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Fort Peck
Fishing
with Bernie Hildebrand
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Phone: (406) 234-6342 E-mail: Bernie@MidRivers.com
Bernie's Fort Peck fishing report
7/26/2010
On July 23rd and 24th I fished with Ray and Audrey Martz and their son Fred all of Hyndman, PA. On the 23rd we had a fair day during which we caught 24 fish. We kept 6 walleye from 14 to 22”, 5 smallmouth bass from 1 to 3 pound, and 2 northern pike that weighted 8 and 13 pounds. We also had 5 northern cut us off.
On the 24th it was a slow day caused by a thunderstorm the night before. We caught 7 fish but only kept 2 eater walleyes and a 10 pound northern pike. This northern pike was caught in 2’ of water in the weeds. The northern pike seem to be getting active in the weed beds.
GOOD LUCK IN YOUR FISHING ! ! !
July 19, 2010
On the 13th and 14th I fished with Al Greeno and his sons Alan, Dennis and Chris and grandson Tristan. The first day they caught 24 fish. Triston caught a 3 pound channel catfish, while Dennis caught a 24”, 5.5 pound walleye and Al caught a 28”, 8.6 pound walleye, they also kept 8 other walleyes , 2 smallmouth bass and a large perch.
On the second day we could not get to the area I wanted to fish because of high winds. They caught 22 fish but only kept 3, a 2 pound smallmouth bass, a 3 pound northern pike and a large perch.
The 15th I fished with John Ensign and Neil Martin of Miles City, MT we caught 32 fish. We kept a 19” saugar and a 20” walleye and 9 other walleye also kept 3 smallmouth bass, a 9 pound northern pike and 2 crappies
On the 16th I fished with Shelley Ryan and Hallie McDonald both of Jordan, MT. They caught 4 fish kept 3 walleyes for a fish dinner.
The 17th was tournament day for the women. They got introduced to a new part of tournament fishing, the zero or upside down smiley face. They caught 8 fish but none were big enough to score.
The fishing has been very good this year and has continued to be good later than most years.
GOOD LUCK IN YOUR FISHING ! ! !
July 12, 2010
On July 8th and 9th I fished with DeWitt McFarland of Chehalis, WA. Dewitt's main goal of the trip was to add the northern pike to his life list. He caught 3 little northern pike and a 9 pounder the first day. He also caught a 6 pound walleye. We were tossing spoons and big crankbaits, by 3:00PM my shoulder and Dewitt’s wrist had enough casting so we changed to trolling.
On the second day I showed DeWitt how to pitch jigs. We caught 41 fish, Dewitt does not eat fish so we turned everything loose.
Saturday the 10th I fished with Monte, Linda and Gentry Reder of Miles City, MT. We had a good day catching 76 fish. Gentry caught a 5 pound northern pike and Monte caught a 5.25 pound smallmouth bass. They also limited on walleyes.
Sunday the 11th I fished with Mike and Ronda Losinski of Cohagen, MT which bought my trip from a benefit. We caught 66 fish including a 11 pound northern pike that Mike caught and a 5.5 pound walleye that Ronda caught. I caught a 4 pound smallmouth bass. We kept a limit of walleyes from 16” to 24”.
The fishing has been excellent, I’m not sure how long it will last but it’s been a long time since I’ve seen the fishing this good. A lot of good quality eating walleyes 14” to 20” with a good fish every now and then.
GOOD LUCK IN YOUR FISHING ! ! !
July 6, 2010
I started fishing on June 24th with Greg and Audrey Blind of Miles City, MT. We caught 28 fish and kept 13 including 2 crappie, 2 smallmouth bass and 9 walleyes.
On the 25th I fished with Mark Wollenurg and Dave Brown of Billings, MT. We caught 34 fish keeping a 5 and 6 pound northern pike, a 1 and 2 pound smallmouth bass, 1 - 12” crappie and 2 - 4 pound walleyes and 4 eaters ( 14”-17”).
