Bitterroot bass

[westbranch]

Good intel.
I'm also curious about Lower Clark Fork. Been spending some time this year exploring that area for other pursuits. Never fished from Missoula to the West other than creeks, did Noxon once.
Usually go East to fish and hunt in late spring but trying to map out some options in the opposite direction for April, to include Idaho.
Thanks for some more ideas.

If you're looking for big pike in lakes there are some options around. Going to be a priority for me this next spring from my kayak. I have using spinning/baitcasting rods but I have been thinking about getting a heavier fly rod to throw some streamers.

 

[sclancy27]

I never get peoples attachment to non-native trout when another non-native, smallmouth bass, enters the equation. It's still a non-native.

When I was in the fisheries world, FWP was real, real worried about smallies getting into the headwaters area of the Missouri. The Jeff/Bighole, lower Gallatin and lower Madison would immediately become unbelievable smallmouth fisheries. We did work on the Yellowstone evaluating spawning potential (we sampled age-0 to around Big Timber 7-8 years ago) and shocked a bunch of adults in very specific areas that we guessed they were overwintering in.

I get it in the 'Root they may have some effect on the native fish. I'm trying to remember back when I was pouring through the research out of the PNW (where both westslope cutties and bull trout are) if they saw any effect on those native fishes, I don't remember anything mentioned, but could be wrong. I know for sure they have huge effects on out-migrating salmon smolt.

Maybe if all our great non-native trout fisheries go to non-native smallmouth it will crush the guiding industry....I'd imagine that is why FWP was so concerned about it

 

[xcskier_hunter]

I never get peoples attachment to non-native trout when another non-native, smallmouth bass, enters the equation. It's still a non-native.

When I was in the fisheries world, FWP was real, real worried about smallies getting into the headwaters area of the Missouri. The Jeff/Bighole, lower Gallatin and lower Madison would immediately become unbelievable smallmouth fisheries. We did work on the Yellowstone evaluating spawning potential (we sampled age-0 to around Big Timber 7-8 years ago) and shocked a bunch of adults in very specific areas that we guessed they were overwintering in.

I get it in the 'Root they may have some effect on the native fish. I'm trying to remember back when I was pouring through the research out of the PNW (where both westslope cutties and bull trout are) if they saw any effect on those native fishes, I don't remember anything mentioned, but could be wrong. I know for sure they have huge effects on out-migrating salmon smolt.

Maybe if all our great non-native trout fisheries go to non-native smallmouth it will crush the guiding industry....I'd imagine that is why FWP was so concerned about it

I agree. Smallmouth bass are native to the Mississippi River basin and Great Lakes basin. Consequently, they are also native to the lower Missouri River (which makes sense since it flows into the Mississippi River) so you'd think in theory they could naturally migrate up the Missouri River and into tributaries like the Yellowstone. I'm not completely sure why they did not do that historically (and maybe they did get further up the Missouri in low numbers at times). Perhaps it was due to cold water temps too late into the spring preventing successful spawning. In their native range they love to migrate up rivers in June but tend to move to deeper holes or lakes in winter.

It's conceivable to me that they have been in the process of slowly migrating up the Missouri River and humans have expedited a naturally occurring process through the creation of reservoirs for overwintering and the physical movement of fish. Thus, at least east of the continental divide, it's funny to me that people express so much more concern over smallmouth bass compared to non-native trout species like a rainbow trout that is not native to any waters east of the continental divide. Like you said, much of the concern is probably for the guiding industry, which at moment is centered on trout.

I understand smallmouth bass and pike are a bigger issue (or at least more unnatural) in the Bitterroot since that's west of the continental divide. And I can definitely understand efforts to keep out or remove fish species from waters where they only exist as a result of humans.

 

[sclancy27]

I agree. Smallmouth bass are native to the Mississippi River basin and Great Lakes basin. Consequently, they are also native to the lower Missouri River (which makes sense since it flows into the Mississippi River) so you'd think in theory they could naturally migrate up the Missouri River and into tributaries like the Yellowstone. I'm not completely sure why they did not do that historically (and maybe they did get further up the Missouri in low numbers at times). Perhaps it was due to cold water temps too late into the spring preventing successful spawning. In their native range they love to migrate up rivers in June but tend to move to deeper holes or lakes in winter.

It's conceivable to me that they have been in the process of slowly migrating up the Missouri River and humans have expedited a naturally occurring process through the creation of reservoirs for overwintering and the physical movement of fish. Thus, at least east of the continental divide, it's funny to me that people express so much more concern over smallmouth bass compared to non-native trout species like a rainbow trout that is not native to any waters east of the continental divide. Like you said, much of the concern is probably for the guiding industry, which at moment is centered on trout.

I understand smallmouth bass and pike are a bigger issue (or at least more unnatural) in the Bitterroot since that's west of the continental divide. And I can definitely understand efforts to keep out or remove fish species from waters where they only exist as a result of humans.

It also helps that our flow regimes have changed enough that our peak water temperatures are much higher and good bass temperatures are around for much more of the summer than even a couple decades ago. There is a huge prey base in these rivers, they just need either the water temps to warm or the mechanism of entry, game over.