MTBassin Posted March 2, 2017 Posted March 2, 2017 Where are all my fellow Montanans? I'm in between Missoula and Kalispell and have some pretty good bass fishing around. Got back into bass fishing the last couple years after living on the east side of the mountains where there are no bass. Was raised in Louisiana until I was 6, so I cut my teeth on bass. Feels good to get back into it. If you get up this way, hit me up and we can catch a few! 2 Quote
BigSkyBasser Posted March 6, 2017 Posted March 6, 2017 There are not too many active Montanans on the forum aside from myself. But welcome aboard! My fiancee and I live down in the Missoula Valley but as you probably know the bass fishing is nothing to write home about. We've spent a little time fishing Nine Pipes, Kicking Horse, and Pablo but never had any crazy good days there. We primarily fish the Flathead and Clark Fork along Hwy 200 West as well as Noxon and Cabinet Gorge. Always glad to see another Montanan fishing for bass though. Have you joined the Flathead or Bigsky bass clubs? 1 Quote
MTBassin Posted March 6, 2017 Author Posted March 6, 2017 Good to see at least one other guy! I've fished Ninepipes mainly and had some pretty good luck. Caught a 6lb'er last March and a 5+ the year before that. I've been here 3 years and still haven't fished Pablo because I always forget its there. Haven't had much luck at Kickinghorse ever. I've fished the Flathead/Clarkfork a little and had decent results but only from my buddy's jetboat. My wife and I are planning to make a trip up to Noxon to check it out this summer. I just started looking into joining a club but don't really know how to go about it. That sure is a nice smallie in your avatar! 1 Quote
BigSkyBasser Posted March 6, 2017 Posted March 6, 2017 Yeah we're primarily smallmouth anglers but we do enjoy catching a nice green one at the same time. Almost all of our better fish come between Thompson Falls and Noxon with large swaths of bank fishing and public access available. If we coordinate a trip this year we're not shy about sharing our fishing spots one bit. The smallie photo on my profile came out of a deep pool directly below the Thompson Dam and though I didn't have scale I'm fairly certain it was a 5+. As far as a club is concerned there are two that would be worth your time if you like and it really depends on whether you want to support FLW or B.A.S.S. more. The Flathead guys fish a good amount of both B.A.S.S. and TBF tournaments and the Missoula guys stick primarily with B.A.S.S. The Missoula club meets the second Wednesday of every month @ 7:30 PM in the Paradise Falls Conference room. Anyone is welcome and you don't need to give notice or RSVP. Message me if you need some contacts of the guys around here who are in charge of that stuff. Quote
1simplemann Posted March 19, 2017 Posted March 19, 2017 There's a few of us over here on the east side that chase bass! The Mighty Mo is full of them downstream of Marony Dam. And then there's Fort Peck. IMO it's the Holy Grail of SMB fishing in Montana. The state record swims there. I have pics of her! Quote
Brickard07 Posted April 2, 2017 Posted April 2, 2017 I too live in Missoula and am looking to find some bass. Just moved here from Pennsylvania where I did nothing but Bass fish on my free time. Have been trying the Frenchtown pond and am getting ready to head there now, to see what I can get into. But any tips or tricks to fishing Bass in the west would be awesome! Quote
MTBassin Posted April 2, 2017 Author Posted April 2, 2017 1 minute ago, Brickard07 said: I too live in Missoula and am looking to find some bass. Just moved here from Pennsylvania where I did nothing but Bass fish on my free time. Have been trying the Frenchtown pond and am getting ready to head there now, to see what I can get into. But any tips or tricks to fishing Bass in the west would be awesome! Good to see another MT guy! I'm an hour north of you in Ronan. Get should of me if you are thinking of coming up this way. Good luck! 1 Quote
Brickard07 Posted April 2, 2017 Posted April 2, 2017 1 minute ago, MTBassin said: Good to see another MT guy! I'm an hour north of you in Ronan. Get should of me if you are thinking of coming up this way. Good luck! I definitely plan on heading up that way once it warms up just a bit more! I certainly will! I live down on Evaro hill, somewhat near the Bucksnort 1 Quote
1simplemann Posted April 2, 2017 Posted April 2, 2017 3 hours ago, Brickard07 said: I too live in Missoula and am looking to find some bass. Just moved here from Pennsylvania where I did nothing but Bass fish on my free time. Have been trying the Frenchtown pond and am getting ready to head there now, to see what I can get into. But any tips or tricks to fishing Bass in the west would be awesome! My partner caught a 5lb'r there using a black,blue jig and craw around this time last spring. As far as the rest of the state goes, drop shots are your friends. As well as tube baits(green pumpkin). I do fairly well with spinnerbaits over here in the river. 1 Quote
