Central to Eastern MT Fishing Report 11.6.19
By angelamontana

Posted: November 7, 2019
Fall  is here. This year we are still having very unusual weather and that means sudden changes in weather and water.  Outdoor enthusiasts including fishermen need to pay attention to these changes.   Storms like snow and dangerous fire can   happen    quickly, so fishermen or fisherwomen need to   keep in touch with the weather service and let others know where they are for safety sake when out and about.  Enjoy yourself but remember alcohol alters your judgment. So, use it sparingly while enjoying the outdoors. Keep an eye on the weather as conditions such as temperature, wind, fire and precipitation   can   come in with fierce strength.  This report is compiled on Monday and Tuesday and reflects conditions and results of fishing from the past week.  If you wish other information feel­­ free to contact most parties for current daily information. Good luck fishing from the Montana Outdoor Radio Crew.  

 (Report compiled by Carol Henckel)

Rock Creek Marina- Monty LeTexier , Wyatt 1-406-230-1283  for Linda 

 Marina number is less reliable in winter.  1-406-485-2560

Linda reports,” the wind really blew last night, and we got a few inches of snow overnight.  We have had no fishermen here this week. There is no ice here yet.”

If you wish to make reservations for the 2020 summer, please call Monty at 406-465-0241.  If you wish information for winter ice fishing call me, Linda, at the Marina at 1-406-485-2560.  I check my messages fairly often and will return your call.  You can also call me on my cell phone as well 406-230-1283 to get information.   The marina is closed for the season. “

Tongue River Reservoir Raymond /Spencer/ Greg

Raymond  reports, ” the docks are now out.  We had a few people here this weekend before the cold hit. . The water temperature is now 40 degrees today.  We are pulling the regular docks this week.  I never talked to any fishermen. I was told at the south end there is ice a third of the way.  It is very thin and not safe. “

The power and water are turned off. That means the dump station and fish cleaning station are off .  Camping spots 1 to 11 have power but no water through the winter months.    Reservations  are no longer needed for the campground and it is first come first serve.

Remember to check your regulations for the information for this region about what minnows  you may use on Tongue.     .

Tongue River Marina  1-406-757-2225 Wade, Stephanie, Greg, Fletcher /Warden Jordan Staley

The marina is closed until ice fishing.

Wade  said ,“ I heard from some  guys on the south end that ice is forming.  They said it is even producing pressure ridges.  It is 1 to 2 inches and it is not safe at all.  Everyone is just waiting for ice fishing but who knows what the weather is going to do.  ”

Hell Creek Marina- Clint Thomas-Layne-Kayler 1-406- 557-2345  

Clint reports, ” I had one  guy chasing northerns. He caught a fair number of them.  He was pulling cranks. He said you had to work for them.  We have seen lots of hunters just not many fishermen. “

Hell Creek Marina is open 7 days a week. ­­­­­­­

Lake Ridge Motel Eddie and Carrie Mindt 1-406-526-3597

Eddie   reports, “ guys have been catching a few lake trout, a few northern pike and a few walleyes.  They are finding the lake trout in the shallows.  The salmon are over.  The water is 46.9 degrees.  That is 4 degrees colder than last year.  The last two days were nice. Other than that the wind has really been blowing “

We can cover all your needs and if you want to charter a boat, we can help with that too.   Our hours are   7am-6 pm Monday through Sunday.

Fort Peck Marina  Jessica & Scott Collinsworth   1-406-565-6283

Open  Monday to Friday  11am to 9am/ Saturday and Sunday 8 am breakfast and open to 10pm  Tackle Store is open 7 am to 9pm daily

Scott  reports “  Salmon-snagging seems to be just about done as we aren’t seeing many fish in the bay in the last week.  We are starting to see quite a few dead fish.

Lake trout -Not too many guys out chasing lakers but the guys braving the weather have been doing fairly well. Cranks,  spoons and pitching jigs seem to all be effective  right now in 10 to 25 feet of water.  Stop in the tackle shop and we will point you in the right direction to put you on lakers.

Walleye- No  real reports from anybody chasing walleyes right now.

Pike- Fishing continues to be good in the shallows back in the bays. Guys have been trolling cranks and spoons along  weed edges and flats for some good action.

Smallmouth bass-I have heard of a few fish being picked up throwing cranks along the rocks off the dam.

You can also  call  us at the tackle shop for an up-to-date report if your planning a trip up to  Fort Peck. Our number is 1-406-526-3442. “

The bait and tackle store are open  Thursday thru Monday, and we have everything you need for chasing fish on Fort Peck. We also have campsites available with power for anyone that wants to bring your camper to the lake. The spots are  on concrete and right on the lake shore. You can access the lake right from your camper.   “

Cooney Reservoir – Marina Matheson. Shauni, Cynthia, Jake

Jake  reports ,” Not a lot of going on.  The cold chased  people away.  When it warmed up earlier, we saw bank fishermen at Fisherman’s Point  where the willow Creek comes in.  They were using  a worm or a marshmallow and catching a few trout.  We are seeing a skiff of ice in places.  Nothing safe at all.”

The water has been turned off now.   The electricity is also off except at Marshall Cove and Red Lodge campgrounds.  The docks are pulled. Soon we will be working on dock repairs after the pre-winter maintenance is done.    You no longer need reservations, so the camp sites are first come first serve. The kiosk has the reduced rate for camping  listed.  Remember, your dogs are welcome but don’t forget your leash.

