New Member - Billings / Flathead Valley, MT

[Pups]

Hello, all. I've lurked on this website for a while now. I'm impressed with the wealth of knowledge here and everyone's willingness to share it. I've recently relocated to the Flathead Valley from Billings and am looking forward to exploring this corner of the state. My two pointing dogs will miss the prairie, but they'll learn to chase mountain grouse.

Turkey and spring bear will be priority #1 in the coming weeks, but looking forward to fishing too. What's up with snagging kokanee?? I got to try that...

Looking forward to learning more from you all and thanks for having me!

 

[blueridge]

Welcome!

 

[Elkhunter24]

Welcome from PA!

 

[jejack26]

Welcome from great falls

 

[OntarioHunter]

Snagging kokanee in the Flathead is a thing of the past ... long past. I have found memories of it when I was a kid and salmon crammed the river bank to bank. Then some idiot in Fish & Game got the bright idea to try turning the Flathead into some kind of trophy cutthroat fishery. Mices shrimp were introduced from Canada. Two problems. Mices shrimp eat the same thing kokanee subsist on: plankton stuff. Secondly, mices shrimp are the primary prey of lake trout introduced to Flathead Lake in the 1930s. Lake trout numbers went nuts and they have eaten up everything. I think the daily limit now is something like 35? Damn things are now up the river all the way into Canada (yep, lakers in a river - nuts but true). Kokanee have crashed. Hardly any in the river now during the fall spawn. My brother is a diver and sometimes counts spawning beds for NPS at Circle Bridge. Not sure if kokanee are even still open to fish any more. The worst was a world famous trophy bull trout fishery disappeared when their chief prey kokanee crashed. As a kid I personally saw one 22 lbs dragged in. Caught countless ones myself that were ten to fifteen pounds. There were bigger ones but impossible to land in the river. I recall my dad showing us one swimming at bottom of HH Dam that looked like a shark! Thirty-five pounds if it was an ounce. Saw many huge bull trout plugs with all the treble hooks pulled straight. They didn't fight hard but boy could they work the current. All gone now. I am quite sure bull trout are now closed to fishing in the river and Flathead Lake and probably will be forever.

 

[sapperJ24]

Here's a decent article on the history of flathead lake and mysis shrimp. Ontario is mostly correct on bull trout in Fathead lake, but you can target bull trout in the reservoir and on the south fork above the reservoir.

The great Flathead fish fiasco - High Country News

State and tribes disagree over how to tackle an exotic species' takeover of a Montana lake.

www.hcn.org

 

[Sytes]

Welcome aboard! NW MT resident as well.
Look forward to reading of your exact location(s) for great waiting and bucks.

 

[Pups]

Here's a decent article on the history of flathead lake and mysis shrimp. Ontario is mostly correct on bull trout in Fathead lake, but you can target bull trout in the reservoir and on the south fork above the reservoir.

The great Flathead fish fiasco - High Country News

State and tribes disagree over how to tackle an exotic species' takeover of a Montana lake.

www.hcn.org

I'm at least somewhat aware of this situation. Thanks for the additional info.

 

[OntarioHunter]

Here's a decent article on the history of flathead lake and mysis shrimp. Ontario is mostly correct on bull trout in Fathead lake, but you can target bull trout in the reservoir and on the south fork above the reservoir.

The great Flathead fish fiasco - High Country News

State and tribes disagree over how to tackle an exotic species' takeover of a Montana lake.

www.hcn.org

Are bull trout still legal in Swan Lake? I seem to recall they had a good population there.

That stupid size slot for Flathead Lake lakers simply has to go. It should be illegal to catch and release ANY lake trout. I agree with the tribes on that. And so does just about everyone else in the Valley ... except the charter boat operators. Another case of stupid management decisions to serve commercial interests instead of the resourse.

 

[sapperJ24]

Are bull trout still legal in Swan Lake? I seem to recall they had a good population there.

Yup, good catch.