Brickard07 Posted April 5, 2017 Posted April 5, 2017 On 4/2/2017 at 5:28 PM, 1simplemann said: My partner caught a 5lb'r there using a black,blue jig and craw around this time last spring. As far as the rest of the state goes, drop shots are your friends. As well as tube baits(green pumpkin). I do fairly well with spinnerbaits over here in the river. Thanks man! Might head back there today if I get home from work in time. Kind of sucks you have to be out of there at 7pm... (primetime for bass) Quote
Brickard07 Posted April 16, 2017 Posted April 16, 2017 Just wondering what kind of permits or licenses I need to fish ninepipes for bass, have my MT fishing license of course. But with it being on the reservation I wasn't sure! Quote
MTBassin Posted April 17, 2017 Author Posted April 17, 2017 You'll need a non-tribal non-reservation fishing stamp. If you have your conservation, I believe all you'll need is a fishing stamp. You can get a 3-day or a season. Just go to a license sales counter and tell them you want to fish the flathead reservation. They will get you set up. Or you can get a license at either Ronan Sports and Western or Westland Seed in Ronan if you want to drive into Ronan. Quote
RPreeb Posted May 4, 2017 Posted May 4, 2017 I lived in Montana for 9 years, but never fished bass there. I learned to fly fish (and tie flies) the summer that I lived and worked in the Swan Valley, but I was so spoiled by Montana trout fishing that the letdown when I moved to Colorado made me mostly give up fishing altogether for 40 years. Now I'm in NE Colorado and I have a few lakes and at least one pond with some bass, so I'm just getting back into the game. I grew up in Minnesota and Wisconsin and fished bass all the time back in the late 50's and early 60's. Never really enjoyed trout fishing like I did the multi-species fishing that I did back in the northwoods lake country. Quote
BigSkyBasser Posted May 23, 2017 Posted May 23, 2017 Now Montanans also have to buy an AIS (Aquatic Invasive Species) stamp for $2 in additional to regular and tribal access licenses. Get them asap! Quote
MTbassin15 Posted June 11, 2018 Posted June 11, 2018 I am just now finding this string. I have been living in Montana for about 4 years now and have been fishing SE Montana pretty hard for smallies and largemouth with some pretty good luck, but i have always liked the idea of bass fishing somewhere in the flathead valley. Does anyone have any suggestions on where to start, other than ninepipes?? I do have a boat and not afraid to take it on flathead.. please let me know. Thinking about gong out that way this weekend. Thanks! Quote
BigSkyBasser Posted February 17, 2019 Posted February 17, 2019 On 6/10/2018 at 10:06 PM, MTbassin15 said: I am just now finding this string. I have been living in Montana for about 4 years now and have been fishing SE Montana pretty hard for smallies and largemouth with some pretty good luck, but i have always liked the idea of bass fishing somewhere in the flathead valley. Does anyone have any suggestions on where to start, other than ninepipes?? I do have a boat and not afraid to take it on flathead.. please let me know. Thinking about gong out that way this weekend. Thanks! Nine pipes is a great start, adjacent to it is Pablo and Kickinghorse which are also both incredible. Flathead lake's southern end is packed with Smallmouth. Further north are tons of good lakes including Blanchard, Echo, Abbott, the Flathead river sloughs. The Thompson chain northwest of Whitefish. Quote
BooyahBassin0351 Posted March 27, 2019 Posted March 27, 2019 So getting back into the bass scene and just moved to Montana. Where are good spots to go and anybody wanna go fish? Quote
KilgoreMT Posted April 15, 2019 Posted April 15, 2019 Hey all. I'm a trout fishing guide here in Missoula, but I grew up chasing bass in PA. Been here about 18 years now and I've caught some nice bass here and there, but I'm looking to get back into it more seriously. Would love to link up with other folks. Quote
BooyahBassin0351 Posted May 1, 2019 Posted May 1, 2019 On 4/15/2019 at 3:03 PM, KilgoreMT said: Hey all. I'm a trout fishing guide here in Missoula, but I grew up chasing bass in PA. Been here about 18 years now and I've caught some nice bass here and there, but I'm looking to get back into it more seriously. Would love to link up with other folks. Hey man I live in Missoula as well if you ever wanna go out anywhere let me know Quote
KilgoreMT Posted May 28, 2019 Posted May 28, 2019 On 5/1/2019 at 3:26 PM, BooyahBassin0351 said: Hey man I live in Missoula as well if you ever wanna go out anywhere let me know Sure thing. I got my butt kicked pretty bad up at Noxon this weekend. I could definitely use some help! Not sure if it was a weather change or just my inexperience with the lake or both, but I couldn't buy a bite. Found some pike, tho. Shoot me a PM sometime! Quote
limey222 Posted July 13, 2019 Posted July 13, 2019 HI All, I'm visiting my brother-in-law just south of Hamilton next week and would like to know if there are any waters that support either small or largemouth bass in that area. Just retired after working the last 30 years in Portland, OR. Before that I was an avid bass fisherman in Ontario, Canada. Quote
Andrew Muro Posted July 30, 2019 Posted July 30, 2019 Looking for some advice for bass fishing spots around Missoula. I work a lot, and something within a short drive would be great. Quote
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