While fishing with cut bait recently in Berrien County, Michigan, an angler from Hobart, Indiana, caught a new state-record fish: a flathead catfish weighing in at 53.35 pounds and measuring 48 inches!
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What is the best time to fish Flathead Lake?
Early morning hours are generally the best. River Mouth Delta: April, May, July, August. Main Lake: February, March, July, August, October, November. Popular spots are Woods Bay, Gravel Bay, Finley Point, the Narrows, Big Arm Bay, Wildhorse Island, and Peaceful Bay.
Is Flathead Lake good fishing?
The lake itself offers excellent fishing, but not necessarily for fly fishing. The fish species in the lake consist primarily of lake trout, pike, yellow perch and whitefish, with some rainbow trout, bass, kokanee salmon and bull trout also found.
What kind of fish can you catch in Flathead Lake?
In addition to lake trout, these native fish can be found in Flathead Lake: bull trout, Westslope cutthroat trout, mountain whitefish, pygmy whitefish, largescale sucker, northern pikeminnow, peamouth chub, redside shiner, slimy sculpin, and longnose dace.
How many lake trout are in Flathead Lake?
Today, an estimated 1.6 million lake trout live in Flathead; more have since migrated and colonized most of the watershed.
What is the best bait for lake trout?
Live bait is generally the most consistently effective way to fish for lake trout. Minnows are usually the best option. Other good live bait options are nightcrawlers, salmon eggs, or anything similar to their native prey. One of the best artificial options for deepwater trout is a big bucktail jig.
Where is the best fishing in Montana?
- Beaverhead River. Beaverhead River is one of Montana’s good fishing spots.
- Yellowstone River. The Yellowstone River teems with a huge trout population.
- Big Hole River.
- Hebgen Lake.
- Missouri River.
- Madison River.
- Hyalite Reservoir.
- Bighorn River.
Are there sturgeon in Flathead Lake?
For although wildlife officials insist there is no evidence of sturgeon in Flathead Lake, that has not quashed the legend of Flathead’s monster for a great many individuals who have spotted unexplained phenomena both before and after the fateful night in 1955 on which Griffith landed his monstrous fish.
Are there walleye in Flathead Lake?
The only walleye in the Flathead are small pockets of fish illegally introduced to area lakes. But despite the fact there may never be state-promoted walleye fishing on the west side of the Continental Divide, the species seems to be growing in popularity.
Do you need a tribal permit to fish Flathead Lake?
Flathead Reservation Boundary The south half of Flathead Lake is within the Flathead Indian Reservation, and a Flathead Reservation Combined Use/ Fishing Permit or a Reservation Use Permit with a bird- hunting stamp are required when fishing or waterfowl hunting on the south half of Flathead Lake.
What happened to the salmon in Flathead Lake?
It seemed like a good idea at the time: Plant freshwater shrimp as a new food source for popular landlocked kokanee salmon. But the salmon are gone from Flathead Lake now; the shrimp project disrupted the lake’s food chain in ways unimagined.
How do you catch trout in Flathead Lake?
What is the deepest lake in Montana?
Tally Lake near Whitefish is the deepest natural lake in Montana at 492 feet (150m). The mountains and valleys of the watershed also are scattered with numerous tarns (small alpine lakes).
How many bull trout are in Flathead Lake?
Scientists estimate there are fewer than 3,000 adult bull trout in the lake and in the North and Middle Forks Flathead River, and about 500,000 lake trout 14 inches-or-larger, in the lake only, from a total population of about 1.8 million fish.
Is Flathead Lake the clearest water on earth?
THE ANSWER No, Flathead Lake does not have the clearest water of any lake on Earth. Its water isn’t even the clearest among American lakes.
How old is a 36 inch lake trout?
Cory Goldsworthy, Lake Superior area fisheries supervisor for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, said it’s hard to estimate the age of Gotchie’s big lake trout without taking a fin out of it. Trout over 36-inches long caught and aged by researchers in the past have varied from 15 to 30 years old, he said.
What time of day is best for trout fishing?
The best time of day to catch trout is early morning from dawn until 2 hours after sunrise and the second-best time of day is late afternoon from 3 hours prior to sunset until dusk.
What depth do trout feed at?
With a depth finder, fish your lure/bait between 10 feet and the surface following winter, between 35 and 45 feet deep in mid-spring, between 50 and 65 feet deep in late spring and at the 53 degree thermal layer in the summer.
Which is bigger Flathead Lake or Lake Tahoe?
Flathead Lake is the largest natural freshwater lake in the western US (by surface area) outside of Alaska. Lake Tahoe has more water than Flathead because it is significantly deeper (nearly 1650 ft vs. 380 ft). The Great Salt Lake in Utah is significantly larger than Flathead but is salt, not fresh water.
What is the clearest lake in Montana?
Flathead lake – clearest lake in the world – Montana.
What is the deepest lake in United States?
At 1,943 feet (592 meters), Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the United States and one of the deepest in the world. The depths were first explored thoroughly in 1886 by a party from the U.S. Geological Survey.
What river in Montana has the most fish per mile?
The mighty Missouri River near Craig, MT is without a doubt the finest tailwater fishery in Montana. 5000+ trout per mile, wild trout averaging 17-19 inches, and consistent hatches anglers have to see to believe.
What river in Montana has the biggest trout?
The Yellowstone River is the longest free flowing river in the lower 48 and one of North America’s most productive wild trout fisheries. This large river drains much of Yellowstone National Park and its surrounding wilderness areas.
What is the best time of year to trout fish in Montana?
Fly Fish Montana in Spring The middle of March through April is our spring season, pre-runoff. It’s when we get the first big hatch of the year that really gets the fish looking up. Skwala stoneflies start to hatch in mid-to-late March and last through April, or until runoff begins.
What is the largest sturgeon ever caught?
The largest sturgeon on record was a beluga female captured in the Volga Delta in 1827, measuring 7.2 m (23 ft 7 in) long and weighing 1,571 kg (3,463 lb).