Dale's fishing report
July 31st - I'll be heading north to Alaska so I'll be out of touch for most of August. I'll be back and will pick up with the fall bite starting about the 1st part of September.
Have a great summer -- at least what is left of it.
July 27th, 2010
Fished Canyon Ferry - bite was slow. A few fish were caught pitching a jig with a berkley gulp minnow. Most fish were caught in the 19-22 foot on smile blades and crawlers behind a bottom bouncer mid lake. Orange tiger with a orange/black float and crawler on a slow death hook got the most.
I think most of the better fish are still shallow, but we weren't able to find any and had to settle for several small fish.
Overall, reports I have heard have been great for Fort Peck, Fresno has been fair and I have also heard some good reports on Francis. But then I also had heard good reports on Holter and Canyon Ferry -- so it seems to vary a lot by day. If you wait till you hear the bite is good, and you get there, you will probably hear, "you should have been here yesterday". All of the systems should be producing fairly well especially if you can get out early in the morning before it gets too hot or maybe for the evening bite.
Fish aggessively and cover a lot of water until you locate some fish -- I'd pull cranks or spinners or jig some old memories, but sometimes fishing memories is a mistake. We have higher water at Tiber, Fresno, than normal for this time of the year which is great.
July 20th, 2010 -- Fresno
Fishing was fair -- we caught several nice eating size fish, mostly on jigs with Berkley Gulp tipped with a piece of night crawler. A little breeze helps to get the fish going -- it seemed like the bite had slowed down some from what it had been.
July 18th, 2010
Fished Canyon Ferry -- bite was slow for me. We caught a few small fish.
July 17th, 2010
Holter bite - fair. Bite was fair, we caught 25-30 walleye but most were small fish. We caught a few on jigs but most came on bottom bouncers with Mack's smile blades and crawlers -- about 13-14 foot.
Weekend of July 4th, 2010
We ended up with about 25 nice eating size walleyes -- overall 15-20" on the average. Most were caught pitching 1/8 oz. Perfection Jigs and a 3" Berkley Powerbait RippleShad in the smelt and new penny colors -- in fairly shallow water.
Overall, reports I have gotten have been fairly good for most of the systems in the area. With the weather settling down and the runoff dropping the flows, we should see a few weeks of some pretty good fishing about anywhere you want to go.
June 29th, 2010
I was doing "tech support" for Lowrance at the Canyon Ferry Walleye Festival this past weekend. Some really nice fish were caught, but overall, the bite was slow. Statistics from the tournament for the fish that were caught and recorded that were over the 14" minimum lenght required by the tournament rules -- A total of 642 fish were caught.
532 of the fish caught and recorded were less than 16” or 82.8% of the total that were caught in what would have appeared to be fairly ideal fishing conditions.36 fish were caught and recorded that were over 20” or 5.61% There were 74 fish caught that were 16"-20” – which is what I would consider being a decent eating size fish. If you do the math, for 150 teams, 2 people per team fishing for 2 days at 8 hours per day, that is 4800 man hours of fishing which means for every 64.86 hours a person fishes Canyon Ferry you might be able to catch a 16-20” fish. Or if you look at the total, 7.47 hours per a fish that would be 14” or better.
Frankly this is hardly worth a trip down there to fish unless all you are after is a potential wall hanger. I know of several of those that were kept this past week, which is kind of a shame, since there is not much recruitment of fish that are coming up in the system to replace them. This simply reinforces the thought that we need a new management plan and strategy for Canyon Ferry.
Week of June 14-June 22, 2010
I spent the week at Hell Creek on Fort Peck. Fishing was good the first couple of days with almost all my fish coming on the Berkley PowerBait RippleShad in a smelt color - snap jigging. My 3rd bite and fish within the first half hour of fishing was a very nice 31 1/2 " walleye.
The area had a lot of rain -- almost 6" and the country looks great, but it slowed the bite down for a bit. But I got somewheres between 35-40 fish on Tuesday before I left. All of those fish came from shallower water on Mack's Lure smile blades behind bottom bouncers.
There are good weeds growing in the 14-16' range with fish on the inside and outside edges of the weeds, but with water warming up and the lake coming up 3-4 inches a day, fish will be moving into the shallower water.
Week of June 3-June 13th, 2010
I spent at Tiber. The bite was very slow overall. The fish I caught were nice 18"-22" but not very many. The system has a lot of forage all over the system and the water temps were colder than normal for this time of the year. With the weather settling down and the water warming up the bite should be picking up over the next couple of weeks.
