Author Topic: Hyalite Lake report (Read 7271 times)

mtgrant · « **on:** Jan 11, 2010, 03:55 PM »

Any reports? I drove by and saw several guys fishing with nothing caught. All were rookies though. I have talked to some regulars that are hating life because of better access. Smaller and fewer fish caught. They say there are no decent fish but where did they go. Before ice, I was smoking huge cutties to 21 in. Most guys are fishing shallow. I am thinking deeper may be better. Springs, inflows, etc.

Plan to fish this week again. Grant

PROMO · « **Reply #1 on:** Jan 11, 2010, 06:08 PM »

i think the days of the big cuts are gone. bigger brookies than i remember tho... hyalite gets overfished in my opinion, so its slow and too many people are keeping little 8-12 inch fish. never go on a weekend it'll make you cry

TheGreenHornet · « **Reply #2 on:** Jan 11, 2010, 10:23 PM »

Catching fish in hyalite has never been a problem. Over the last few years catching anything over 15" has been tough. However if you try the south west shore about half way down you'll have better luck. The fish are still small but occasionally you'll catch a bigger fish. Also deeper is better for big fish but you won't catch as many so it's a trade off. We went up on the 2nd of january and caught atleat 25 but not a single fish over 15". It's fun but if your looking for a big fish try your luck somewhere else.

Rap Jigger · « **Reply #3 on:** Jan 11, 2010, 11:00 PM »

Quote from: PROMO on Jan 11, 2010, 06:08 PM

i think the days of the big cuts are gone. bigger brookies than i remember tho... hyalite gets overfished in my opinion, so its slow and too many people are keeping little 8-12 inch fish. never go on a weekend it'll make you cry

I hear everyone talking about how crowded it is, but always end up out there by myself. As long as you go down to the south end it's like a ghost town compared to the damn and every cutthroat I catch is fifteen to twenty inches....weird...mayb e I'm just lucky. The brookies do seem to be getting bigger though. No complaints on that from me though.

Mr. iceman · « **Reply #4 on:** Jan 12, 2010, 11:04 AM »

I've had some nice brook trout on and my cousin has caught a couple nice cutts. Always good on the south end at the "honey hole" still trying for the elusive walter and i know your in there is just a matter of time. Hyalite is always a great place to go if you can tolerate 50 gabillion subaru's.

eroknroll · « **Reply #5 on:** Jan 12, 2010, 01:07 PM »

It isn't hard to catch fish up there if you know what your doing, but good luck catching any monsters. It is fished alot more now than even a couple of years ago. I think as a whole ice fishing has really taken off, at least around bozeman. Sportsmans now devotes alot more square feet to ice fishing inventory. Canyon Ferry is the place to go for big trout, it is stocked on a more regular basis, and as a bigger fishery that can handle more numbers of people, and 6 poles apiece. If I see 100 guys at canyon ferry it is no skin off my nose, but I get a bit more concerned when I see that many people up at hyalite. I enjoy a jaunt up to hyalite to take a newbie for a good shot at some fish, but when it is time to do serious fishing you will find me at canyon ferry.

fisherman 4 life · « **Reply #6 on:** Jan 12, 2010, 06:50 PM »

what are they biting on up at hyalite

spedray · « **Reply #7 on:** Jan 15, 2010, 04:55 PM »

Finally had a good day up there this year. I tried by the first parking lot in the morning and only caught one little cutty in 2 hours. Picked up and moved a mile down the shore line and caught atleast 40 on the next three hours. Fishing in 20 fow with mealworms. Oh all but one of the fish were cutthroats with one dink brook trout. Most of the fish were a little over a pound with three in the two pound range.

Mr. iceman · « **Reply #8 on:** Jan 18, 2010, 10:02 AM »

went up to hyalite 01/16/10, tried by the dam for the first time(usually fish the south end) fished from 5pm to 10pm, caught 10 between us with the biggest one a whopping 10inches, will be the last time i fish the dam, a firm believer that most all the bigger fish are going to be towards the inlet

real talk-
tight lines

RobG · « **Reply #9 on:** Jan 18, 2010, 10:14 AM »

ha, ha... the one day I fished that area I got into the fry... no really, three inch fish. Wish I had a camera.

