clark canyon reservoir mt

[ironrod]

well - at least we got out on the hard deck! Fishing was SLOW to say the least. We landed 3 fish-1 good one just over 20" and threw to small bows back. Saw a few monsters and 1 guy with us had one of those pigs all but out of the hole before he threw the hook. Wind was at least 50mph! You should have seen us trying to get off the ice- no snow, 12-15" of totally clear ice and no spikes....we actually had to crawl for almost 100 ft to the skiff of snow to get some traction. Had a great time however- tried out my Christmas present- double done eskimo shelter- amazing how much more room we had. Three of us fished two holes each in there and had room for our "stuff" and chairs. [cool]
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[MMDon]

Thanks for the report Ironrod! I was over there this summer and the fishing was very slow. Amazing amount of water in that lake all year long!
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[windriver]

Any sign of ling?

Windriver
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[bearlakebob]

Glad to hear your report. used to fish clark canyon alot in the 80s when i lived in mud lake. always wanted to go back but have never made it. Sounds like there is alot better places closer to home now. Miss it though. Had alot of good fishing and good times there.
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[kentd71]

I would like to catch a few of them.
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[SteelFan]

Was going over there this weekend to fish, but with the warmer weather the Salmon River looks too good to go away from home. Another weekend maybe, but I am gonna try to catch a steelhead on the last day of the year and the first day of the new year.
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[ironrod]

No ling- we spent the last hr looking for them over by the dam. I caught one during the spring this yr fishing at 11pm in 80ft of water. Jigging a ft off the bottom. Anyone know how deep they would be during the winter?
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[MMDon]

During the winter I would try shallower than 80'. I'd start at 35 and work my way out to maybe 60. I've never caught them up there any deeper than 60' in the winter. The bite is best very early and very late. They don't like daylight feeding so much. Any glow jig with some Crawfish stink and some sucker meat will work well. They also like herring!
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[MNiceman]

If you find a spot that is holding lots of bait fish. Go there at night. And glow as much as you can. I used to fish them back in MN at the big Leach Lake Tournement and had a blast. We called them poor mans lobster I would love to get up there and go after some.
MNiceman
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[Bigskyfisherman]

We fished ling at Clark Canyon in the 60's and 70's, when men were men and we did not use ice shelters (we just nearly froze in that nearly constant Clark Canyon wind). We tried everywhere but the inlets and the warm springs, but the best spot was at the deepest spot in front of the cliffs under the lookout. You had to be exactly in the right spot to really slay them. Any type of meat would work, but herring and smelt were best.
I really miss icefishing in Montana. We are now in Oklahoma and my wife says she will not drive on icy Montana roads. My winters are now spent in a float tube catching crappie and sand bass. And yes, I probably get colder in the tube than I did on the ice. When people tell me I'm crazy to be in a tube in 38 degree water, my reply is that I grew up icefishing in Montana.
Wish I were there and could fish with you guys (y'all). Try the cliffs.
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