June 26th I fished with Ken Marsich and his sons Steve and Kevin. We caught 63 fish keeping 6 smallmouth bass, 1 large perch, a 8 pound northern pike and 15 walleye.
On Sunday the 27th I fished with John Klamm of Miles City, MT and his Navy buddy J. R. Malara of Dayton, OH.
We caught 56 fish they kept 1 crappie, 3 smallmouth bass and 15 walleye. I caught a 31”, 13 pound walleye that I released.
On the 28th through the 30th I fished with Don Gazda of Jackson, MN and Randy Gazda of Great Falls, MT
In three days we caught 188 fish. We kept 15 walleyes each of the first two days but only kept 11 the last day because of possession limits, we could not eat them fast enough. Don and Randy also kept 3 northern pike 4 to 7 pounds, 3 crappies, and 7 smallmouth bass.
July 1st I fished with Don Childress we caught a record high number of fish, 94 in one day. We kept 10 walleyes. The next day I fished with Don for a half of a day before he had to head home. We only caught 24 fish in 4 hours of fishing. We kept a large perch, a 4 pound northern pike and 3 walleyes.
On July 3rd a friend did not show so I fished by myself. I caught 34 fish of which I kept a 3 pound northern pike, one large perch and 5 walleyes. I also caught 3- 3 pound and a 4.25 pound smallmouth bass that I released.
GOOD LUCK IN YOUR FISHING ! ! !
June 22, 2010
On the 18th and 19th I fished with Mike and Dale Chenoweth and John Moxey of Cody, WY . The 18th we tried fishing but the wind was to high so we fished in Hell Creek Bay for a half of a day before we quit just before the rain started. We caught a small northern pike and a 2 pound smallmouth bass. The 19th we fished west and only caught 3 walleyes but mike caught one that was 28.5 which weighed 10 pounds this fish was a football.
Sunday I fished with Guy and Audra Fairchild and their girls Sophie and Morgan of Clyde Park, MT. We only caught 2 fish Sophie caught a 2 pound walleye and Morgan caught a 6 pound northern pike. I must say that I was impressed with how well these 2 young girls handled a long day of slow fishing.
Monday the 21st I had the worst day of fishing I have ever had while guiding fisherman. I was fishing with Bucky and Sharon Billing of Broadus, MT. We fished for close to 11 hours and only caught one 10 inch walleye. It is the slowest day I have ever had and I will adjust their rates for the trip next year.
GOOD LUCK IN YOUR FISHING ! ! !
June 15, 2010
Sorry I’m so late in getting a fishing report out to all the fisherman that check this web site. As many of you know Mark Henckle passed away on May 29th . Mark, besides being an excellent journalist also created and maintained web sites and helped me with my web site. I have had to find another web master to help me out. So know I’m back to getting the fishing reports out.
From May 28th through May 31st I fished with my cousins Roger Kellogg from Charles City, IA and Bruce Kellogg of Ionia, IA. We had a couple of fair days and two good days of fishing. We caught 72 fish and kept our limit of walleyes from 1 pound to about 4 pounds. The big walleye was 10 pounds caught by Roger Kellogg. We also kept 7 smallmouth bass from 1.5 pound to 2.5 pound and a 15 pound northern pike.
On June 6th I fished with Earl and Sandy Shaw of Gillette, WY, it was their 44th wedding anniversary. The fishing was a little slow for us they caught 13 fish and kept 7 1.5 to 2.5 walleyes. We didn’t catch any big fish.
June 10th I was fishing with Tom Keegel of Ham Lake, MN and Fred Gegare of Green Bay, WI. Tommy caught the prize for the day a 11 pound Chinook salmon, I’ve never caught a bigger salmon this late in the year. Fred also caught a nice walleye that was 28.75” and 9.38 pound. These guys also caught 9 other fish 6 of which we kept they were eater walleyes 1 to 2 pounders. We were supposed to fish the next day but got rained out.
