Looking to hit the water around Helena this week? Walleye, rainbows, and perch are active across Canyon Ferry, Hauser, and Holter Reservoirs. Here is your quick-look fishing report with the top spots, depths, and lures working right now.
Canyon Ferry: Walleyes are being caught between Confederate and Goose Bay, around White Earth, Avalanche and Hellgate, both inside and outside of the bay. Try trolling bottom bouncers with a worm harness or slow death rigs in 20 to 30 feet of water with chartreuse, purple or white being the preferred colors. Rapalas and jigs are working as well. A few perch are being caught by anglers using walleye rigs in these same areas. Rainbows are being caught on walleye gear, lures or cowbells in the traditional walleye spots as well as the north end of the reservoir around Cemetary Island, Hellgate, and between Silos to Hole in the Wall. An occasional smallmouth bass is showing up around Cemetary Island. Hellgate, Duck Creek and Beaver Creek Bay near White Earth have provided some action for walleye and rainbows from shore on jigs and worms. Troy Humphrey, FWP, Helena
Hauser: Walleye and perch fishing has been great lately while using slip bobbers and jigs with crawlers near the Eldorado dredge piles and inside of the Causeway Arm. A few walleye and rainbow trout are being caught from the Causeway bridge during the evening hours with slip bobber rigs as well. Some anglers are catching a few rainbows below Canyon Ferry Dam while using various nymphs, plain crawlers or marabou jigs throughout the day, and others are having luck trolling dodgers or cowbells with spinner rigs during the early morning out from the White Sandy area, near the cliffs across from Lakeside, or near Spokane Bay. Chris Hurley, FWP, Helena
Holter: Rainbow fishing has been good throughout most of the reservoir. On the upper end, anglers are doing well while fly fishing with double nymph rigs or callibaetis flies between the Gates of the Mountain boat ramp and American Bar. In the middle section and on the lower end of the reservoir, rainbow anglers have been doing well while trolling cowbells and wedding rings across from Cottonwood Creek and near Split Rock. A few walleye and perch are being picked up while jigging with crawlers around weed beds inside of the Canyon and between Log Gulch and Juniper Bay. Kokanee action has been hit or miss just above the Dam. Most kokanee anglers are doing best during the early morning hours while trolling dodgers with hoochies tipped with corn around 60 feet below the surface. Chris Hurley, FWP, Helena
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