The water was below normal for this time of the year but coming up. Conditions weren't ideal, with the runoff bringing in lots of mud up the Willow Creek arm and above the Bootlegger. Most fish were caught during the tournament in the clearer water -- not much seemed to be happening up in the mud.
May 31, 2010
Check out the new BakFlip F1 Tonneau Cover
It is a hard folding tonneau cover for your pickup truck. It appears to help reduce the wind drag when traveling and helps on my mileage. It also keeps things from blowing out of the truck on the highway. Yet, when I hook up my fifth wheel camper, I don't have to remove it, I just fold it back and then when I get to the lake and set up the camper, I can use it again to help protect the things I would put in the bed of the truck, like the boat cover when I head out fishing, etc. The top is insulated and made of fiberglass and aluminum on the F1 cover which helps to keep coolers out of the sun and a lot cooler. For me, this is the perfect set up. Stop by and take a look at it when you see me at the lake or give me a call if you have any questions.
We will be doing demos on Thursday evening June 10th at Tiber and Thursday evening June 24th at Canyon Ferry. See the new 2075 Pro V IFS Lund, 300 hp Mercury Verado, Minn Kota I-Pilot, Lowrance HDS units and my tonneau cover.
See pictures at bottom of this page.
Dale Gilbert
May 31, 2010
Lowrance Tech Support and Demo's
I will be doing "tech support" for Lowrance and also doing demo's at Tiber Reservoir by Chester the week of June 6th till the Tiber Tournament. I will be staying at the Marina in campsite # 7 -- if you have any issues with your Lowrance, questions, or need an update just stop by and see me and I'll do the best I can to help you out.
May 30, 2010
Fresno walleye fishing has slowed down with the recent weather pattern. Mid May fishing was pretty fair with good numbers of nice eating size fish -- from 2' to 20' of water. With things warming up a lot of fish were moving up for a great shallow water jig bite, but the weather has put a bit of a damper on it. Water temps got into high 60's on May 19, but as of a couple of days ago was down to the lower 50's. The lake is as full as it can get.
We did get a nice 28 1/4" walleye on Thursday last week in about 13' of water on a small Mack's Lure smile blade and a crawler. Also been catching a few pretty nice crappie with jigs tipped with a Gulp Alive minnow. Last week, fishing a little deeper and covering some water was working better than pitching jigs to shore -- which had been doing fairly well a week earlier.
I have moved over to Tiber and will be fishing up there in the next week or so, once things dry out a bit. Tiber is low compared to normal water levels for this time of the year. Maybe the recent rain will help?
What's New for 2010?
The new StructureScan from Lowrance is a new plug and play module that works with any HDS unit with the latest software update. It is truly amazing. The level of detail and the "downscan" image it offers is very impressive.
In addition, Navioinics has released High Definition maps for Canyon Ferry and a good part of Fort Peck. These HD contour maps are available in Scheels, Big R, Townsend Marine and Snappy's. The HotMaps Premium West sells for about $150. They also offer a HotMaps Platinum West that sells for about $200 but it is a very large chip and it will not work in any of the older Lowrance units, but it will work in all Lowrance HDS units.
Minn Kota released a new "i-Pilot" which is a wireless GPS trolling motor gizmo that replaces the "AutoPilot" and/or co-pilot. It has a GPS built into the unit so it can do much more than the old AutoPilots were capable of doing. It is easy to install and replaces the AutoPilot on Terrova, Riptide ST, Riptide SP, and Powerdrive V2 motors.
With the new "i-Pilot" you can set the motor on cruise control and follow a previously saved track or plot trail for up to 2 miles -- it is amazing. You can save up to 3 trails.
You can also set it on "spot lock" to have it keep you within about 5 feet of the spot you set.
Bottom line, if you want to have more fun fishing, catching more fish -- these things will give you an edge and are worth looking at.
If you have a question, send me an email and I'll help you out if I can.
November 7th, 2009
Fished the Missouri River at Loma today -- water has cleared up some with visibility about 6". Nice day to be out, but fishing was slow.
Something you might want to try - is piggy backing a Rippleshad over a Gulp Alive Minnow. You get the best of both, because of the paddle tail action of the Rippleshad as well as the smell and taste of the Gulp -- Actually have caught several pretty nice fish with this over the last couple of trips.
November 4th, 2009
Egads, a little slow on my updates this fall.
Fishing has been pretty fair in general.
Lake Francis by Valier, has been pretty good this fall -- average fish is about 3# or so. I have been trolling crankbaits and getting scattered fish -- fairly typical to what it has been in past years. Did have to break some ice to get out a few weeks ago after our cold spell. Only access is on the east end channel with no dock. Water had dropped to 39 - 41 degrees. Lots of floating weeds and the water has gotten real dirty from the heavy winds over the past week.