The 12th of June I fished with Steve Attwood of Miles City, MT and his parents John and Grace of Hardin, MT.
Steve caught a 15 pound northern pike. They also caught 9 walleyes from 14” to 17”.
June 13th found me fishing with John Hamam of Billings, MT. We were jigging when I caught a 12” white crappie. I tried for several hours to catch more of them but could not. I started trolling and we caught a 10 pound northern pike and some eater walleye.
GOOD LUCK IN YOUR FISHING ! ! !
May 24, 2010
Friday I fished with Steve Cole and his son-in-law Kevin Kuszak of Broomfield, CO and Steve’s brother Mark of Santa Cruz, CA.
We had a very good day they caught 31 fish, including 5 northern pike, 7 smallmouth bass and 19 walleye.
Seventeen walleye were 12” to 20” the other two were 26” and 26.5” that weight 6.5 and 7 pounds. They kept 4 smallmouth bass from 1.5 to 2.5. Two of the northern pike were 4 and 7 pounds. It was a good day.
On Saturday I fished with Arnold Dood of Bozeman, MT and Brad Schmitz of Miles City, MT.
It was good day we caught 17 fish, 11 walleyes, 2 smallmouth bass and 3 northern pike and a very large perch. Arnold caught the big fish a 11 pound northern pike. It was a tough day weather wise, rain and wind.
Sunday I fished by myself I only got 6 fish but I could only fish two lines verses six lines the other days.
I caught 6 fish, 4 walleyes, a little smallmouth bass and a little northern pike. I kept two walleyes 18” and 19”for some fresh fish.
The fishing should only improve.
GOOD LUCK IN YOUR FISHING ! ! !
May 17, 2010
On Saturday, I fished with a friend from Billings, John Hamman. We had a fair day. I caught an 11-pound drum and 2 smallmouth bass one of which was 3.5 pounds and a couple 15” walleyes. John caught 2 smallmouth bass and 2 walleyes. In total we caught 10 fish.
On Sunday, I was going to fish with John again but he got sick so I went alone. I had a very good day, I caught 21 fish. 2 northern pike, 2, carp, 5 smallmouth bass and 12 walleyes. One northern pike was 9 pounds, 4 of the smallmouth bass were 2 pounds each, the walleyes were 1,1,1,1,1,1.4,1.5,2.5,3,4,10 and 12.5. This was a fun day I only fished about 6 hours. Twice I had two walleyes on at once.
With the warm weather that happening this week the fishing should be good this following weekend.
GOOD LUCK IN YOUR FISHING ! ! !
May 10, 2010
I got out fishing Saturday after a about two weeks of on and off storms. It showed on the reservoir the shoreline was eroded much more than usual and the water temperature took a dive because of all the wind.
Temperatures on the main lake were 38-39 degrees
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Fishing was slow. I was fishing with Casey Schantz of Miles City, we only caught one lake trout that weighed 9 pounds. We saw several fish at the point where we caught the one but they would not bite so we moved and never found another concentration of fish on the other points that we fished.
With some stable weather fishing should improve.
GOOD LUCK IN YOUR FISHING ! ! !
April 19, 2010
On Saturday, I finally got the boat loaded and ready. Sunday, I got on the water late at 11:00 but had to learn how to run the boat and relearn the fish finder, electric trolling motor, etc. The first point I tried didn’t have any fish on it, the second only a few fish, the third point had a lot of fish but they would not bite.
So I went to the point I wanted to fish earlier, but it had three boats on it so I passed it by. I didn’t mark any fish but saw a lot of cisco on the fish finder. In less than one hour, I caught three lake trout weighing 10, 11 and 12 pounds. It was nice to catch some fish after the long winter. The good lake trout fishing should last three or four weeks.
GOOD LUCK IN YOUR FISHING ! ! !
4/15/2010
The reservoir is ice free as of last Tuesday. I heard from a friend that another guy caught two lake trout and lost two. Another group of fisherman fished two days in Hell Creek bay and caught 6, 8 and 14 pound northern pike.
