Author Topic: ling lesson wanted (Read 3740 times)

feklar · « **on:** Jan 09, 2011, 09:20 AM »

I've caught like 3 ling in Montana in my life by accident.

I want to learn to catch them more religiously, right now I live in Belgrade so I am trying to fish the Helena area for them. Everything I've heard says cut bait on the bottom at night in deeper water or in the river below Canyon Ferry dam.

Can anyone help narrow that a bit so I don't fish for days with no bites (like usual).

Pat

Jim F · « **Reply #1 on:** Jan 09, 2011, 10:34 AM »

If you go to the main page and go towards the bottom there is about 8 pages of info on ling /burbot fishing.
I'd like to try this sometime as well, especially if they eat like cod, yummy!

Jberg440 · « **Reply #2 on:** Jan 09, 2011, 01:18 PM »

Im suprised by the amount of guys that actually wanna catch eelpout! They are awesome eating, hence the nickname poor mans lobster, but most guys back in MN just throw em on the ice for eagle food... I've had best luck using fatheads right on the bottom at night, we usually got into them pretty good while we fished for walleyes off of sand/muds flats, or rock piles.

IcemanZ · « **Reply #3 on:** Jan 09, 2011, 04:01 PM »

From dust till the wee hours of the morning the ling come from deep water to scan the shallow for eats. I usually fish a beach or marina dock area. Run your

's from deep to shallower water and as the night goes on you'll see most flags closest the shanty with an occasional deep one. Like said below; fat heads work the best. The fresher dead the better as well. I keep a bait tank of'em in the garage, bag'em up right before we hit the road. Run the line right to the bottom with a little extra to hang themselves . You can use whatever hook you wish I'll run a spoon with a treble hook or speed rig works good too. Depending on the size of the fat head cut him in half with a good portion of guts in either side. Hook'em right where the guts come out. Wait for flags!

Z

lundin-loading · « **Reply #4 on:** Jan 09, 2011, 08:42 PM »

commercial smelt, and spawn will do the trick also, i agree though, stay out of the deep water at night. for best results, between 12-20fow fairly close to shore. i caught them once on a big led head w/ a 3''gulp minnow and small pc of cut bait as an enticer, it was awsome jiggin up pout!

feklar · « **Reply #5 on:** Jan 10, 2011, 12:01 AM »

Thanks for the tips. I've read through the ling pages, I just wanted some Montana guys to let me know what worked for them, especially around the Helena area (canyon ferry, hauser, holter)

do you look for rocks and structure? Do you need light line on the tipups, are they line sensitive?

Do you chum for them? Do they like lights?

trappermike82 · « **Reply #6 on:** Jan 10, 2011, 12:13 AM »

When they are hungry, I think they would take a fresh fathead on any type of line you could imagine. I caught a ling last year (with IcemanZ's info) that had picked up 2 of my tip ups and buried both hooks in his gut before i could get to it. They are voracious!

i c · « **Reply #7 on:** Jan 11, 2011, 12:58 AM »

hey let me know when you want to go and ill go with ya..plus you have that nice power auger

GOOSE_EGG · « **Reply #8 on:** Jan 11, 2011, 03:50 AM »

I feel ling r one of the easiest fish to catch on the ice. they are about to spawn right now and they dont mess around and nibble like perch and walleye do. i use smelt on a 1/0 snelled bait holed cuz the little buggers have a way of swallowing the hook so its ez to take the leader of the snap and put on an other. when they spawn its in the muddy bottoms in about 15 feet of water. Black sandy is one of the best places to go for them at night on the ice and yea below CF dam is really good time with some buddies and some beer and fire to keep ya warm. U might wanna try and get some crayfish cuz every single one we have caught this year had 2 to 3 in there belly. Now get out there and have some fun

Jim F · « **Reply #9 on:** Jan 11, 2011, 10:22 AM »

Dont forget, here in Montana, at least in the western district, ling fishing closes for a bit during the spawn.

