Water temperatures are getting cooler with weather

By Mark Henckel - 09/03/2008

BILLINGS — The seasons are certainly changing, as witnessed by a Labor Day weekend that felt more like November than September.

Cold, rainy weather washed out most fishing on Sunday and Monday. But the cooling of the waters is already starting to turn fish more toward fall patterns.

Blue-winged olive hatches are showing up on most trout rivers while hot and heavy hopper action will be reserved for the warmer fall days. Look for streamer fishing for trout to get better as water temps continue to cool.

Most reservoir fish remain deep, from 20 feet on down to 45 feet. Cooler water temps in the coming weeks should bring those fish back up to more easily fishable depths.

Here's this week's fishing report: Canyon Ferry Reservoir: Rainbow fishing has been fair off the Silos and White Earth trolling Rapalas 25-35 feet deep. Shore anglers are also catching some rainbows at Magpie in the morning with worms. Walleye fishing has been a little slow, with most action around Snaggy Bay and Hellgate. Trolling Rapalas in 20-30 feet of water seems to be working best.

— Eric Roberts, FWP, Helena.

Flathead Lake: The lack of a big or consistent whitefish bite remains a mystery. Lake trout fishing is steady with good numbers being caught.

— Bob Orsua, MoFisch Charters.

Gallatin River: On cloudy days, some great blue-winged olive hatches are coming off in the valley. Fish are definitely starting to eat pheasant tails, copper johns and copper bead mayfly patterns. Streamer fishing will be better as well as temps drop.

— Kris Kumlien, Montana Troutfitters, Bozeman.

Hauser Reservoir: Rainbow fishing is slow with a few being caught while trolling cowbells 15 to 20 feet deep between Black Sandy and Hauser Dam. Walleye fishing is very good in the Causeway and around York Bridge while using chartreuse or orange jigs tipped with a leech in 10 to 12 feet of water.

— Troy Humphrey, FWP, Helena.

Holter Reservoir: Some nice rainbows are still being caught early morning while trolling cowbells tipped with a crawler. Most rainbow action has been from Split Rock to the Dam in 20 to 30 feet of water. Walleye action is very good throughout the reservoir while using jigs tipped with a worm or leech. The best walleye action has been in 8 to 10 feet of water.

— Troy Humphrey, FWP, Helena.

Helena Valley Regulating Reservoir: The snagging season for Kokanee Salmon opened on Monday, September 1st and will run through October 31st. Limits are 35 salmon daily with 70 in possession.

— Troy Humphrey, FWP, Helena.

Madison River: An equipment failure in Hebgen Dam's intake structure has flows up over 3,000 cfs on the river. Flows are high and dirty and the river is not good for fishing. From what we hear, look for the high flows for a week or more as a solution to the problem is sought.

— Kris Kumlien, Montana Troutfitters, Bozeman.

Missouri River, Below Holter: There are all kinds of bugs around — caddis, tricos and hoppers and ants are also starting to work. Best bet is to play with the small stuff in the mornings and go to hopper dropper in the afternoons.

— Garry Stocker, Montana Fly Goods, Helena.

Contact Gazette Outdoor Editor Mark Henckel at henckel@billingsgazette.com or at 657-1395.