Montana Fish Report

Open year-round. Agency Lake is mostly open water but it's trying to freeze every day. Henzel boat ramp is ice free whereas the Petric Boat Ramp channel is frozen. The dock is taken out at both. Redband trout are moving around with many returning to the main lake after spawning.

Catch rates remain low due to record setting drought in 2020 through 2022, resulting in poor survival of juvenile redband trout and subsequent recruitment into the adult population.

Agency Lake regulations are catch-and-release for redband/rainbow trout with no bait allowed (artificial flies and lures only). The boundary of Agency Lake is the south end of the Straits. This change is due to record low spawning escapement for trophy redband trout throughout the Klamath Basin in 2020. ODFW also encourages the use of single barbless hooks in this fishery, not removing the fish from the water, and using catch-and-release rubber nets.

Keep on the lookout for radio tagged redband trout. These fish must be released unharmed. The long antenna looks like fishing line coming from the abdomen. Please report any radio tagged fish.