I guess there was an editorial the other day in the comical about how the lake is getting overfished. It sure doesn't seem worse than summer though. I miss the days of the dirt road!

rg

fishinwithbrittanies · « **Reply #10 on:** Jan 18, 2010, 01:13 PM »

Had a reasonably good day up there today 1/18. The fish were all over the place early morning then it slowed a bit. Then about 9:30 to 11 they were going pretty good. My buddy got a monster grayling. The thing was huge. I've caught a bunch of really nice ones in there and this was definitely one of the nicer ones. Again nothing real big with exception to the grayling, had one nice cutty at the hole but couldn't turn his head, nice fish though. Lots of dink brookies and smaller cuts but I was glad to see I could actually catch a fish out of that frickin lake again. It was nice to have not found another nursery of 2-3 inch fish.
Out of curiosity does anyone ever try chubbys or jiggin raps. I have one chubby darter that looks similar enough to those little tiny cuts I get into every once in awhile. I've been thinking about dunking it down to see what happens. I know some of those cuts see so much stuff they get pretty wise but I remember trying new stuff last year and I had like a 3" maribu jig that got hit by something big but I never got to see it. just curious

Mr. iceman · « **Reply #11 on:** Jan 18, 2010, 01:23 PM »

Quote from: fishinwithbrittanies on Jan 18, 2010, 01:13 PM

Had a reasonably good day up there today 1/18. The fish were all over the place early morning then it slowed a bit. Then about 9:30 to 11 they were going pretty good. My buddy got a monster grayling. The thing was huge. I've caught a bunch of really nice ones in there and this was definitely one of the nicer ones. Again nothing real big with exception to the grayling, had one nice cutty at the hole but couldn't turn his head, nice fish though. Lots of dink brookies and smaller cuts but I was glad to see I could actually catch a fish out of that frickin lake again. It was nice to have not found another nursery of 2-3 inch fish.
Out of curiosity does anyone ever try chubbys or jiggin raps. I have one chubby darter that looks similar enough to those little tiny cuts I get into every once in awhile. I've been thinking about dunking it down to see what happens. I know some of those cuts see so much stuff they get pretty wise but I remember trying new stuff last year and I had like a 3" maribu jig that got hit by something big but I never got to see it. just curious

my cousin jiggs rapala's but nothing caught at hyalite, I do really good on pearl color swedish pimple and in early morning i dont even use bait and catch the hell out of them. As far a chubby darters, iv been wondering the same myself. Salmo makes a great chubby darter ive heard, just need to save some money for those b@$terds. there about 8bucks a pop

spedray · « **Reply #12 on:** Jan 18, 2010, 09:16 PM »

I fished the side opposite of hood creek today and had a slower day. I didn't get a chance to get on the water till 10:30 and caught a #2 cutty out of the first hole right away. Unfortunetly it was the biggest fish of the day. Ended up caughting 10 fish in 5 hours. It's amazing the difference a few days makes. I went back to the spot i did well on Friday only to find it full of Brookies where there had been Cutty's b-4. Tried fish right in front of hood creek boat ramp in 50 fow. Had a lot of bites but they were just mouthing it.

mtgrant · « **Reply #13 on:** Jan 21, 2010, 05:56 PM »

I have fished Hyalite 5 times this season during the week. I have maybe seen 12 fishermen. The most crowds have been the dumb 4 wheelers that spin off the road. I am catching fish everywhere I fish but nothing huge. I will say the brookies have been nice. 10-12 in. The cutties from 10-18. Nothing fast but consistent. They sure taste good.

jimmerjammer · « **Reply #14 on:** Jan 22, 2010, 03:52 PM »

awesome news about the greyling!!! i fishied that lake a tone last year, just to catch one and never did. What were you using, how deep of water, and what part of the lake were you fishing? i know that lake pretty goood so you don't have to be too specific. i hate to be one of those guys who basically wants someone else to do all the work, set the hook, and then let me reel one in, (ok so i am not that bad!!) but i really want to catch one of those graylings bad last year, and any info may help me in the future. did you guys take a pic of it, i am sure i am not the only one who would love to see it.