PROMO · « **Reply #10 on:** Jan 11, 2011, 11:08 AM »

we fished below the dam of canyon ferry friday night and caught forty just kinda n fishing. but it was a hell of a good time just worms on the bottom.

cjflorence88 · « **Reply #11 on:** Jan 11, 2011, 03:10 PM »

Quote from: Jim F on Jan 11, 2011, 10:22 AM

Dont forget, here in Montana, at least in the western district, ling fishing closes for a bit during the spawn.

um i think your mistaken it does on koocanusa and a few othere but western distric regs dont say that. it is 5 daily and in possesion

lundin-loading · « **Reply #12 on:** Jan 11, 2011, 03:18 PM »

fourty?? limit is 5. howd you release them when they swallow

cjflorence88 · « **Reply #13 on:** Jan 11, 2011, 05:09 PM »

8 people??? or too many beers for two and a big fish story?

haha j/k it is possible and i want to go where you did. id be there everyday for my limit of five.

iceandwiskey · « **Reply #14 on:** Jan 11, 2011, 08:55 PM »

Quote from: IcemanZ on Jan 09, 2011, 04:01 PM

From dust till the wee hours of the morning the ling come from deep water to scan the shallow for eats. I usually fish a beach or marina dock area. Run your 's from deep to shallower water and as the night goes on you'll see most flags closest the shanty with an occasional deep one. Like said below; fat heads work the best. The fresher dead the better as well. I keep a bait tank of'em in the garage, bag'em up right before we hit the road. Run the line right to the bottom with a little extra to hang themselves . You can use whatever hook you wish I'll run a spoon with a treble hook or speed rig works good too. Depending on the size of the fat head cut him in half with a good portion of guts in either side. Hook'em right where the guts come out. Wait for flags!

Z

This will do it!!

mtman000 · « **Reply #15 on:** Jan 13, 2011, 08:47 PM »

where is black sandy located at

GOOSE_EGG · « **Reply #16 on:** Jan 13, 2011, 10:27 PM »

its a campground on Hauser Dam.

MTangler · « **Reply #17 on:** Jan 14, 2011, 12:31 PM »

Where is a good place to get on to some ling??

MTA

GOOSE_EGG · « **Reply #18 on:** Jan 14, 2011, 10:20 PM »

Clark Canyon Res. has great ling fishing and there is a lake by White Sulfur but i cant think of the name of it but it has HUGE ling caught every year. Hauser can be an other great place to get get some pout but u need a 4 wheeler or snow machine. Hope this helps

MTangler · « **Reply #19 on:** Jan 17, 2011, 03:28 PM »

Quote from: GOOSE_EGG on Jan 14, 2011, 10:20 PM

Clark Canyon Res. has great ling fishing and there is a lake by White Sulfur but i cant think of the name of it but it has HUGE ling caught every year. Hauser can be an other great place to get get some pout but u need a 4 wheeler or snow machine. Hope this helps

Was it newlan or sutherland??

i c · « **Reply #20 on:** Jan 21, 2011, 12:10 AM »

fished for ling below the dam night before last and man was it slow..we fished smelt and cut meat right on the bottom..would put on a heavy sinker with about a foot of leader..cast out and let it sit..caught 3 little guys between 2 of us,, and we were out there all night..fished from the first couple hundred yards right below the dam.. any tips if we ever go again??

GOOSE_EGG · « **Reply #21 on:** Jan 21, 2011, 11:12 AM »

to close to the dam. find the slow moving water

i c · « **Reply #22 on:** Jan 21, 2011, 11:20 AM »

thanks goose egg.. thats what i thought when i first got there so i tossed into a nice little bay right by the last picnic table..but kept getting a bunch of weeds on my hook??

GOOSE_EGG · « **Reply #23 on:** Jan 21, 2011, 11:47 AM »

OH yea and snags but... if u get snagged just leave it out there and when a fish takes it will unsnage you took a couple broken lines to figure that one out..you could those lead snubbers and put a 2in lead core in it. they dont snag up as bad as a split shot or bass caster weight does. Hit me up with a pm next time u go. Last time i whent we where at the boat ramp had a good size fire and got 5 right off the bat but the beer drinkn picked up from there. My friends are drunks

i c · « **Reply #24 on:** Jan 21, 2011, 12:48 PM »

sounds good will do.

PyroZuki · « **Reply #25 on:** Jan 21, 2011, 02:20 PM »

Man, that sounds about where those two guys were sittin in their Ford pickup, at the boat launch.

Pyro

GOOSE_EGG · « **Reply #26 on:** Jan 21, 2011, 09:34 PM »

Nope not us we were in a big 2011 Dodge Diesel

PyroZuki · « **Reply #27 on:** Jan 21, 2011, 09:37 PM »

Quote from: GOOSE_EGG on Jan 21, 2011, 09:34 PM

Nope not us we were in a big 2011 Dodge Diesel

I was just sayin that the location you described was where we saw two guys in a Ford. We were there from about 11pm-6am Tuesday/ Wednesday.

Pyro

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Author Topic: ling lesson wanted (Read 3740 times)

iceandwiskey