Montana Fish Report

Spring Chinook fishing has been slow and all indications are that it is a low run year.

Due to the poor run, combined with low flows and potentially elevated water temperatures the Trask Hatchery Hole (200 feet above and 900 feet below the confluence with Gold Creek at Trask Hatchery) is closed to all fishing, effective June 18 – October 15.

There are a few summer steelhead showing up on the Trask as well.

As of May 1, a gear restriction will be in place: from the marker at Loren’s Drift upstream to the Cedar Creek Boat slide (River Mile 10.9) fishing is restricted to fly-fishing or bobber fishing until July 31. See the Salmon/Steelhead Bobber Fishing Rule on page 18 of the regulations for details.

There are some nice cutthroat around, with sea-run cutthroat entering tidal and lower river areas over the next few weeks. These aggressive fish can be fun to catch. Try casting spinners or flies to areas with depth or cover when targeting these fish. Use of bait is allowed on the main stem Trask, but the North, South, and East forks are restricted to artificial lures and flies until Aug. 31.