fishinwithbrittanies · « **Reply #15 on:** Jan 25, 2010, 05:21 PM »

another good day on Hyalite. Not as many fish but they were bigger. Nobody else up there so that was a bonus. Two really good size cuts, one in particular a good 21 I'd say. No grayling but they are so few and far between and more or less a bonus when you get them. We are fishing a pretty good drop off. The drop off breaks from about 8 - 17 in about 10 feet then tapers out. I don't know if that makes a difference, I usually just try to fish where I don't see any other holes. About the grayling, I haven't personally caught one through the ice but I think I have seen 3 or four pulled through now. The only picture is on my cell phone and sucks balls. Most all of the grayling come out of the south end in shallow water. I heard a guy got a good one in the cove by the parking lot though. I think I'd go shallow. I know they are pretty aggressive, in the summer they are anyway.
Anybody else noticing leeches on the brook trout? Really weird, brookies and small cuts only but I've seen them with like 3 or four right on their head.

Mr. iceman · « **Reply #16 on:** Jan 25, 2010, 05:40 PM »

Quote from: fishinwithbrittanies on Jan 25, 2010, 05:21 PM

another good day on Hyalite. Not as many fish but they were bigger. Nobody else up there so that was a bonus. Two really good size cuts, one in particular a good 21 I'd say. No grayling but they are so few and far between and more or less a bonus when you get them. We are fishing a pretty good drop off. The drop off breaks from about 8 - 17 in about 10 feet then tapers out. I don't know if that makes a difference, I usually just try to fish where I don't see any other holes. About the grayling, I haven't personally caught one through the ice but I think I have seen 3 or four pulled through now. The only picture is on my cell phone and sucks balls. Most all of the grayling come out of the south end in shallow water. I heard a guy got a good one in the cove by the parking lot though. I think I'd go shallow. I know they are pretty aggressive, in the summer they are anyway.
Anybody else noticing leeches on the brook trout? Really weird, brookies and small cuts only but I've seen them with like 3 or four right on their head.

congrats on the 21inch cut, i'd love to catch one that big, infact thats the reason i keep going up there, sick of catching the 8-12" and i know there are some decent fish in there, what part of the res were you at? any info would be greatly appreciated

jimmerjammer · « **Reply #17 on:** Jan 25, 2010, 06:40 PM »

i caught quite a few over 20 last year at hyalite (maybe 6 or 7), and one was 24in. I moved to missoula this year though, and havn't fished it yet this season, and really, really miss it. Even if your average fish isn't huge, it is still the "prettiest" place to fish so close to a bigger town, (especially when gas prices were so crazy, i think that has a lot to do with the amount of people, along with the paved road.) I really liked fishing I before my classes, and now at UM, i don't have anything that close.... the only quick place to go for just a morning or evening bite, is a man made pond next to the freeway (beavertail pond), full of super dink rainbows, and nasty hatchery monsters, and suckers. I guess my point is if you put in the work up there, you will be rewarded... even if you don't catch the biggest fish, or even any fish at all. All of the big ones i caught were in the early morning, about an hour after the sun comes up. I found that the middle area of the lake, on the far side is where your average cutty was larger. I also firmly believe in only using the maggots that are in silt, the ones in the wood chips smell like pine, and i never caught any fish the first few trips up there until i started using the silt maggots, as wierd as that sounds.

fishonice · « **Reply #18 on:** Jan 25, 2010, 07:26 PM »

i have noticed the leech thing this year. don't remember catching any with leeches last season. may have to do some investigating between classes. I have noticed that the brookies im catching this year are almost double the size and i fish the same place every time i'm up there. The cutts are as big as I am used to, 16-2o", just not as many. they all seem to prefer small glittery spoons this year, or glow blue/white tear drops- which is my ole reliable.

jimmerjammer- i agree with it being an amazing place for a couple hours before class. did that all last spring, but have 8am class this semester.

justintee15 · « **Reply #19 on:** Jan 25, 2010, 09:22 PM »

Quote from: Mr. iceman on Jan 12, 2010, 11:04 AM

I've had some nice brook trout on and my cousin has caught a couple nice cutts. Always good on the south end at the "honey hole" still trying for the elusive walter and i know your in there is just a matter of time. Hyalite is always a great place to go if you can tolerate 50 gabillion subaru's.

Haha. i just cant handle too many subarus.

