Perch bite is on

It is that time again. The perch bite is on at the east side of Polson Bay on Flathead Lake. Miles Marchi and I made a foray out there April 3. Miles had a couple of real jumbos.

We were slightly north of Hellroaring Creek in two-and-a-half to three-and-a-half feet of water. The water was murky enough that the fish weren’t spooked by the boat.

Because a perch has a tendency to follow its hooked fellow, it wasn’t long before the best fishing was right next to the boat which makes a short pole helpful. Nightcrawlers on a tube jig, fly, or just a plain No. 6 hook all caught fish.

During the early part of the perch bite the water warming as the day progresses makes afternoon fishing the best. As water temperature increases the perch will be active earlier.

Besides the perch, now you’ll have a good chance to pick up a mack or even a whitefish. A little later the small mouth bass begin to show.

There are a variety of approaches to jigging lake trout. My latest best success has been in front of Yellow Bay across the deep water west in a 300-plus-foot depth. The newest twist to deep water jigging is to bait a fly above a cut fish baited jig with a night crawler. I normally catch more fish on the jig but with the change from cut bait to night crawlers on the fly it is now about a 50-50 thing.

Something to look forward to

If you’ve never fished for Kokanee and would like to give it a try, from the opening of the general fishing season for about two weeks these little scrappers go crazy at Lake Mary Ronan. I just use our Salmon Ready-to-go Setups baited with either maggots or shrimp. They are not hard to find. All you have to do is follow the crowd. To limit out in less than an hour is not unusual. A 4-foot super ultra light pole works best for me.

For more information call us at store, 406-675-0068, my personal cell is, 406-250-0241, or email us at macman@ronan.net. Check out our website at: www.zimmertackle.com.

Good Fishing,

The Macman