Bull Trout: Hungry Horse Reservoir, Lake Koocanusa and part of the South Fork Flathead River are open for a regulated and experimental Bull Trout angling season. When fishing for Bull Trout each angler must have in possession a valid Bull Trout Catch Card for the specific water he/she is fishing. Anglers may select only one of the following areas: A) Lake Koocanusa, or B) Hungry Horse Reservoir and South Fork Flathead River. Swan Lake is open to angling for Bull Trout without a special permit but no harvest is allowed. All other waters are closed to intentional angling for Bull Trout year around.

 

[Sytes]

great waiting and bucks.

Auto phone correction flub...
"...great wapiti and bucks."

 

[Tomahawk]

Kalispell is great... for those who can’t hack it in Billings.

Looking forward to seeing your spring turkey photos.

 

[pabearhunter]

Welcome aboard.

 

[ntodwild]

Welcome aboard.

 

[Don Fischer]

Where are you in Flathead Valley? I was stationed in Lakeside from 1970 to 1973. Found lot's of grouse up past the base, Air Force station. Grouse was pretty much all I hunted for birds except ducks over toward Big Fork. I was up there for a couple days maybe 20 yrs ago and didn't care for the changes. Loved it back in the early 70's though!

 

[Pups]

Kalispell is great... for those who can’t hack it in Billings.

Looking forward to seeing your spring turkey photos.

There he is!

 

[Pups]

Where are you in Flathead Valley? I was stationed in Lakeside from 1970 to 1973. Found lot's of grouse up past the base, Air Force station. Grouse was pretty much all I hunted for birds except ducks over toward Big Fork. I was up there for a couple days maybe 20 yrs ago and didn't care for the changes. Loved it back in the early 70's though!

Technically Whitefish (Happy Valley if you’re familiar with the area). If you didn’t like the changes 20 years ago, you’d really be shocked now...it’s changing quickly, like most nice places. I suppose I’m contributing to the problem...

 

[Pups]

Auto phone correction flub...
"...great wapiti and bucks."

I’ll be sure to publish a detailed report with GPS coordinates before the season! Standby.

 

[Don Fischer]

Technically Whitefish (Happy Valley if you’re familiar with the area). If you didn’t like the changes 20 years ago, you’d really be shocked now...it’s changing quickly, like most nice places. I suppose I’m contributing to the problem...

Best knife I ever owned was made in Whitefish, Track Knife! Designed it myself and they actually made a production knife out of the design for Smith Wesson years ago. The S&W version had pretty plain grips and mine had a Rosewood grip with brass butt on it. My son has that knife now. Can't remember the guy's name that owned it but his partner made the knife and shortly after that went to Nashville to write country music. He was a friend of Chris Kristofferson. I have a lot of good memory's up there.

Trip up to Polebridge used to really be a nice trip. Old store there we used to get slice's of Rat Cheese, stuff was great. Last trip up it was awfully civilized and old store replaced and no more Rat Cheese! Still a nice trip up though, Follows the Flathead River up there.

Little lake just west of Kallispell a ways, Foy's Lake. Used to catch really nice trout in it. Got those small marshmallow's and turned over rocks along the bank for what we called itchy bugs Put on a marshmallow then a bug on top of that and the marshmallow floated the bug up out of the grass and murdered the trout. Nice size trout too!

 

[theat]

Welcome!

Despite what was posted above there is still some pretty good Kokanee snagging in NW Montana. I went for the first time this past fall and between two of us, we were able to fill both our limits in about 2 hours without the right kind of tackle or any idea about what we were doing.




As an aside, and not directed at you by any means, I was very disappointed in my fellow Montana fishermen. There was a disgusting amount of garbage at each popular snagging location as well as an incredible amount of broke off snagging hooks in the water. Despite the cold and rainy October weather, I decided to go back a couple days later with my wetsuit and mask and try to clean out as much of the underwater garbage and hooks as I safely could. I ended up with over 200 snagging hooks and a full size garbage bag of garbage out of the river, not counting the two bags we filled up with onshore garbage from the previous trip. There were hundreds more hooks and line that I saw while down there, but I didn't feel safe sticking my arm down into holes in the rocks that were filled with a snarl of dozens of hooks and line while free diving.