Nevada Reservoir

[The Rezerend]

Just wondering if anyone's been on Nevada lately. Thinking about heading there Sunday. Or if anyone has any other suggestions not too far from Butte. I'd like to go somewhere other than Georgetown, Delmoe, or Clark Canyon. So either info on Nevada or some ideas on somewhere else would be great. Thanks.

[Tinker]

I haven't fished it in a couple years, for the drive I think I would go to Canyon Ferry and have a chance at real fish.   My experience was a lake full of 4-6" perch, takes a lot to make a meal.  Its an irrigation reservoir, so drawn down in the summer and refilled in the winter, expect soft edges and possible slush but may not be a problem with the cold we have been having.  Brown's lake is just up the road from Nevada so maybe you could hit two in one day.  I have only fished Brown's once in the summer and wasn't really trying but got skunked.  I hear Brown's can be hit or miss, and usually the miss, but the fish I hear are great if you hit.

[mtjohn]

There's some huge trout in browns though
MT

[BigSage]

Salmon and Placid aren't that much further than Browns. Another 30 min or so.  All I hear is dink perch in Nevada

[The Rezerend]

Well dink perch can keep us occupied but not sure its the most appealing idea. It has been a couple years since I've fished the clearwater. I'll have to talk to the co-pilot but may have to look into that or read up a little more on Canyon Ferry as I've never fished it. I'm trying to find something other than trout since the co-pilot ain't much of a fan of them. Thanks everyone and if ya got any more suggestions I'm all ears.

[missoulafish]

They have been catching a few pike on Salmon and there are some HUGE perch in there. Just a thought.

[The Rezerend]

Thanks mfish, I love catching a mess of perch. Reminds me of fishing on Pablo, Ninepipe, Crow, and Kicking horse back home. Those lakes always seems to put a perch on the end of your line.

[missoulafish]

You mentioned Crow...I tried it last weekend and I bet it was 10' lower than the last time I fished it. It is sooo low:( I guess this is still to damn issues? All I could manage was a single sucker. I fished off the damn looking for a smallie but no joy:(

[The Rezerend]

Ya it is a lot lower again. I though it was fixed but maybe not. Also it could have just been a poor water year so they didn't fill it back up. Christmas eve I think it was that I fished it and all we did was catch about 12 trout and 2 perch between 2 of us. I was popping holes all over looking for perch and only got a couple strays inbetween trout. Never pulled a bass out of Crow through the ice but then again I've never really tried since the home place is a mile from Ninepipe.

[Houdy66]

Browns Lake has been red hot lately. Lots of big rainbows that love to bite And just as missoulafish stated, there are HUGE perch in Salmon Lake, along with the chance of catching big pike and trout. It's definitely worth the extra drive. Another idea is the Causeway or Regulating Reservoir in Helena. They are both fishing well so far this year. Canyon Ferry is a good option, but is hasn't quite heated up yet this year.

[icefishinnut]

How is the ice on Crow?  Last year I fished it one day...the first 6 fish I caught were all different species.  Back in the day we used to get a lot of really nice perch out of there.

[icefishinnut]

Browns Lake has been red hot lately. Lots of big rainbows that love to bite And just as missoulafish stated, there are HUGE perch in Salmon Lake, along with the chance of catching big pike and trout. It's definitely worth the extra drive. Another idea is the Causeway or Regulating Reservoir in Helena. They are both fishing well so far this year. Canyon Ferry is a good option, but is hasn't quite heated up yet this year.

I fished Brown's on Friday last week and the bite was anything but red hot.  Managed a sucker and a 12" rainbow in three hours between three of us.  Upsata was a bust that day as well.  I have heard Harper's is fishing well with some gagger rainbows being drug out of there.  Good luck!

[Houdy66]

I fished Brown's on Friday last week and the bite was anything but red hot.  Managed a sucker and a 12" rainbow in three hours between three of us.  Upsata was a bust that day as well.  I have heard Harper's is fishing well with some gagger rainbows being drug out of there.  Good luck!

I haven't fished Browns myself yet this year, but one of my buddies from missoula has fished it three times and each of the times he's caught upwards of 7 or 8 trout in a couple hours. All the other guys I've talked to that have fished it have said it has been red hot. Not saying you're wrong, just explaining why I said it was hot. And I agree about Upsata being a bust. Ever since it froze out I have stopped going there. It just isn't worth it until the re-stocked fish have a chance to grow and bring the lake back to where it was.

[missoulafish]

At Browns your either going to catch a few or nothing. Fishing the right spot is a must.
Crow had probably at least 10" of clear ice. It looked like one of the arms had open water though? Did you notice that Rez?
Harpers can be fun, but those big trout rarely have fins;)

[The Rezerend]

Ya it still was open by the inlet. We usually go exploring but on that sight we just stuck with what we knew was good. We just fished by the dam and the overflow. I was looking for perch and found nothing in our usual spots. With the reservoir being lower it must have moved them around.

[PerchAssault]

I hit NCR this afternoon and pounded about 20 perch in a little over an hour!  Biggest was 11", most were 8-10.  Took the pullout right by the dam, down the road that goes right to the waterline, and redrilled the closest hole to shore.  16FOW. They liked the orange Buckshot and a Petes Tackle Shop Whiptail in Pink/White.

Plenty of ice there.

Mike
www.aablefishing.com