Lake Elmo FWP Bob Gibson

Bob reports,  “ it has been cold, so we are not seeing anyone out there.  If you are into bird watching this is the place to come.  Early in the morning there were about a thousand geese who came in.  I looked out at noon and they were all gone.  Then at 3 pm another group of about 2,000 geese came in.  It is like wave after wave then later they were gone again on their migration.  There is only a skiff of ice on the water right now.  ”

 Deadmans Tony Stefani/ Pat  

Pat says,  “ We  had four cars come in.  So we had some fishermen fishing from shore.  I don’t know if they got anything,  but I can say the eagles did.  The eagles have been busy getting fish. ”

Deadmans/Martinsdale Cozy Corner bar Lavina 406-636-2261

Jeff reports, “ I have heard  Martinsdale was okay fishing this week.  I also heard  Deadmans was not good fishing.  I did go by Broadwater and there was absolutely no one fishing. It just has been too cold. “

Checkerboard Inn   Checkerboard, MT   Rick and Judy Geordge  406-572-3373

Rick reports,” Bair Lake was froze over but it has broken up some now.   It still is a thin layer. It thawed enough some could go shore fishing.  I heard Sutherlan is more open but don’t know if anyone caught anything.  We still  have seen lots of hunters.”

Sports Center 120 2nd Ave South Lewistown, MT   535-9308  Colby / John Tognetti

Our hours are 8am to 6pm Monday to Saturday and 10 am to 4pm on Sunday

Colby  reports , “  Spring Creek – I had one lady who came in to buy lures and she had been fishing on Spring Creek.  She said she had caught 15 fish in an hour.

Achley-People are heading to  Achley,  but I have not heard how  fishing was.

East Fork- At Hamilton the water is froze but it is only a skiff of ice.

Missouri- On the river fishing is okay.  It does have  moss on it.

Hanson-There is ice on the water.  I hear it is getting thicker but not safe yet. ”

Crooked Creek Marina Winnett, Montana   James  (Slim) and Abbie Craig, Carri Craig   406-429-2999 

The marina is open.  We are open 7 am to 7 pm every day.

Slim says, “ I had some guys

We have had a lot of wind  and we only have 3 to 4 inches of snow.  The road is fine. It was 19 degrees.  I had guys here last weekend and they did exceptionally well.  They went 30 feet down  in depth and caught walleye.  The guys were pulling a flicker minnow at 1 mph.  They caught some big fish.  They caught walleye and pike. They went toward Squaw Creek and found it was iced over.  They had to break through.  Today it is starting to  freeze over.  I suggest you call before you come so I can let you know if the dock ramp can be accessed.  ”

Silos Canyon Ferry-Sharon

Sharon reports, “I had fishermen go out yesterday.   They did good catching trout.  If you can get out when the wind dies down, you can catch trout.  We do not have ice probably because we have had too many days of wind.  Today  the wind is blowing 10 to 12 mph. The docks have been pulled.”

The Marina is open. Hours are 7 am to 7 pm.

The Flamingo is closed.

West Side Sports Jim Mayer 1-406-654-1611  

Jim reports,

Nelson was really good fishing this week.  The temperature was 12 degrees.  Small Creek is starting to freeze up.  Guys  were jigging with a minnow or a jig rap going to 20 feet depths.  Docks are coming out this week they say.  ”

Shop hours are 8 to 6 Monday to Saturday and closed on Sunday.

 Billings-Scheels Jayce, Tanner, Matt 

Jayce  reports, “

Yellowstone- On the lower Yellowstone  guys  were catching catfish.  They were dogging slush all the way .

Fort Peck-  I head salmon are done.  At the dam on Fort Peck they are catching some lake trout.  Winds have been a problem and have made getting out difficult.

Big Horn-I heard fishing is a bit better on the Big Horn.  Guys say a scud, or a sow-bug is working.  There are some weeds still.

Yellowtail- Some people were doing well on sauger pre storm this week. “

Rich’s Tackle Richard  406-285-4540

Rich says, “ I had a guy who came in and bought worms.  He was heading to Canyon Ferry.  He said,” I always do well on the north end at this time of year.    I have not heard any other news on fishing.”

Stillwater Anglers-Chris 406-322-4977 ,Bill, Ken, Jasmine

Jim says, “the weather has been tough for fishermen. The wind has made it rough to do a presentation.  Not a lot of people  out there. Try different  types of nymphs.  Some blue wing olives were seen when the weather was warmer.  “

Montana Adventures and Angling in Fort Smith  Beau McFadyean 406-855-3612

Beau says, “ I fished the Big Horn this week.  I think it has improved a little. The clarity seems to be a little better.  We started to use pseudo patterns at noon and the pseudo came out about 2 pm.  Using a nymph or a streamer  has improved.  We were catching rainbows and brown trout.  It still is a tough bite.“

Big Horn Trout Shop Fort Smith 666-2375   Rick/Stephanie

Rick says, “ we had eight boats go out today. We have blue skies today.  The river is at 3,000 CFS and 99 % of full.    Fishing is slow.  The water is definitely off color. We are seeing more action on streamers.   The ramp project  repair has been put on hold.  They had some major problems,  so it was stopped.  You can still use the ramp itself.  Try a JJ special or a thin mint.      Try nymphing.  Use a soft gray Ray or an orange scud. Try a San Quan worm  or a two-toned red wine-colored fly.   A black pheasant also works.   Dries are just not working. ”

Our hours   are   8 am to 12 every day.

 

Madison River Outfitters- West Yellowstone – Tom Forsberg.  Open 730am-9pm  406-646-9644.

 West Yellowstone Area Fishing Report 10/7/19 

 

No further fishing report until Spring

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