Mountain lake fishing advice

[Slipknot153110]

I’m looking at taking my family hiking into some mountain lakes in Montana. My 4 yo is very excited about fishing and I am way more of a hunter than a fisherman. I was just curious as to what spinners to use. I have looked online and just found out about the fly and bobber method. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[cgasner1]

The crawler and bobber method is my go to for that type of thing

 

[MTGomer]

If you use spinners, the panther Martin with the silver spoon and yellow body with the red spots is my favorite.

 

[Ben Lamb]

Rooster tails, smaller spinners, fly & a bobber, grasshoppers, garden hackle, etc.

It's a short growing season up high. Trout will hit about anything.

 

[cgasner1]

If you use spinners, the panther Martin with the silver spoon and yellow body with the red spots is my favorite.

Those little black panther martins with the yellow dots are also killer

 

[Flatbrimmer]

Remember the stories back in the day of fish hittin on homemade bottle cap lures?…..

Lol

Knock em dead!

 

[cgasner1]

I’d definitely pack some crawlers in with a bobber and let the kid have his own pole

 

[Slipknot153110]

I’d definitely pack some crawlers in with a bobber and let the kid have his own pole

That is my game plan as of now. I will start him off on that and then play around some other things to see what’s biting on my own set up.

 

[Slipknot153110]

If you use spinners, the panther Martin with the silver spoon and yellow body with the red spots is my favorite.

I have used those on Rivers down low also and I think I have some of these already. I will definitely try those.

 

[SRW]

I fish the mountain lakes in CO a ton. The trout at that elevation are usually less picky than you might be used to - makes for fun fishing. This is even more true if you’re hiking into somewhere that doesn’t get hammered by road fishermen. It doesn’t take a long hike. I find anything over about a mile from the road gets significantly less pressure, but the further you go, the less pressure there is.

I’d recommend anything foamy/leggy/buggy looking fished on the surface. Anything that looks like a beetle or flying ant is usually a good bet. Depending on the elevation you’ll be at, grasshoppers too.

If you decide to go with the fly and bobber method, some flies I would try are: chubby Chernobyl & micro chubby Chernobyl, hippie stomper, yellow sallies, green & gray drakes.

Often in the mountain lakes, you’ll find trout cruising the edges of the lake feeding rather than in the middle out in the deeper water. I recommend focusing on the edges before you throw your line way out into the middle of the lake.

Inlets & outlets tend to congregate the fish.

+1 on the crawlers and bobbers for the kiddo. Check the regs before you do that though, some lakes/streams are artificial bait only.

 

[gouch]

My experience with 4-year-olds spinner fishing is that they drag it through the mud and rocks on the bottom until they get hung up and you spend all day trying to get it free then tying on a new spinner. A night crawler or a fly with a bobber and everyone is having fun.

 

[Slipknot153110]

I fish the mountain lakes in CO a ton. The trout at that elevation are usually less picky than you might be used to - makes for fun fishing. This is even more true if you’re hiking into somewhere that doesn’t get hammered by road fishermen. It doesn’t take a long hike. I find anything over about a mile from the road gets significantly less pressure, but the further you go, the less pressure there is.

I’d recommend anything foamy/leggy/buggy looking fished on the surface. Anything that looks like a beetle or flying ant is usually a good bet. Depending on the elevation you’ll be at, grasshoppers too.

If you decide to go with the fly and bobber method, some flies I would try are: chubby Chernobyl & micro chubby Chernobyl, hippie stomper, yellow sallies, green & gray drakes.

Often in the mountain lakes, you’ll find trout cruising the edges of the lake feeding rather than in the middle out in the deeper water. I recommend focusing on the edges before you throw your line way out into the middle of the lake.

Inlets & outlets tend to congregate the fish.

+1 on the crawlers and bobbers for the kiddo. Check the regs before you do that though, some lakes/streams are artificial bait only.

Thank you for the advice! The lake I’m planning on hiking into is about 2.5 miles from the road but is not terribly far from Bozeman mt which is arguably the epicenter of the bro flyfisherman so it may get more pressure than one thinks but we will see.

 

[Sytes]

#1.) Panther martins, as mentioned the yellow w/ red dots.
#1a.) Salmon eggs / bobber.
#2.) Rooster-tails.
#3.) Super Duper spoon
#4.) The one hit catch all, red devil red w/white stripe spoon.

Crawlers and bobbers are fun as heck for kids! Easier than a kiddo casting/reeling repeatedly though an alternative: Single hook (easier to remove from trout mouths than treble hook lures)
Bobber and simple container of:

 

[TOGIE]

some of them alpine fishies will hit a bare hook every time.

 

[Ben Lamb]

Remember the stories back in the day of fish hittin on homemade bottle cap lures?…..

Lol

Knock em dead!

My maternal grandmother would routinely outfish my grandfather, who was the outdoor columnist for the Lander, WY paper back in the 70's.

She used bologna.

 

[cgasner1]

#1.) Panther martins, as mentioned the yellow w/ red dots.
#1a.) Salmon eggs / bobber.
#2.) Rooster-tails.
#3.) Super Duper spoon
#4.) The one hit catch all, red devil red w/white stripe spoon.

Crawlers and bobbers are fun as heck for kids! Easier than a kiddo casting/reeling repeatedly though an alternative: Single hook (easier to remove from trout mouths than treble hook lures)
Bobber and simple container of:
View attachment 332067

These are also legit for that type of thing. My 6 year old had a great time catching bluegill this weekend with them

 

[44hunter45]

I always have a few colors of Panther Martins and Vibrax Blue Foxes in my kit.
I buy them in bulk packs.

Walmart has their own knock-off versions. Cabelas/Bass Pro/Sportsman's has their own knock-offs as well.
Midway Clearance page can be a great place to buy spinners.

 

[Northwoods]

Don’t neglect small spoons. Trout love spoons. Retrieve as slowly as you can without getting snagged so the spoon has a nice wobble to it. Like others have said, a bobber is the way to go for young kids. If you get some weighted slip bobbers it’s easier to cast out a little farther from shore.

 

[INMT]

I always have success with a silver w/red dots Jake Lure.

 

[Bigjay73]

All of you panther martin anglers have it wrong. Black and yellow with a yellow spoon and black polka dots is the correct answer