Montana

Fishing in Montana

Fishing in Montana is so huge, that it compels the anglers to complain that they don’t understand from where to begin. The state is so full of wonderful rivers and lakes, that nobody want to miss anything amongst the best-known waters and its fishing! Here are some top spots to choose from the many, to begin with.

Yellowstone National Park

The national park is taken to be one of the greatest achievements of the national park system. No wonder, it offers some of the best fishing in Montana! Mainly it lies in Wyoming, but some of its parts come into Montana and Idaho too. The rivers flowing through the park give variety of fishes. Most prominent is the beautiful Yellowstone River. It is full of cutthroat, brown, rainbow and brook trout, so also abundant wild and native fish. Anglers can choose pools, runs, rapids etc. Besides this great river, thousands of other rivers, ponds and lakes exist in the park to add to your fishing pleasure. Yellowstone Lake, for example, is another great fishing site. The Middle Fork and South Fork of the Flathead and the Kootenai River are other wonderful fishing locations. These are not commonly accessed by most of the anglers and you can have the entire river for yourself for the whole day! This is because they are harder to reach, but when you reach there, you will see that the effort was worth, because of the wonderful fishing it gives. The fish that is difficult to get in other regions of Montana, the bull trout, is found here. So also you will find the large northern pike.

Southwest Montana

This is famous all over the country for its fly-fishing. The Bitterroot River, Ruby River and the Rock Creek are just a few celebrated names which will give you an idea why it is so. They are all high-quality trout fishing streams. Many of the rivers in this region are flowing close to each other making it easy to access many spots at once. And they offer variety of structures, thus offering variety of fishing, and that too, any time of the year. In addition to the above given names, there are Big Hole, Beaverhead, and Jefferson rivers.

Central Montana

Central Montana is internationally famous fishing destination. The Missouri River and the Smith River are two names enough to suggest the fame. They too are famous trout fishing spots, but as they are so famous you may not get quietness, and if you want it, you can turn to the upper Dearborn River, the upper Teton River and the upper Sun River, which are quite unmarked by other anglers, but give great fishing. But you should remember that the quality of fishing may vary greatly. You will find good fishing in or near the mountain, as all the rivers of the state spill out in the prairie. Another disadvantage is most of the rivers flow through less populated areas and so you must be well prepared with all the necessities. If you don’t care much about the time and comfort of the home, they are the ideal places for you to fish, as the fish you will find are worth the efforts. Besides these rivers, there are many lakes in the regions, most of which are formed by the dams on the various rivers. Some of them are the lakes of Bean, Hotter, and Canyon Ferry, and the reservoirs of Bynum, Deadman’s Basin, Eureka, Martinsdale, Pishkun, Tiber and Willow Creek. All these lakes have mostly warm-water species including northern pike, walleye, perch and catfish and good rainbows too are found in many of these reservoirs.

Tackle and Technique

In Montana, fishing techniques vary as per the season, type of water, and your personal liking. Fly, bait and spin are all popular techniques, though baits are prohibited on some streams. Usually, five-six or seven-weight rods that 8 ½ or nine-feet long are used, while spin and bait anglers prefer medium-action rods with 6 to 10 pound test line. Ultralight spinning gear is popular too. And the four most productive methods of catching largemouth bass are, soft plastic worms and baits, jig fishing with traditional jigs, jigging spoons and tube worms, diving lures like crankbaits, rattle baits, jerkbaits and swim baits, and topwater lures like buzz baits, spinner baits, and traditional plugs.

Fishing in Montana is a great experience because of its challenges. Don’t miss it if opportunity comes, you surely will enjoy to your heart’s content!