Every once in a while, the fishing stars align and we are able to put all our other obligations on hold. That was the case for me last week and I made up my mind to take advantage of it. I fished the entire time.This may sound strange coming from a guy who most people think fishes for a living in the process of gathering information for my weekly outdoor radio shows and this column. But it’s really not that way.
This week, however, I planned to go solo - take a nap when I wanted, eat when I wanted, fish when I wanted.
I was fishing on the north end of the lake when I learned from my marine radio that the wind would be picking up in the afternoon with gusts to 35 miles per hour. I moved to a spot where I had fished earlier in the month on the very south end of the lake. By the time I arrived at my fishing spot the wind was blowing very hard, but the waves were not a problem because the winds were coming out of the south. For the next hour and a half, I pulled in 14 walleyes with an 18-incher and 22-incher the biggest.
I planned on leaving Canyon Ferry to head over to Noxon Reservoir that next day and used Friday as a travel day moving my boat and fifth-wheel camper to Polson in preparation for the upcoming whitefish season on Flathead Lake. The next day it was off to Noxon Reservoir to try to catch one of those monster northern pike.
I didn’t know the lake but got a great overview from John at Lakeside Motel.
I was on the water at 9 a.m. and by 5 p.m. I had put 24 miles on my boat reaching all the spots on a map John provided. I had the chance to view a cow moose standing in the water and eating from 30 yards away. I fished about every pike lure I had in my tackle box, and only had a half-dozen perch and a couple of bass to my credit, but it’s a beautiful spot and I’ll be back.
The next day, my son Harry joined me in Polson and we headed to Lake Mary Ronan to catch some kokanee salmon. By noon, we had only three fish, although other anglers seemed to be having some good success. So we decided to try our luck at nearby Lone Pine Reservoir where Harry and his buddies had done well on northern pike while ice fishing.
After trolling and casting a lure into every weed bed on this small lake we came back empty-handed. “This just isn’t our day,” said Harry. Yes, it may not have been our day for catching, but for me, it sure was a great week of fishing.
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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