Things need to warm up for fishing to get better.
GOOD LUCK IN YOUR FISHING ! ! !
April 10, 2010
I was surveying deer this morning, checked Fort Peck Reservoir and there was some ice between Timber Creek and Seven Blackfoot Creek. A person could have got a boat through on the west side. The rest of the reservoir was open at least to Hell Creek.
GOOD LUCK IN YOUR FISHING ! ! !
March 25, 2010
Most of the snow has melted and only some drifts remain. Waiting for the ice to go off. There is open water on the edge of the ice because the lake's water level going up. In the last 2 to 3 weeks, the reservoir has been raising about one inch per day. I expect the ice to go off sometime in the next 2 to 3 weeks. I’ll post as soon as the ice goes off.
GOOD LUCK IN YOUR FISHING ! ! !
February 16, 2010
I talked to some landowners from the Devils Creek are and they told me that the county plowed the road into Devils Creek about a week ago. It should be good until the next snow storm. If you are heading to this area call before you go out there, it may save you some time.
GOOD LUCK IN YOUR FISHING ! ! !
February 5, 2010
With this last winter storm all access to Fort Peck Reservoir within Garfield County is know closed except Hell Creek which is plowed out by the county road crew. The locals may plow out Devils Creek but any one interested should call before going that way.
GOOD LUCK IN YOUR FISHING ! ! !
1/7/2010
I talked to a couple different people from Jordan recently and the report for the Devils Creek area has changed with the fishing turning slow. Some no catches and very few limits. Another factor to consider is there has a lot of snow and the wind has blown it around. Be prepared for tough conditions if heading into this area.
GOOD LUCK IN YOUR FISHING ! ! !
12/28/2009
I’ve heard from some of the Jordan people that the ice fishing has been good. They have been catching allot of walleyes up to 2.5 pounds in the Devils Creek area. Two friends tried this area on the 23rd they caught 2 northern pike at 4 and 6 pounds and a limit of 10 walleyes. They said the fishing was not hot but steady, bites every 10-15 minutes. I will try to post a report every now and then as I hear something.
GOOD LUCK IN YOUR FISHING ! ! !
The following are my fishing results for walleye in 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002 and 2001 listed for comparison.
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Year | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 |
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Number of fish > 1 pound | 298 | 239 | 198 | 95 | 124 | 104 | 143 | 110 | 109 |
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Number of fish < 1 pound | 204 | 222 | 170 | 91 | | | | | | |
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Total in pounds | 595 | 545 | 635 | 443 | 427 | 523 | 573 | 454 | 393 |
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Average in pounds | 2.00 | 2.20 | 3.21 | 4.66 | 3.44 | 5.03 | 4.01 | 4.13 | 3.61 |
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Hours | 380 | 411 | 410 | 375 | 377 | 409 | 373 | 416 | 362 |
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Fish/hour | .78 | .58 | .48 | .25 | .33 | .25 | .38 | .26 | .30 |
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10-pound-plus | 6 | 9 | 18 | 15 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 8 | 8 |
For 2009 several things stick out. The number of walleyes over 1 pound is the highest of any year since I have been keeping track. The walleyes under 1 pound is the second highest year. Walleyes per hour is also the highest of any year since I have been keeping records. The number of 10 plus walleyes is the lowest since I have been keeping records.
So what does all this mean? This year I asked allot of the clients whether they wanted to catch allot of walleyes or catch fewer walleyes but bigger ones. To my surprise most of the people want to catch a lot of walleyes over the chance of a big walleye. Because of their answers, we fished by pitching jigs instead of trolling crankbaits. Pitching jigs favors a lot of small walleyes( 10” to 22”) while trolling favors bigger walleyes ( over 5 pounds), but fewer walleyes.