Missouri River - has been pretty fair. Pay attention to the wind -- because as of Monday, visibility at Loma was only about 3 inches -- the muddy Missouri for sure and I am guessing it was because of the heavy winds we had the last several days prior to that. Moss is still there but a lot less than it has been.
With a little warm spell and a little less wind, I'd expect fishing to be pretty good -- anywhere you can get to. Last fall about mid November, Nelson Reservoir by Malta was great.
I have heard good reports on several other systems as well -- my fish have come on the Perfection Jigs with Gulp minnows or RippleShad tails or the Flicker Shad crankbaits.
Most folks are out hunting, but the fishing is great this time of the year - if you get a nice day weatherwise, I'd rather spend it in my boat.
PS. I have my 2025 Pro V iFS for sale -- give me a call if you are interested.
September 9, 2009
Labor Day weekend -- Tiber bite -- generally pretty slow this past weekend. We did keep 10 nice fish on Saturday from 15 1/2 to 20" -- a very nice bunch of good eaters, yet most of what I heard was a pretty slow bite.
We caught fish in less than 10 foot of water. Water temp was around 67 degrees in the Willow Creek arm.
I looked for deeper fish with my Lowrance, but did not find fish where I thought I should. I think the higher lake level -- it is maybe only about 2 foot or so lower than it was in July which is great, has created a different scenario than most years for this time of the year. I saw a lot of baitfish in lots of places which is probably why the bite was slower, along with a full moon, which I believe doesn't help the daytime bite.
My best bait was the Berkley Powerbait Ripple Shad in the new penny color with a red/black Perfection jig.
August 23, 2009
Sorry, for the last month or so, I have been in Alaska fishing for halibut and salmon. I am back and looking forward to the fall walleye bite which isn't too far off. The Alaska trip was incredible -- we had great fishing for both halibut and salmon. Lots of fish and some very big fish -- along with some incredible scenery.
I'll get out for a little walleye fishing in the next week or so -- so look forward to some more current reports.
June 28, 2009
Hell Creek on Fort Peck Lake -- was excellent. A lot of small fish, but everyday at least one really nice fish. Biggest numbers of fish was west out of Hell Creek and up towards Timber Creek, but also caught nice fish in Sutherland and Snow Creek. Most fish were 8-12 feet, some shallower and some out to about 15' or 16' on outside of weed edges.
Perfection jigs tipped with either a Berkley Ripple Shad or a Gulp Alive minnow and a piece of crawler. The Ripple Shad in the New Penny color got the two biggest -- one at 29" and one at 31". The Ripple Shad is a new Berkley swim bait - powerbait. It comes in 3" and 4" sizes and seems to really trigger the fish when snap jigging.
We also caught a lot of fish one day trolling bottom bouncers and Mack's "smile blades" with crawlers. My daughter caught a 28" on an orange tiger Wally Pop and crawler.
Water was low 60's, but is warming up with the warm days. Water level was around 2219 feet. Still down from normal, but it has created a great fishery with lots of flooded weeds that provide cover for the baitfish and the weeds are holding a lot of fish, shallower than the past several years which is my kind of fishing.
June 21, 2009
Since my last report I have spent several days on Tiber, Canyon Ferry, and yesterday at Holter.
Tiber was OK, the bite slowed a little for me but still caught some nice fish on jigs and gulp minnows and Berkley Flicker shads and Rapala Shad Raps. Biggest fish came on crankbaits the last two days out. The lake should be about full and once the fish acclimate to the changes, fishing should be excellent. Almost all of the fish I caught were shallow -- less than 8 feet deep
Canyon Ferry was typical - a lot of small fish. Most of the fish came on crankbaits off planer boards in less than 8 foot of water. One out of 5 or 6 might go between 14-16", but most are very small but in good shape. We just need to see those smaller ones getting a chance to grow up a little and it would be great.
The new HDS Lowrance Insight map on Canyon Ferry is very nice.
I fished Holter on Saturday -- a good number of small fish -- nothing was over 14". Water temp at the Gates was 54 degrees when I left -- the main lake was in the low 60's so I think the better fish are down the lake in the warmer water. We tried one of the new Berkley Ripple Shad swim baits in a Firetiger color -- wow did it get the bites.
I also used the new Navionics 2009 chip which had updates and corrections on Holter -- it is a very significant improvement over the 2008 chip and probably worth updating if you fish Holter a lot.
For a limited time only, get your Navionics charts for iPhone from just $4.99!
