It’s never too early to start planning your summer fishing vacation for your family or friends.There are a lot of places to choose from if you plan to spend time on the water going after trout, bass, northern pike, lake trout and even walleye.
There is an area right here in Montana that deserves consideration in your travel plans and I am willing to bet that you might not have been there. Or, if you have, you haven’t for a few years.
Fort Peck Lake is the largest lake in Montana at 134 miles long, and it all starts at one of the largest hydraulic earth-filled dams in the world.
Fishing, camping, hiking, boating, swimming and bird-watching are just a start of the activities that you can enjoy while you visit the area.
Visit the 17,500-square-foot Fort Peck Interpretive Center and Museum. The center, which opened a few years ago, offers free admission and includes the construction history of Fort Peck Dam and Lake, the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge and even has the prehistoric dinosaurs found in the Hell Creek geological formation.
Another highlight is the lake-water-fed aquarium that houses the different species of fish living in the lake and river downstream from the dam.
Just down the road from the center on the other side of the town of Fort Peck, you can visit the recently completed Fort Peck Multi-Species Fish Hatchery. The hatchery is designed to produce walleye, northern pike and Chinook salmon.
In the town of Fort Peck, you can tour or even stay in the historic Fort Peck Hotel and take in a live play at the Fort Peck Summer Theater, housed in the old movie theater built in the 1930s.
Anglers who love tournaments are sure to enjoy the competition of the 21st annual Montana Governors Cup Walleye Tournament on July 10-12 this year. The tournament, which is put on by the Glasgow Area Chamber of Commerce, awarded more than $33,000 in cash and prizes last year when a total of 466 walleye were caught over the two-day tournament.
On your way from western Montana or coming back home, you can follow what I call the “Montana Hi-Line Fishing Trail.” Make sure you take time to enjoy fishing and camping at Nelson Reservoir just 20 miles east of Malta and then Fresno Reservoir, which is just six miles west of Havre along Highway 2.
And don’t forget about Tiber Dam, a few miles from Chester, and Lake Frances near Valier.
Taking a vacation in this sparsely populated area of north and northeastern Montana will be a lot of fun. What is even better will be the hospitality you will receive from the folks who call this special place home.
For more information, call Diane Brandt at (406) 228-2222 or log onto missouririver.visitmt.com.
Mark Ward’s statewide Montana Outdoor Radio Show airs Saturdays from 6 to 8 a.m. in Missoula on KGVO 1290 AM. E-mail Ward at captain@montanaoutdoor.com.
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