A side benefit of pitching jigs is we caught 23 smallmouth bass that were over 3 pounds and four of these were over 4 pounds. Several days we were catching 12 to 15 smallmouth bass and 2 or 3 days over 50 walleyes were caught during the day.
The raising water levels, of the last two year, is going to pay dividends in the future. Hopefully, the water level will raise again next year.
GOOD LUCK IN YOUR FISHING ! ! !
Sept. 29, 2009
On Sept. 23 I took Rich and Connie Roskam of Roberts, MT fishing for lake trout and salmon. Connie caught a 10 pound lake trout fairly early in the day. Then things slowed down for quit awhile. We were marking a lot of fish in the 80 to 100 foot area but they would not bite. Near the end of the day Rich caught a 6 pound chinook salmon. We also lost 2 other fish, one broke the line before we even started. The lake trout and salmon will be shallow enough in a couple weeks that you will not needed to usr down riggers.
GOOD LUCK IN YOUR FISHING ! ! !
Sept. 12, 2009
On Friday I went fishing with Jim Lippert and his son Payson of Big Timber, MT. We had a good day and caught a 4, 7, 8, 9, 9, and 12 pound lake trout. All these fish were caught in about three hours then we trolled for 5 hours for salmon. We never caught a salmon but had a trip at 55 foot and a broken line on one flasher. The salmon fishing was kind of slow but encouraging. Hopefully it will get better.
GOOD LUCK IN YOUR FISHING ! ! !
Sept. 1, 2009
Last Sunday I fished with a friend Don Childress of Helena, MT. We fished for lake trout near the dam and had a fair day. The wind made it challenging but we managed to catch six lakers.
The fish weighed 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 pounds. We also had two releases that didn't hook up.
We ran one pole for salmon for awhile but the waves got the best of us and we only ran the ones off the cannon balls.
The lake trout fishing should last well into the fall.
GOOD LUCK IN YOUR FISHING ! ! !
August 24, 2009
On Saturday, I fished with Sam Samsam and Vern Harris of Tucson, AZ. We were fishing for lake trout in the dam area. It was a good day, we caught 7 lakers in 8 hours. The lakers weigted 2, 6, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 11 pounds. We also had several trips from the downriggers that didn't hook the fish.
There were a couple other boats in the area that we fished and they were also catching fish. There was a lake trout and salmon tournament going on while we were fishing. I later heard that there were 3 salmon caught, a 20 and 18 pounder and a small one for 13 boats, not a very fast bite for the salmon.
The lake trout should continue to bite until freeze up.
GOOD LUCK IN YOUR FISHING ! ! !
August 12, 2009
This past Saturday I fished with Ryan, Becky and Floyd Studer of Goodland, KS and Johan DeBeer of South Africa.
We had a good day catching several nice northern pike. The northern weighted 2, 6, 7, 7, 7, 8, 9 and 11 pounds. Ryan caught the largest while Johan got the smallest, however later he did get a better one. They also caught a perch and a small smallmouth bass and a small salmon (7 or 8 inches).
On Sunday, I drove to the dam and fished with some friends -- Mike Haddix of Idaho Falls, ID and his son Tyler of Fort Peck, MT and Mike's grandson, Jack Loomis of Idaho Falls. We were fishing for lake trout with downriggers in 100 to 130 feet of water. Fishing was good, to say the least. We caught so many we lost count but it was either 14 or 15. We also lost 3 near the boat and had several trips that didn't hook a fish. Tyler really knows how to catch the lake trout.
On Monday I took Mike and Jack fishing for northerns and walleyes. It was somewhat of a slow day. Mike caught the smallest walleye of the year when a 6" fish hit a shad rap. Jack caught a 6 and 7 pound northern pike and a 30", 10.82 pound walleye which had a broken back that healed. Take a look at this fish in the photo gallery.
The walleye action has slowed down. They have gone deep. The northern pike fishing remains good and the lake trout fishing is excellent.
GOOD LUCK IN YOUR FISHING ! ! !
