Manning the oars and sneaking in a cast without snaring my Labrador or burying a fly in my neck is a real challenge. The smallmouth bass were disappointing in that they were all seven to ten inches in length, but they kept me busy! We fished for quite some time in a heavy wind before catching a small pike. They knew what they were doing, and it wasn't a random search through their lure box in the hopes that something big, or something shinny would give them a strike. All you need to do is show up with your fishing license and let Captain Mike and his guides handle everything else. The lake itself offers excellent fishing, but not necessarily for fly fishing. 36″ Lake Trout 1-20-2015 Northern Pike 1-20-2015 Another Northern 1-25-2015 Northern Pike Giant Northern Pike Inside the ice house 5-3-2015 big fish day 2-10-2015 Giant Lake Trout My son Brandon and I went to a pike infested lake on the Flathead Reservation. Yes, it is true that bass have a slow growth rate here in Montana because of the cold winters, and sometimes they have poor spawning conditions during the spring conditions, but smallies from one to two pounds are common, and three and four pound largemouth are not uncommon. If you are interested in catching a trophy Lake Trout and trout fishing Montana, Jeff Rach’s Flathead Lake Charters is the outfit to help you succeed. Every riffle was the same. Trout fishing is catch-and-release and pike must be over 24 inches to keep. Using traditional gear and spinner baits, I caught bass and a number of small pike in the 18 to 20-inch range. Flathead River The Whitefish are still going! We followed their advice and had one hell of a day, but their method has piqued my curiosity because they showed us a photograph of a 12-pound pike they had just caught as they were coming into the launch site. When fishing, anglers can expect to catch a variety of fish including Lake Trout, Northern Pike… The Mindt family also owns and operates the Lakeridge, offering motel rooms, cabin rentals and RV spots. They are a highly entertaining and playful fish to chase and a delicious addition to the dinner table! This lake is 122,251 acres in size. Here too I caught largemouth and smallmouth bass on spinner baits, Senko worms and small tube baits. Pike concentrate in the backwaters; trout prefer moving water. This stretch, and the two floating stretches below Sloan Bride are equally as long. There are over 25 fish species found in the Flathead River-Lake ecosystem, 10 species are native and 15 have been introduced. Although everything you need is included on our fully guided trips, if you have your own electronics and jigging rods, we suggest you bring that which you are comfortable with. Whitefish are common on Flathead Lake, too. I will not embellish the fishing. We asked for suggestions, but they were fairly vague. The wind settled down so we decided to give the lake another go. The Delta area at the North end has been producing many large lake trout and an occasional pike or bull trout. If you have heard of Fort Peck, then you probably know that this is one of the most remote, under pressured, big fish fisheries in the Lower 48. All of the shuttles are long and complicated shuttles. Again, when one of the men saw me, he flipped up the towel to cover their methodical method for searching patterns. There is a great restaurant and bar right across the street, and a smaller bar and grill just minutes away at the Fort Peck Marina. A diversity of fish and wildlife complement the land and water resources, and contribute to both the natural and cultural values of the Flathead Basin environment. The Grayling and Cutties are biting below that ice. Upper Stillwater Lake is located in Flathead County, Montana. Instead I stuck a smallmouth that fought like an 18-inch trout. Above the lake, the Flathead River flows through the upper Flathead Valley, home to such popular towns as Whitefish and Kalispell. Kootenai Fair New. We caught plenty of hammer handles and a couple decent ones on smelt. I stubbornly worked a jerk bait in this weed infested water. In fact, each day begins by checking the overnight sets, and it is rare to not have a couple of flags flying to greet you as your morning begins! Flathead Lake. The fish species in the lake consist primarily of lake trout, pike, yellow perch and whitefish, with some rainbow trout, bass, kokanee salmon and bull trout also found. Anglers are allowed six lines each on Peck, so tip ups can be staged in multiple depths in different locations. I did note, however, that on our approach to their boat one of the men flipped up a large towel that sat on a cooler. In all I probably I only spent two or perhaps three hours out of the boat fishing. When fishing, anglers can expect to catch a variety of fish including Black Bullhead, Lake Trout, Largemouth Bass, Northern Pike, Rainbow Trout, Yellow Perch, Pumpkinseed and. Guides Eddie, Taylor, Justin and Haley Mindt spend hundreds of hours on the lake and river each year, and know every aspect of this fishery. 12/09/2020 Nymphing will be the main way to get into fish. dandy. Good trout fishing will begin in the Flathead in early spring, as the mayfly hatches begin in March. Howe's fishing specializes in all things Flathead Lake! I switched, but I never did have the success that he had. Trophy Lake Trout, Walleye and Northern Pike are caught almost every day. Ask Darin Williams how big the largemouth get, and he will tell you about his state record largemouth bass that he caught on Noxon Reservoir in 2011. In rivers like the Clark Fork, Flathead or Bitterroot, the varied habitat allows pike and trout to co-exist. 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