Test 1: Bart from Capital Sports
“Hey folks, this is Bart down at Capital Sports with the weekly fishing report for the Helena area.
While I still don’t have any good news about ice in this area, there isn’t any around that I would consider safe to fish on, but we do have really good fishing in the open water, especially below the local dams.
I’ve been getting really good reports this week of guys catching rainbows down below Canyon Ferry Dam, mostly throwing marabou jigs, or if you want to catch some ling, you can fish down there at night with some sucker meat, and that’s been pretty good too. Guys fishing down below Hauser Dam have been reporting some good action on rainbow trout with jigs or lures, and a few browns in there too that have got through spawning and are still hanging out in the area.
Holter, I’ve actually been getting some pretty good reports perch this week. Talked to a few guys that have launched their boats in Holter and found some nice perch and the occasional walleye. So while we don’t have great ice, at least we have some good fishing to be had. If you need more information, stop by and see us at Capital Sports.”
Test 2: Chancey at The Fish Camp in Kalispell January 17th
Good morning, Montana Transit. I’m up at Fish Camp in Kalispell to give you the weekly fishing report for the area.
The colder nights have really helped, and we’ve got some good ice forming. Heading west of town, Smith Lake is in pretty good shape with about five to six inches of ice. Today is our perch assault, so we’ll have updates on the size of those perch. Anglers have been catching some good perch, as well as chasing smaller pike in the 16 to 24-inch range, which are great for pickling. We’ll update you on that at 2 p.m.
Rogers Lake is also in good shape, with about five to six inches of ice. Some anglers have been doing well on grayling and a few cutthroat trout.
Further west, McGregor and Ashley Lakes are mostly wide open. The bays are starting to ice over, especially the northwest corner of Ashley, but it’s still not safe to get on the ice.
Upper Thompson Lake has about five to six inches of ice. Anglers are catching quite a few perch, some up to 10 or 11 inches, along with a few pike and bass.
Loon Lake has about five to six inches of ice, but be cautious as there are some wet and unsafe spots. We fished there about a week ago and caught some crappie, decent perch, and a few rainbows.
The Civet, Cad, and Bluejack Lakes all have good ice, around five to six inches.
Near Whitefish, Blanchard Lake has about four to six inches of ice, with anglers catching crappie and perch. Spencer and Skiles Lakes near Whitefish are in similar condition.
Lower Stillwater has been in good shape for a while, with lots of perch—though nothing very large—and some pike.
Up north, Murphy Lake is capped, and some smaller lakes like Sophie and Glenn are also capped. We haven’t had many reports, but Dickey Lake is getting close to freezing.
Around town, the sloughs froze a bit but have since opened up. Loon Lake in Ferndale has about three to four inches of ice with a few anglers out, and Horseshoe Lake has a bit more ice.
Big lakes have been fishing well. Anglers are getting boats out and catching nice pike and lake trout. Dead bait fishing in Summers Bay and the Delta has been productive.
Kukanus Lake has been excellent. Anglers trolling with plugs, flies, and planer boards near Rexford have been catching some nice fish, with reports of fish weighing 10 to 12 pounds.
Test 3: Eddie Mint – Live Radio
Host: We want to chat with Eddie this morning. He’s over there at Fort Peck, the big man at the dam. It wouldn’t be the radio show without talking to Eddie Mint. Eddie, good morning. How are you doing, guys?
Eddie: Hey, we’re doing good, Eddie. Thank you.
Host: Eddie, I got a call from you earlier this week. The only time I really get a call from you is when something is wrong, and more importantly, something I did wrong or am responsible for. Would you explain the conversation that you and I had earlier this week? Do you mind?
Eddie: That’s a good job for you. You do a good job of keeping that going. Now I know why your employees have their stories—just listen to you repeat it. No wonder you guys have miscommunications.
Host: Thank you, Eddie. I didn’t say that people were going to come up here and see their… I said the phone was going to be ringing because we’ve been telling people we don’t have any ice. And the phone—hey, we just saw pictures of people catching perch on Fort Peck. Where are they doing that at? You guys said you don’t have any ice.
Eddie: Anyway, yeah, the winds that we have, temperatures—we’re going to see about a week of some cooldown and then start warming back up again. So as far as the range forecast for the ice freezing up, unless we really start seeing some drastic below zero stuff, I’m still going with some time in February if this weather pattern continues or something drastically changes.
But other than that, yeah, McGuire Creek and then up by Fourchette, Crooked Creek in that area—guys have been going up there out of Malta and doing well on the ice. Then Nelson Reservoir, dredge cuts of course, and dredge cuts down here. There’s guys down here fishing, catching some pike and trout pond. They’re catching some perch and some trout, a few pike out of there as well.
So there’s a little bit of—not totally no fishing around here—but we do have the dredge cuts and stuff. Like I said, McGuire Creek and Nelson Reservoir. And a nice thing with this colder weather we’ve got now, the McGuire Creek Road should freeze up and not be such a sloppy trail going in there. People that don’t have the option of a four-wheeler or side-by-side should be able to drive in with a pickup and get in there now. You know, this thing’s freezing up.
But that’s kind of your options. And, of course, we’re loaded with bait here—suckers, shiners, fatheads, waxworms, mealworms, maggots, nightcrawlers, smelt, herring, and lots of tackle.
Host: Yeah, Eddie, when you get a chance, watch that podcast. It’ll be up live a little after 8:30. And that forecast—the help is on the way for sure. I think you’re going to be spot on that February is going to be when things really start taking off. Then I think we’re looking at a very nice long run of it. So yeah, it should be good.
Eddie: Well, let’s keep our fingers crossed. Last year it was, I think, the 8th or the 9th of February, and it was decent for like three weeks. Hopefully we get a little longer, but we’ll take what we can get.
Host: You know, it wasn’t too long ago, too many years ago, remember, we actually had a contest when the ice would finally come off Fort Peck Reservoir.
Eddie: But it certainly isn’t that way this year.
Host: Eddie, thanks for the report. We appreciate it. Have yourself a good week. We’ll talk to you next Saturday morning, buddy.
Eddie: Yep, everybody be safe, and we’ll talk to you next week.
Host: All right. Eddie Mint, the big man at the dam.