Aug. 3, 2009
Last Friday I fished with Ashley Beyer, Windy Davis and Dean Waltee, all of Miles City. It was a cold windy day most of the day but we still caught some fish. Ashley caught a 4 pound smallmouth bass and a 5 pound northern pike and Windy caught a 6 pound northern pike. The ladies also caught 2 smaller smallmouth bass and a eater walleye. Dean was the gentleman and let the ladies catch the fish.
On Saturday morning I took Charlie Saylor and Jake South fishing for the kids fishing tournament. Charlie caught a 8 pound northern pike a pound smallmouth bass and a small goldeye while Jake got a 5 pound northern pike and was out done by his cousin and a girl a little embarrassing for him. Saturday afternoon and evening I went back out with Windy and Dean. Once again Dean was a gentleman letting Windy catch all the fish. The fish caught were 2 eater walleyes and a 6 pound walleye.
Sunday I took Shelley Ryan and Dean fishing we lost a good norther early in the morning then trolled most of the day with onlu one 4 pound northern pike caught. The last point prove a litlle better than the rest of the day, Schelley caught a 2.25 pound walleye and a 9 pound northern pike, a good way to end the day.
It looks like the walleye bite has slowed down and the walleye are mostly deep (20-35 foot) but the northern pike bite continues to be good with some smallmouth bass also biting.
GOOD LUCK IN YOUR FISHING ! ! !
7/24/2009
Last Tuesday, I fished witrh Neil Martin and John Ensign of Miles City, MT and Harold Wentland of Glasgow, MT. We had a pretty good day. We only fished 7 hours and caught five northern pike that weighted 6, 6, 6, 9, and 10 pounds. We also caught 5 walleyes, 4 eaters that were 1 to 2 pounds and a 26.5", 7.1 pounder. Also caught were 2 smallmouth bass, a 11" and a 3.5 pounder.
In the last three trips out, we have caught 5 or more northerns. They seem to be on the sides of the points. The walleyes seem to be on the points deep, 20 foot or better. The bite is still holding up, which is longer than most years.
GOOD LUCK IN YOUR FISHING ! ! !
July 12, 2009
On Monday I fished with Al Cameron and Al Lee both of Lincoln, NE. We caught 7 walleyes one which 31", 12.06 pounds that Al Lee caught. We also caught a 5 pound carp and 3 smallmouth bass.
Tuesday I fished with Ken Kershel of Wilbur, NE and John Graham of Jordan, MT. They caught 12 fish, 9 of which they kept including a 7 pound northern pike, a 1.5 and 3 pound smallmouth bass and 6 walleyes from 14' to 19".
On Wednesday I fished with Ken Kershel again and Jeff Landers of Miles City, MT. They caught 7 northern pike that weighted 12, 10, 8, 8, 6, 6, and 6 pounds and 7 walleye that they kept 3. Also caught were 2 small smallmouth bass. I fished with these guys again Thursday which turn out to be the worst day of the year. We only caught 4 small smallmouth bass. The winds blew hard, 25mph +, I should have been able to find a point with some fish on it but I couldn't.
On Friday I fished with Shelley Ryan and her grandson Ross Ryan and his buddy Eric Berry all of Jordan, MT. We had a good day caught 21 fish. Fifteen were walleyes 12 of which were 14" to 21.5", 5 northern pike which were 10, 8, 6, 6 and 2 pounds and a small smallmouth bass.
Fishing remains good for crankbaiting and bouncers and if a person wants to probe the aquatic vegetation I'm sure you'll find fish.
GOOD LUCK IN YOUR FISHING ! ! !
July 4, 2009
Well, finally a day off. I've been on the water for the last eight days and the fishin has been pretty good.
On June 26 I fished with Dave Brown and Fred Porisch of Billings, MT. They bought my trip at a Walleyes Forever dinner.
