Long winter fishing season predicted
Hey savvy news reader! Thanks for choosing local.
You are now reading
2 of 3 free articles.
Fishermen,
We are on the verge of the winter fishing season, which I expect should last longer than usual because we are beginning another La Niña winter.
I predict one of the best local lakes will be Pablo Reservoir, both because we had an abundance of water last spring so that there was no reason to draw it low for irrigation, and because its perch population has increased from its being drained a few years back. Last year was good; this year should be the year you’ll be able to fill a 5-gallon bucket with jumbo perch.
Lake trout are again pouring into Polson Bay after they’ve spawned, and can be caught along with whitefish around the Armed Forces Memorial Bridge at Polson at night where they’re attracted to the street lights. I caught three medium lake trout and five whitefish; the biggest one was 11 pounds. That’s a good night’s catch on Nov. 13. They can be caught with a variety of jigs and spoons, but over the years, I’ve done consistently the best with two size 8 or 10 dark green or yellow flies baited with maggots above a dark green bottom weight. Using a dark line also seems to be a plus. With this setup, you can expect to catch fish as small as mountain whitefish, medium size macs and lake whitefish, with a possibility of a monster 20-pound laker. If you’re fishing from the bridge, you can crank the fish up, which is hard on reels and has a high percentage of lost fish; or you can walk them to shore which is time-consuming; or you can incorporate a landing device on a rope, which is by far the best approach. Personally, I prefer anchoring and fishing from a boat. I catch many of my fish by dropping the setup as close to the boat as possible, with my rod tip only being 3 inches to a foot beyond the gunwales. I move often and key off the street lights. The best fishing is from the west side.
You can also catch macs from the docks on Salish Point with sausage setups and later if the bay freezes with sausage or whole fish; the whole fish have a light edge over the sausage. This also seems to be the case in East Bay (Ducharme Bay) when it freezes over.
Now is also the height of the mac spawning season, so it’s a good time to catch them to smoke for that added touch to your holiday cuisine
For information concerning lake whitefish in the river above the north end of Flathead Lake, contact the folks at Snappy’s Sports Senter at 406-675-0068.
Give us a call at 406-675-0068, or e-mail us at macman@ronan.net for details. Check out our website at www.zimmertackle.com.
Good fishing,
The Macman
