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The special drawing results for deer, elk, bison and antelope should be available this coming week (July 15) from Montana FWP. Be sure to check the FWP website to see if you get drawn for any limited entry hunts.
Good luck in the draw and let us know if you were successful in drawing a permit. I know I'm crossing my fingers to see where I'll be hunting this fall!
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Details For Wolf Hunt
The Montana wildlife commission voted Wednesday to allow the hunting of 75 wolves in the state or about 15 percent of the Montana population. The hunt is scheduled to begin in mid September. However, legal challenges are almost certain to try to block the hunts. Montana's top wolf biologist Carolyn Sime said, "We're signaling our commitment to being responsible wildlife managers."
Hopefully we'll see this hunt happen sometime this year. As most hunters have seen, unchecked populations of wolves will bring down populations of deer, elk and other game animals. If only the animal right's groups would look at the overall impact the wolves are having on the Eco-system, I think they would agree that we need to manage all game species.
Hopefully we'll see this hunt happen sometime this year. As most hunters have seen, unchecked populations of wolves will bring down populations of deer, elk and other game animals. If only the animal right's groups would look at the overall impact the wolves are having on the Eco-system, I think they would agree that we need to manage all game species.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
35 INCH Big Hole Monster Brown Caught by Area Angler
WOW WHAT A FISH....Gotta Read this story too.
Story By Justin Post
of The Montana Standard
Bob Kingston and Gary Keeler of Butte bought their first raft as teenagers and have been floating the Big Hole River ever since.
Now in their mid-50s, the longtime fishing buddies have their best fishing story yet.
On Friday evening, Kingston caught what appears to be the elusive, monster brown trout that has been the talk of many area anglers in recent years.
The beast measured 35 inches and made its way to the raft cooler following a roughly 30-minute battle between man and fish, said Kingston, who is having the trout mounted. The fish weighed slightly over 20 pounds after it was wrapped in a damp towel in preparation for the taxidermist.
“He just kept going wherever he wanted,” he said of the fight.
Kingston caught the fish with a five-weight fly rod rigged with eight-pound leader and two stonefly nymphs above Mallon’s, west of Wise River, after launching from East Bank.
“I was just throwing my fly right by the bank and it gobbled it up,” he said.
Keeler rowed the boat to shore and remembers Kingston saying he might never land the fish.
“It was a big log,” Keeler said. “We’ve never seen one like that.”
A survey crew with the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks caught a similar fish while electro fishing in the same area of the 153-mile river in the fall of 2007, said Jim Magee, a fisheries biologist with the agency.
The crew snapped a photograph at the time of a surveyor mugging with the lunker, and the photograph soon was being circulated among anglers who hungered to have the fish on the end of their line.
“The size is so much different than what we normally see,” said Magee, a 15-year employee with FWP. “That was an anomaly. That was a big fish.”
Markings on Kingston’s fish are similar to the one caught and released during the 2007 FWP survey, which means Kingston — a 55-year-old optician at Big Sky Optical in Butte — may have landed the much-discussed fish.
“That’s the trout of a lifetime,” said Bob LeFever at Fran Johnson’s Sporting Goods in Butte.
Longtime fisheries biologist Dick Oswald remembers two brutes he surveyed while electro fishing the Big Hole in the late 1980s.
He never heard of an angler claiming to have caught either one of those fish, which included a 20.5-pound trout nicknamed “Big Mamma” that lived in a deep pool above Melrose, and an 18-pound trout dubbed the “Hogback Hog” below Glen.
Oswald said those fish lived over 10 years and presumed that Kingston’s fish could have been around the same age.
To reach those portly sizes, Oswald said the big browns eat other fish while also having “unique genetics” that allows them to focus on gobbling fish rather than slurping caddis and mayflies from the surface like an average brown that would likely reach a maximum length of 19.5 inches.
“These things have to be freaks,” he said. “Those fish are exceptions in many ways.” Kingston, who has snagged big steelhead on Idaho’s Clearwater River, agreed he may have caught the fish of a lifetime when it comes to fly fishing the Big Hole River.
“I’ll probably never catch one that big again in my life,” he said.
The state’s record brown trout weighed 29 pounds; it was caught in 1966 at Wade Lake.
of The Montana Standard
Bob Kingston and Gary Keeler of Butte bought their first raft as teenagers and have been floating the Big Hole River ever since.