Fred started things off with a 8 pound carp, then Dave caught two northern pike that weighted 8 pounds each. Fred caught a cisco on a jig. I've never seen this done befor. I have seen them caught in the winter through the ice on minnows. They also caught 7 smallmouth bass of which four were between 2 and 2.5. Late in the day we tryed crankbaits and Fred caught a 29.5", 10.22 pound walleye.
On June 27 I fished with Wayne Butts and his daughter Kate of Harlowton, MT and Wayne's mother-in-law and father-in-law, Susan and John Morris of Lewistown, MT. Susan got the big fish of the day a 10.5 pound northern pike and the rest got several eater walleyes.
On June 28 I fished with Mike and Rhonda Losinski of Jordan. We caught 31 fish. One was a small sauger, 5 smallmouth bass, a 2.5 and a 4.5 pounders. Also caught were 25 walleyes which we kept 12 there size was 14" to 20".
Last Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday I fished with Don Gazda of Jackson, MN and his son Randy of Great Falls, MT. In Three days of fishing we caught 124 fish. Fifteen of these were smallmouth bass which Don had a 3.5 pounder and Randy had a 4.75 pounder. There also was a carp, one crappie, one sauger and a small northern pike. All the other fish were walleyes, 105 of them. The size was from 8" to 29". The 29" weighted 11.25 this fish was a football.
On Thursday I fished with Mike and Erma Rollins and ther grandson Tanner Edward all of Billings, MT. We caught 22 fish including Mike's big carp. The other fish were 6 smallmouth bass which 3 were 2, 2.5, and 2.5 pounds, also 15 walleyes were caught kept 13 eaters 13" to 16".
Friday found me fishing with Dean Waltee and Windy Davis of Miles City. We had a tough day mostly because I forgot to plug the boat in so it could recharge. Despite the screw-up we caught 12 fish including a carp, we also caught 3 smallmouth bass the rest were walleyes. Good thing these were friends (NPC"s -- Non Paying Clients).
The fish have been mostly shallow and have been caught pitching jigs with plastic however some were caught trolling. The bigger fish are starting to move deeper, 16 plus feet. In a few weeks, they may be deeper yet.
GOOD LUCK IN YOUR FISHING !!!!!!
June 22, 2009
On June 13 and 14th I fished with Don Childress of Helena, MT. We caught 12 walleyes, 13 smallmouth bass and 2 northern pike.
One of the walleyes was 23" and 4.5 pounds while the big smallmouth bass were 2.5 and 3 pounds. The bigger northern pike was 4 pounds.
Monday found me fishing with Jake Klamm and his son John and Mark Wiedeman, all of Miles City, MT. We caught 31 fish. Mark caught a 10 pound northern pike. Seven of the fish were smallmouth bass with the two biggest being 3 and 3.5 pounds. The 23 walleyes were 12" to 21".
Tuesday through Friday I fished with Rich Cipri of Lawrence, MI and Ken Schroeder of Willow Spring, IL. In four days of fishing we caught 79 fish including a small drum, a nice crappie, 2 sauger and 7 northern pike. the bigger nothern pike were 11.5, 13.5 and 14 pounds. The other 68 fish were 47 walleyes with a 30", 10.82 pound being the biggest and 21 smallmouth bass with a 3, 3.5,3.5,3.5 and 3.5 pound being the biggest bass.
Saturday I fished with Tom Hagemiester and his son Levi of Park City, MT This was a record day with 54 fish caught including a 12 pound smallmouth buffalo and a small sauger. The other 52 fish were 33 walleyes from 10" to 21" and 19 smallmouth bass with two that weighted 3 and 3.5 pounds. That's 16 smallmouth bass this year that are 3 pounds or more.
Sunday I fished a half day with Guy Fairchild and his son Cole of Clyde Park, MT and Jim Dailey of Elko, NV and his grandson Colter of Pray, MT. The adults let the boys reel in the fish. The two boys caught 10 walleyes and a smallmouth bass. It was the boys' first walleyes.
GOOD LUCK IN YOUR FISHING ! ! !
