoir. Swing on in and pick up some treble hooks and weights and get ready to hook-up some salmon. Salmon have been a bit touch and go but should start picking up as the channel opens up and they can start staking up.

Missouri River: This week the sun decided to come out and play but we are looking at more fall rain this weekend. Nymphing has been the hot ticket by far making this September a great time to go out for some fall fishing. I’d recommend bringing along your favorite BWO or mayfly nymphs like some Tiny BWO (sz 20), smaller mayflies, and Pheasant Tails (sz 12). Don’t forget to bring some split shot to get your nymphs down probably about a 3’-4’ length. If you try the water this weekend and the clouds roll in on you and the rain falls don’t hesitate switching back to some dry fly action with an ant or hopper to snag a few off the surface.