Now in their mid-50s, the longtime fishing buddies have their best fishing story yet.
On Friday evening, Kingston caught what appears to be the elusive, monster brown trout that has been the talk of many area anglers in recent years.
The beast measured 35 inches and made its way to the raft cooler following a roughly 30-minute battle between man and fish, said Kingston, who is having the trout mounted. The fish weighed slightly over 20 pounds after it was wrapped in a damp towel in preparation for the taxidermist.
“He just kept going wherever he wanted,” he said of the fight.
Kingston caught the fish with a five-weight fly rod rigged with eight-pound leader and two stonefly nymphs above Mallon’s, west of Wise River, after launching from East Bank.
“I was just throwing my fly right by the bank and it gobbled it up,” he said.
Keeler rowed the boat to shore and remembers Kingston saying he might never land the fish.
“It was a big log,” Keeler said. “We’ve never seen one like that.”
A survey crew with the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks caught a similar fish while electro fishing in the same area of the 153-mile river in the fall of 2007, said Jim Magee, a fisheries biologist with the agency.
The crew snapped a photograph at the time of a surveyor mugging with the lunker, and the photograph soon was being circulated among anglers who hungered to have the fish on the end of their line.
“The size is so much different than what we normally see,” said Magee, a 15-year employee with FWP. “That was an anomaly. That was a big fish.”
Markings on Kingston’s fish are similar to the one caught and released during the 2007 FWP survey, which means Kingston — a 55-year-old optician at Big Sky Optical in Butte — may have landed the much-discussed fish.
“That’s the trout of a lifetime,” said Bob LeFever at Fran Johnson’s Sporting Goods in Butte.
Longtime fisheries biologist Dick Oswald remembers two brutes he surveyed while electro fishing the Big Hole in the late 1980s.
He never heard of an angler claiming to have caught either one of those fish, which included a 20.5-pound trout nicknamed “Big Mamma” that lived in a deep pool above Melrose, and an 18-pound trout dubbed the “Hogback Hog” below Glen.
Oswald said those fish lived over 10 years and presumed that Kingston’s fish could have been around the same age.
To reach those portly sizes, Oswald said the big browns eat other fish while also having “unique genetics” that allows them to focus on gobbling fish rather than slurping caddis and mayflies from the surface like an average brown that would likely reach a maximum length of 19.5 inches.
“These things have to be freaks,” he said. “Those fish are exceptions in many ways.” Kingston, who has snagged big steelhead on Idaho’s Clearwater River, agreed he may have caught the fish of a lifetime when it comes to fly fishing the Big Hole River.
“I’ll probably never catch one that big again in my life,” he said.
The state’s record brown trout weighed 29 pounds; it was caught in 1966 at Wade Lake.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Drawing for Sheep, Goat and Moose Available
The drawing for sheep, goat and moose are now available on the FWP website. I did not draw. Maybe you'll be luckier than I was. Well you still have an opportunity in the supertag drawings.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Carping Good Time
The Montana Bowhunters annual carp shoot was a big hit with the winning team collecting 162 carp. Man that's a ton of carp. Also think about how many times you have to shoot to come up with that many fish!I took my canoe and and an electric trolling motor to cruise some of the back bays in search of the elusive carp. I tell you I must have shot at least 100 times. FINALLY, thanks to some help from a bowhunter in Anaconda, I learned to shoot shoot 1 foot to 1 and a half feet below the fish! I shot 3 of them slimy buggers and I earned every one of them. THANK YOU DAVE!
If you're going to shoot carp here's what I would recommend:
- Use a recurve You will acutally get more shots with this set-up and shooting a tab or glove
- Lighten up If you end up using a compound lighten the poundage on the bow. You certainly don't need to be cranking out 300 plus feet per second shoot at angle into the lake bottom. Not unless you enjoy having your arrow stuck in the mud and trying to wrangle it out.
- Give up the Sites The sites on your bow are pretty much useless trying to look through a peep with the glare of the water is very difficult. So bag the sites and shoot instinctively.
- Pair up with a Buddy You can take turns on spotting fish gives you a break from time to time
- Join Montana Bowhunters It's a fun group of people that enjoy shooting and getting out to the field!
