Fishing Forum

[#004080]Took Friday off and drug the boat all the way up to Hebgen Lake in Montana. For those of you who don't know, it's just West of West Yellowstone about 10 miles. Beautiful lake at about 6500' so it was decidedly cooler than Utah.[/#004080]
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[#004080]Fished Friday afternoon until the thunderstorms rolled in. Really impressive storms up there, hail, lightning, heavy winds and rain..[pirate][/#004080]
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[#004080]Went out early on Saturday and caught 35 fish by noon. Mostly 3lb Rainbows mixed in with some medium sized Browns. I trolled flashers and worms in 50 feet of water. Most of the fish were suspended in about 35' of water. The water temps up there are about 69 degrees. The afternoon brought heavy thunder showers again...nothing to do but sit in the Happy Hour Bar and watch the wild weather.[/#004080]
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[#004080]Went out Sunday morning and again, the bite was on. Caught 16 fish in about an hour. Even with a major bug hatch hitting the lake, the fish were aggressive towards the great worms from Utah..[cool][/#004080]
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[#004080]For those of you who haven't been up there, it's just over the hill from Henry's, but twice as beautiful, deeper and five times as big. It's rated as one of the best still water fly fisheries also. Saw lots of gulping going on.[/#004080]
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I have come to the conclusion, it doesn't matter what time of year you go up that way, SNOW is in the equation[laugh]
We spend a week at Henry's once or twice a year and through a day or two of Hebgen in for excitement. The Gulpers are the best. That is when you really know how well of a fly caster you are. That is when distance matters.
I will be hitting there in another month, and looking forward to it.
I like to float the arm of the madison. In about 3' of water I can catch LARGE whities about every cast. I don't keep the fish anyway, so this is a rush. They fight great! My largest was a 24" Raionbow out of the lake and a 28" brown in the Madison.
Great fun, and thanks for posting this!
FG
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Great report! Hebgen is one of my favorites. I also will be on it in about a month. How deep were you trolling? Leaded line or down riggers? Thanks.
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[#004080][blush] Wow, a 28" Brown on a fly...nice!! Bet that was fun in a tube...[][/#004080]
[#004080]There is a 21lb pound Brown on the wall in the Bar..[/#004080]
[#004080]huge![/#004080]
[#004080]Glad to see someone else has enjoyed Hebgen.[/#004080]
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[#004080]I was trolling with electric downriggers, one at 30' and one at 40 '. Both were getting hit equally. Luhr jensen flashers, medium, in smooth copper and silver mix. Long leader, about 30" and a worm hook.[/#004080]
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[#004080]Don't know if you saw my post last week with questions on the "black box", but I bought one to see what kind of positive ions I was putting out. I put it on my downriggers and discovered my output was way off optimum. I dialed them into the optimum for trout at .650 and couldn't keep fish off my lines.[/#004080]
[#004080]By the way, you can fish with two lines up there without any special permit.[/#004080]
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[#004080]Good luck up there....[cool][/#004080]
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Really, two lines? That is good to know.
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[#004080]Yes, I checked when I got my license on line.[/#004080]
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[#004080]MontanaFish,Wildlife.com[/#004080]
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Unless my memory fails me, that is right next to Quake Lake. We visited that area shortly after the quake that formed it. Assuming my memory is correct, is there still anything to see (other than the plaque on the large rock where all of the campers were buried) around Quake Lake regarding the quake?
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[#004080]I haven't been down past Quake Lake in several years, but it is really pretty also. Lots of trees still sticking out of the water. People say the fishing is great there, but the ramp is a little small for my boat.[/#004080]
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[#004080]I guess I should take my toon up there sometime and try it.[/#004080]
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Thanks for the info!
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We also fish there every year. It can be Hot and Cold as far as fishing. You can see the tops of some roofs at time and some old cabins off on the banks. Very eery lake. Lotsa trees, good food source.
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