June 9, 2009
Fishing is picking up -- at least it was before this weekends snow and rain.
Holter has started to put out some nice fish -- still a lot of small ones, but some areas are holding some nicer fish.
Tiber also was good last Friday. Nice eating size fish with biggest about 20". Water level is coming up 3-4 inches per day. The west end of the Marias is a muddy mess -- too dirty for me. Conditions weren't bad from the Bootlegger east. Miller's Slough has nice water and weeds topping out at about 10 1/2 foot which is a classic set up for trolling, however, all of my fish on Friday were shallow on jigs and a Berkley Gulp minnow in the Willow Creek arm.
Other reports on Fresno, and Francis have been pretty good too for some.
Hell Creek on Fort Peck was about the best reports I heard this past week.
With the weather settling down this week, fishing should be good in the area -- but you will have to cover a lot of water to find the area that is holding some numbers of fish.
June 2, 2009
Amazing how time flies. I have been to Canyon Ferry, Holter and Tiber since the last update.
Canyon Ferry still a little slow. Lot of spring runoff coming into the system making the south end a muddy mess. Caught 6 with biggest about 22" pulling cranks a week ago Saturday.
Holter has started to pick up some -- lots of smaller fish but an occasional nicer fish to keep it interesting.
Was at Tiber Saturday and Sunday -- bite is picking up. Sunday we got 16 -- several of them nice eaters with the biggest about 18-19". Most of them came from fairly shallow water on jigs with Berkley Gulp minnows sometimes tipped with a one inch piece of crawler.
For a limited time only, get your Navionics charts for iPhone from just $4.99!
Take a look at the HotMaps Premium High Definition Map of Holter Reservoir (see picture at bottom of report) This is awesome. Check out the Navionics website at www.Navionics.com.
May 21, 2009
Fresno bite has picked up. The lake is 100% full at 2575'. Water inflows are about 100 cfs above outflows so it is still coming up a little -- but probably stablizing. The water was 52-58 degrees so it has warmed up. The bite was pretty good yesterday, with about 35 fish -- but they were mostly small. A lot of 13-14" fish which is a good sign, biggest we caught was only about 16" -- but that is a nice eating size fish.
We did not do well on the shallow jig bite -- but caught most of the fish from 8-12' of water with a "slow death rig".
We also did fair on crankbaits -- Rapala Jointed Shad Raps - caught the most.
Will be heading to try Canyon Ferry for a few days --
Good Luck, see you on the water.
PS. Lowrance has new update out for HDS units so they can read the Navionics maps. However, for those with the Insight maps from Lowrance -- they are great on Tiber, Fresno, & Canyon Ferry.
May 12, 2009
Conditions were good at Fresno this weekend, water temperature was 48-56 degrees. Water clarity was actually pretty good too -- apparently cleared some over the past week even though the Milk river has doubled the flows coming in.
A few nice fish were being caught, although the numbers were not what I would have expected for this time of the year.
The lake is about full so there is a lot of flooded vegetation/willows, etc. along shore.
For me, the bite was slow. I caught fish on jigs and gulp minnows, on jigs and 1/2 crawlers, small spin and glows, smile blades and crankbaits.
Some smaller males are still milking but I think the spawn is about done. I think the post spawn fish need a few days of recuperation and then it will get really good. I would expect to see the bite improve with a few nice warms days.
The Fresno Walleye Challenge is this coming weekend so there will be a lot of good anglers out -- good luck to all of them.
May 5, 2009
This has been an interesting spring to say the least. Great Falls had 25.4 inches of snow last week that put a little damper on my fishing plans. Most of the snow has melted off around the area, but it has caused some run off that has made most of the rivers a mess. I had planned to spend some time at the Fred Robinson bridge but have given up on that for now. I had planned to spend some time this week at Fresno, but what I have heard is that it also is a mess -- with muddy water from one end to the other. I checked the flows on the Milk River at the eastern crossing into the US and see that it has dropped and is actually below normal, that should be a good thing for Fresno water conditions.
Caught a couple of trout yesterday morning at Holter before the wind and rainshowers chased us off.
Fish should be about done with spawning and now I'll be looking for post spawn fish. With water warming up -- we should see some of those fish up in the shallower water which should make for some good fishing.
Tip of the week: Pitch 1/16 to 1/8 ounce jigs with a Berkley Gulp Alive minnow or 1/2 a crawler to shore and work it back -- vary your action till you find what the fish like. Or slow troll a spinner or slow death rig on planor boards in 5-6 foot of water.
That's all for know. Check out the walleye that Bob Kraeger caught last spring near the Fred. -- Dale
