Galcier Nat. Park trout

[TRZ]

I was wondering if anyone could give me some info or rivers that would be good to trout fish in mid June, any help at all would be great!

[macgruber]

mid-june could be dicey out there....... although glacier is pretty hit-or-miss regardless...... you could still be getting snow in june and the run-off in a lot of the streams could be ragin...... most of the rivers are fresh from glacial melt, so they don't support much insect life, and thus not many trout.......

i have limited fishing experience in the park, but from what i've been told, hidden lake is a good bet for some nice sized cutts (just don't fish right by where the trail comes in- walk around to the far side)..... also the camas flowage is supposed to be decent......

the waterton river flowage from the lake up to the kootenai lakes should hold some brookies- the kootenai lakes should have some bigger fish.....

i have fished the middle fork of the flathead on the southern boundary of the park, and we didn't have much luck- a couple smallish cutts is all...... we did find a little spring-fed bog off to the side of the river which was around 3 feet deep and full of brookies which made for some entertainment......

if you are bent on fishing while out there, i'd say stick to the lakes and pick up a copy of "Fishing Glacier Nat'l Park"..... otherwise, stick to hiking in the park and then burn down to the missoula area for some fishing once yer done in glacier.....

[walleyefisher0990]

TRZ, i have been out to glacier once and had some really good fishing. The best thing i did the whole week though was on the first day went into one of the gift shops and picked up a book called Fishing Glacier National Park. The book tells you just about everything you need to know about any of the lakes and streams in glacier right down to the species of fish present and some advice from experts, its even got maps of the whole park and how to reach certain fishing spots. It was fairly cheap costing only around ten bucks, but worth every penny. Im sure if you looked you could find it online as well. Best of luck when you go out there.

[magic_minnow]

I grew up in western Montana...we always fished FISH CREEK, a nice stream holding rainbows, and cutthroats. Its about 60 miles West of Missoula. Park on the side of the road that runs thruout the stream, find a nice eddy and BABAM!

[macgruber]

here's a helpful link-- lists some day hikes and some lakes which could be worth trying....

http://www.bigskyfishing.com/National_parks/glacier/backcountry_fishing_overview.shtm

i bought his book and he has lots of good info on camping and fishing throughout montana..... although 95% of his book is online, so you don't have to buy it, it's nice to have a travelling copy....

[macgruber]

sorry, this was the link i was thinking of..... this guy, david archer i think is his name, has an excellent book of which most is available on this HSOforum..... i bought the book from the site-- talks about fishing everywhere in western montana and lists campsites you won't find on any map..... it's really handy.... pretty extensive section on glacier.....

http://www.glaciertoyellowstone.com/fly_fishing_montana/glacier_national_park.cfm

[macgruber]

TRZ--- how did the trip go? anything to report?

i'm heading out there in two weeks myself for 10 days of backpacking..... going to fish the bighorn on the way out and way back to get my trout fix, but might hit a lake or two in the park on our hikes.... we got a campsite on elizabeth lake, so i'll defintely wet a line there.......

[mjhowe]

Macgruber,

You are going to hit the rivers and streams at an awesome time...fishing conditions are right about peaking right now. The downside is...fire conditions are bad and getting worse. We could be at mid August fuel condition in 7-10 days if we dont cool down or get some rain FAST.

Enjoy Glacier, remember to wear your bells and carry your pepper spray. Say...did you know how they tell grizzley scat from black bear scat in Glacier???

Black bear scat has berrys and seeds in it...griz scat has bells and smells like pepper!!!!

(sorry, couldnt resist)

[macgruber]

i will be outfitted with the appropriate bear defenses-- sure hope i don't have to use them..... last time i was there my mom ran into a griz and cubs and i hiked past a black bear in a tree at very close range...... we've been brushing up on our trail singing to make sure we don't surprise any......

kind of annoyed we won't be able to fish any other rivers in mt while we're there-- but it's tough to beat the scenery in glacier.... and the bighorn has always been good to me..... so i can't complain too much.....

will report back when the trip is over for sure....

[macgruber]

realized i never did report back...... so i'll do this now....

the bighorn was nice both days we fished it..... really crowded due to the closings and restrictions on so many streams in western mt....... usually when i float the bighorn i just sit at three mile and let everyone go by until about 12 or 1 and then start floating and go till dark...... well, by 3 o'clock the boats were still coming like a parade so we just started our float...... most of my best spots had people in 'em but we still managed a few fish..... i lost the biggest rainbow i've hooked (outside of steelheading) when the line jammed on my reel..... oh well..... fixed the problem by the next morning.....

glacier was staggeringly beautiful, even with a thin haze from all the fires in the area...... we did a weeklong loop out of many glacier, up to waterton and back..... fished in elizabeth lake, mokowanis lake, and then when we got back did a day hike to hidden lake....... all were outstanding-- eliz. had grayling and rainbows, moko was full of brookies, and hidden had nice cutts....... no bears sighted on trail though there was a mom and cub we sighted from a safe distance from the road..... they were gorging on huckleberries, something my wife and i also partook in......

now we've both got the hiking and fishing mountain lakes bug so we're going to the winds this year...... so it was awesome and something we'll do again.....