Friday, June 12, 2009
Salmon Flies are Here
Salmon Flies have been spotted on the Lower Madison and rumors are running amoung the tight lipped crowd on the Big Hole that these big bugs have arrived there as well. We'll of course confirm this later this weekend or on Monday! Good fishing.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Tongue River Reservoir Fishing Day 3
It rained hard all night. It looks like it's starting to snow. Temps dropped down to 35 degrees. Definitely put the bite down. I decided to head out and not fish in the snow and sleet.
I checked out the Tongue River Reservoir Marina. It has just about everything you can think of for a well equipped convenience store. It also has minnows, night crawlers, and leeches for sale. They rent pontoon boats too. They also have a varitey of lures, hooks, and assorted fishing gear.
The state did a great job of creating this campground lots of spots including 40 with electrical. If you are looking for more remote camping go below the dam. The spots there are by the river and there aren't as many people around. There was only one camp trailer parked below the dam.
I checked out the Tongue River Reservoir Marina. It has just about everything you can think of for a well equipped convenience store. It also has minnows, night crawlers, and leeches for sale. They rent pontoon boats too. They also have a varitey of lures, hooks, and assorted fishing gear.
The state did a great job of creating this campground lots of spots including 40 with electrical. If you are looking for more remote camping go below the dam. The spots there are by the river and there aren't as many people around. There was only one camp trailer parked below the dam.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Tongue River Reservoir Fishing Day 2
Woke up last night to a constant rain. The tent campers decided to call it quits. I can't imagine that they got away without getting wet. The water must have come up 4 inches last night. Wow.
I fished today below the dam with my fly rod just to check it out. I only managed to catch 1 walleye. I came back up to the lake and grabbed my bow to shoot some carp in the back bays. I rigged everything up and found a great back bay loaded with carp. You can simply wade into the shallows and shoot them from the shore or in 1-2 feet of water. On my first shot my arrow hit something and broke the nock off. Urrrgh. So my bow fishing is over for the day.
I did fish the lake later that evening. I caught 3 crappie, 2 small mouth bass, 2 sunfish. The bite was very slow! Windy today too.
I fished today below the dam with my fly rod just to check it out. I only managed to catch 1 walleye. I came back up to the lake and grabbed my bow to shoot some carp in the back bays. I rigged everything up and found a great back bay loaded with carp. You can simply wade into the shallows and shoot them from the shore or in 1-2 feet of water. On my first shot my arrow hit something and broke the nock off. Urrrgh. So my bow fishing is over for the day.
I did fish the lake later that evening. I caught 3 crappie, 2 small mouth bass, 2 sunfish. The bite was very slow! Windy today too.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Tongue River Reservoir Fishing Day 1
This is the first time I fished the Tongue River Reservoir. What a fishery! I caught 10 fish from the bank the first time I had fished this place. I caught 4 Crappie, 3 Sunfish, 2 Bullheads, and 1 Walleye. The water is very high and fishing from the bank is challenging as there isn't really a flat spot where the water meets the land.
Due to heavy rains the water is coming in very fast here and going out very slow. I think someone told me that over 4,000 cfs is coming in every day and they are letting about 400 cfs out of the reservoir. So conditions the conditions you'll find at the lake will be high water with the back bays flooded and high.
The bite for crappie is slow. Due to the recent colder weather the water temps are going down not up. Bummer.
Due to heavy rains the water is coming in very fast here and going out very slow. I think someone told me that over 4,000 cfs is coming in every day and they are letting about 400 cfs out of the reservoir. So conditions the conditions you'll find at the lake will be high water with the back bays flooded and high.
The bite for crappie is slow. Due to the recent colder weather the water temps are going down not up. Bummer.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
The Lakes Are Fishing Hot
Many higher mountain lakes are beginning to lose their ice and the fishing on them is very, very good. On Sunday I fished Hyalite Lake above Bozeman. I caught 7 cutthroats and 1 grayling.
The grayling that I caught was 18 inches long and I couldn't get both my hands around the girth. It was a great fish unfortunately I didn't have my camera. Bummer!
All the cuts were about the same size from 15-17 inches. They were biting below the surface on some soft hackles and san juan worms.
So look around at some lakes in your area and get out and it em!
The grayling that I caught was 18 inches long and I couldn't get both my hands around the girth. It was a great fish unfortunately I didn't have my camera. Bummer!
All the cuts were about the same size from 15-17 inches. They were biting below the surface on some soft hackles and san juan worms.
So look around at some lakes in your area and get out and it em!
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