June 6, 2009
Yesterday, I fished with Fred Gegare of Green Bay, WI, and Tom Keegel of Ham Lake, MN. It was a fair day but a little slow in the morning. The bite was definitely off some because of an incoming cold front. We caught 7 walleye and about a 4 pound carp that hit the crankbait. On a normal day without the cold front we should have caught 30 to 40 fish.
Crankbaits are catching some nice fish 5 to 10-plus pounds. I don't know how long it will last there are spots where the aquatic vegetation is starting to grow in 16 feet of water. Once this get up a ways, crankbaiting will be a lot tougher.
Some people are doing well vertical jigging and pitching jigs with 30 plus fish days.
The fishing should remain good until about mid-July.
GOOD LUCK IN YOUR FISHING !!!
June 1, 2009
The fishing has heated up. On Saturday, I had to wait at the fish cleaning station for other people to clean their fish. A lot of walleyes are being caught, mostly nice eaters ( 14” to 20”) with an occasional big fish.
On Saturday, I fished with Ken Marsich of Laurel and his sons Steven of Billings and Kevin of Laurel. We had a very good day. The catch was 15 smallmouth bass between 1 and 3 pounds, with two of them weighing 3 pounds. We also caught 24 walleyes from 12” to 23.5”. Of these fish, we kept 7 of the smallmouth and 17 of the walleye. This was the best day of fishing that I have had this year.
Sunday, I fished with Darrel Pistorius and his new wife-to-be, Sue Hedges. We also had a good day. The catch was 32 fish, which included 24 walleye, 6 smallmouth bass and 2 crappies. We kept the two crappies, which were 12” each, 4 smallmouth bass and 9 walleyes. We also lost a big northern (about 12 pounds) and a big walleyes ( 10 pound plus), in both cases too tight of a drag.
From what I can see, the bite has started and should only get better.
GOOD LUCK IN YOUR FISHING !!!
May 25, 2009
Last Thursday, I fished with a friend Mike Haddix from Idaho Fall, ID. We caught 14 walleye from 12” to 18” and a 3.5 pound smallmouth bass.
On Saturday I fished with some friends from Bozeman and we had a pretty good day. It started slow but we start pitching to shore during a good blow and did well. We caught 13 walleye and 8 smallmouth bass. I turned a 4.5 pound smallmouth bass loose.
Also caught a big perch have not seen a perch like this one in several years.
On Sunday I waited for my cousin Bruce Kellogg and Bruce’s father and son in-law from Iowa, so we didn’t get started until 1:00 . In 5 hours of fishing we caught 16 walleye and a 14” smallmouth bass.
From what I seen at the fishing cleaning station and talking to fishermen I would say the bite has started. They are catching allot of good eater walleyes ( 14”-20”) with a occasional big fish. I know some are getting the fish vertical jigging other are pitching jigs shallow and I have caught allot by trolling with small crankbaits. These fish are shallow 3 to 15 feet. The fishing will only get better.
GOOD LUCK IN YOUR FISHING !!!
5/18/2009
Didn’t have clients this last weekend so I fished by myself. With the lake trout fishing being so slow I though I go west and try walleye fishing. First thing on Saturday I caught a 13.5”, 1.5 pound crappie. I haven’t caught a crappie like that since I was a kid, so I spent allot of time trying to catch more without any success. So late in the day I start trolling for walleyes. While trolling I caught a 12” crappie, a 12” salmon, a 13” smallmouth bass and a 14”, 15” and 16” walleye.
Sunday I head back to where I was catching the fish the day before. In 5 hours I caught 5 walleyes that 15” and a 16”, 17”, 18”, 26” and a 27”. I also caught 12” and a 16” smallmouth bass.
I’ve talked to two friends that are doing good. One is pitching jig shallow and the other one is vertical jigging in 10-14” of water.I was trolling shallow, most of my fish were in 3-8’ of water. The fish are shallow to get into the warm water.
GOOD LUCK IN YOUR FISHING !!!
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