PROMO · « **Reply #20 on:** Jan 25, 2010, 10:28 PM »

walters in hyalite?

fishinwithbrittanies · « **Reply #21 on:** Jan 26, 2010, 08:03 AM »

Iceman, keep fishing and you will succeed. If thats the whole goal to get one at 21 go off the damn and drop a plain hook with a crawler eventually you'll get one. Like I said I like to go where I don't see other holes and just try it out. Sometimes its good sometimes its not. I would really concentrate on about 1-1.5 hours before sunrise till about 11am. This last time the cuts were really nailing it. I didn't even see the one come in on my fish finder, he just nailed it immediately stealing drag. Awesome.

Mr. iceman · « **Reply #22 on:** Jan 26, 2010, 12:28 PM »

Quote from: PROMO on Jan 25, 2010, 10:28 PM

walters in hyalite?

There has been confirmed sightings of walter, one source has said walter was by the south end spitting bait and lippin off to fisherman. One fisherman said and i quote "That son of !@#$% just came up to my hole, looked at me, grinned, spit a maggot at me and said "stupid newbie, maggots are for crap" If you come across this fish, he should be approached with caution, he is considered a dangerously nasty trout and should be turned over to the proper authorities upon his catch.

fishinwithbrittanies · « **Reply #23 on:** Jan 26, 2010, 01:31 PM »

this fish intrigues me. Maybe I need to flip up the house and get serious. I know I had seen some great fish in the cove by the parking lot last year and I had similar experiences minus the maggot spitting and foul mouth. I did have some good luck dunking bigger stuff last year. Big 'ol marabou jig heads 2" or so. I will keep a look out for this fish and post any spottings

Mr. iceman · « **Reply #24 on:** Jan 26, 2010, 02:43 PM »

Quote from: fishinwithbrittanies on Jan 26, 2010, 01:31 PM

this fish intrigues me. Maybe I need to flip up the house and get serious. I know I had seen some great fish in the cove by the parking lot last year and I had similar experiences minus the maggot spitting and foul mouth. I did have some good luck dunking bigger stuff last year. Big 'ol marabou jig heads 2" or so. I will keep a look out for this fish and post any spottings

I'm serious to, if you need a fishing bud to help you drag stuff out let me know, i've got a quick fish 3, big buddy heater, working on a sled, could meet you up there early morning. I've seen some 20+ trout through the hole too and a couple really thick ones. One thing about hyalite after catching 50 trout that are 14" or smaller, catching a 22-24" trout, to me would be a trophy for hyalite, defiantly would settle me down a bit.

fishonice · « **Reply #25 on:** Jan 26, 2010, 06:42 PM »

I too may have seen and hooked this "walter". I would bet my fishing equipment on a the fact that i hooked a 4 pounder last weekend and no matter how hard i tried i couldn't turn him up the hole.

atcayko · « **Reply #26 on:** Jan 30, 2010, 07:02 PM »

Hey there guys I have a question for ya. I have been up there a few times and had at least ten bites in a couple hours everywhere I go but can never get them hooked. I am a walleye fisher from eastern Montana and am having trouble with this little nibbles the trout give me. any tips on how I can actually hook one of these guys? Bait? Size of jigs? Any help would be great thanks.

fishinwithbrittanies · « **Reply #27 on:** Jan 30, 2010, 08:37 PM »

the fish there are like that. I always have one jigging rod in my hand while I watch the finder but a lot of times when I get a hit on the dead stick they have left by the time I get there. Its different day to day. The last time I was up there they were just nailing it so I don't know. I use the little green or orange rat finkes and they seem to do the trick.
Mr. Iceman, if you want to go some time let me know. I got a wife who is about to burst anytime with our first so I won't be ice fishing for a bit, but after that I can go just about anytime. I try to go on week days but I'm open most anytime. I have a maroon dodge, I also have the quick flip, but 2 man not three and two dogs with me most of the time. If you happen to see us out there stop by.

spedray · « **Reply #28 on:** Jan 30, 2010, 09:02 PM »

For these fish I think it helps to use a very small jigging spoon and have it in your hand at all times. For my dead stick I use a spring bobber on the end of my rod so I can tell the instant it gets a hit. I also only fish the poles four feet from each other so they are always in reach.

spedray · « **Reply #29 on:** Feb 24, 2010, 05:33 PM »

Hopeing to head up here this weekend and go camping. Anybody have a recent report. Will probably fish friday thru the night. Were are you guys catching the fish at night and how deep?

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Author Topic: Hyalite Lake report (Read 7271 times)