Author Topic: Georgetown Lake ice conditions? (Read 33400 times)

waterloo · « **Reply #30 on:** Nov 28, 2009, 07:07 PM »

Just spent a great day on Georgetown, even tho the fishing was below par. I was more than a little nervous when I passed Silver Lake to see it completely ice free, but when I topped the hill and could see Georgetown, I was releived to see it completly frozen over. Headed to Red Bridge access just because I don't know the lake. Didn't get on the ice until 10:00 in the morning, and I think that was one reason I didn't hit fish too well. My friend and I fished between about 3 foot and 7 foot of water. Ice was about 5-6 inches. All I could manage was one small (emphasis on small) kokanee, and my friend caught 3 small rainbow and 1 small kokanee. Weather was just plain beautiful. No wind, clear skies, and what seemed like temps in the forties (even tho our holes continued to form ice until we left at 2:00 in the afternoon). Not making excuses, but I really believe that the weather did have somewhat of an effect on the trout fishing, and my inexpecience with kokanees were to blame on my poor results there. Did talk to a guy just before leaving the ice and he gave me and my friend some valuable information on fishing kokanees. All in all, it was a GREAT first day on ice, even tho we didn't do too well. I plan on getting up there again a few more times before my normal lakes freeze over. Will probably head back up mid-week. The next time I plan on starting much earlier though.

Also met for the first time another IceShanty member who was already on the ice. Great talking with you Russ! You can fill everyone in on your results.

One other item - I could only see about 8 other people fishing. I really figured that there would have been much more pressure. I suppose a lot of people who might otherwise had gone up are taking advantage of the last weekend of general hunting season. Personally, I like having the fishery to myself, lol.

bill

waterloo · « **Reply #31 on:** Nov 28, 2009, 07:14 PM »

I also neglected to mention that my friend and I both missed about a dozen hits each. Pretty sure that most were probably kokanees, but I had two very hard hits that were probably rainbows. Also had two pretty nice brookies play with my rig while I watched them, but they just were not feeding aggressively, and I couldn't get either one to take the hook.

bill

Lamnidae · « **Reply #32 on:** Nov 28, 2009, 08:37 PM »

My brother, best friend and I also fished Georgetown today. Got on the ice at Redbridge about 10:30 and caught maybe 30 fish between between the three of us. I know I caught 11, and think everyone else was about on par with that. We lost two absolute beasts (one at the hole, another lower--rainbow and brookie respectively), and had several others make passes. The bigger fish were in shallower water (6' or so), but we caught a lot more fish in the 10' range. Pink and orange--bright as you can--were the colors that were on today.

waterloo · « **Reply #33 on:** Nov 28, 2009, 10:30 PM »

Lamnidae - you must have been the three that came in just north of me and my friend. We didn't have any shelter and was just off of the boat ramp. Glad you did so well. I thought of fishing red or pink, but just stuck with greens today. Hopefully I will get a chance to figure out this lake a little bit in the coming weeks. Next trip over I think that I may head around the point to the Philipsburg bay side.

If I see you up there again, I will drop over and say hi. You had a unique looking shelter so shouldn't be hard to miss (if it was you in the grayish pop-up shelter).

bill

tom1234505 · « **Reply #34 on:** Nov 29, 2009, 03:31 AM »

Quote from: .45-75WCF on Nov 27, 2009, 06:07 PM

So, what area did you fish?

deer something, I didn't really read the roads we were on, all I knew was that there was ice in a lot of spots. (both on the lake and the road) sorry I can't be a little more informative, because I would.

.45-75WCF · « **Reply #35 on:** Nov 29, 2009, 05:58 PM »

Well, I just returned from a day on Georgetown Lake. Started out at Red Bridge boat ramp about 9AM. Drilled four holes, two at about 100' from shore and two more about 150' out. Caught 1 Kokanee and 3 Rainbow. The largest trout was 15". No one else on the ice. At 11AM I moved over to Sunnyside, where I saw only one ice shack. I drilled two holes about 75' from shore and two more about 125' out. I caught most of the fish (all Rainbow) in deeper water. I had the jig down at 10 to 12 ft. Total at Sunnyside was 7 Rainbow, with the largest at 14". The ice was a full 6" thick at every hole. None of these fish were as big as last year. In 2008, my first trip to Georgetown was near the middle of December. It was a day with bright sunshine, but cold. From 8:30AM until 2:30PM, I caught 44 Rainbow and 2 Kokanee. ALL of the Rainbow were 15" to 22". I like catching trout, so for me this was as good as it gets. Maybe I'll have a few days like that, this year. Hope this has been of some help.

waterloo · « **Reply #36 on:** Nov 29, 2009, 07:35 PM »

The post helps me, thanks. I am going up again mid-week, and I plan on fishing a little deeper this go-round. I prefer the trout myself, but if I could catch enough kokanee to make firing up the smoker worth it, that would be just fine. Seeing how I have never fished kokanee before (snagged a few as a kid in Colorado), I went on line last nite and today looking for specific help on tactics. The info that I found, as well as the info provided by a fishereman on the lake on Saturday, should help me catch a few more the next time. I also see by the posts that my thinking that the bright day may have hindered my trout fishing on Saturday was totally in error. I hate admitting that the failure to catch fish could be my own (LOL).

bill

Russ-T · « **Reply #37 on:** Nov 30, 2009, 08:20 AM »

I was up there Sat. at Redbridge. It was nice meeting a few fellow ice shanty members. Good luck when you go back Bill. I started out using a jigging rapala tipped with maggots. It really called the fish in but they would mostly bump it and quickly turn away. after a little bit of this i switched to a Hali jig/spoon thing (can't remember what it's called) with a chain hook tipped with four maggots. i started hooking them after that but nothing spectacular. after a while i noticed that a maggot dropped in the hole was picked up while my lure got ignored. switched to a small pink jig tipped with a single maggot and started catching more but smaller fish. most were between 11-7 foot deep. If i was going again i would probably dead stick a single maggot on a small jig and jig with something aggressive. I lost one nice trout and saw one big rainbow and brookie. This was my first trip to Georgetown and it was a great one well worth the drive for me. If it doesn't ice over soon up in my neck of the woods i might be back...

copperjohn · « **Reply #38 on:** Nov 30, 2009, 10:36 PM »

Hey Russ-T
Glad to see you were able to get out there. How long of a drive is it from GF? If the Hiline doesn't freeze up soon, I might have to try down there.
Lucky you to get out before Dec.
Dave

Russ-T · « **Reply #39 on:** Dec 01, 2009, 12:18 PM »

I would plan on 3 hours. I was told that it was quicker to take 12 out of Helena and then hit 90. not sure if this is quicker or not than going through Butte but i got there anyway. It was a long drive but worth it to get on some ice. It was a pleasent drive and i would recommend stopping by warehouse sports on the way back to help break up the trip. The weather looks like it's supposed to turn COLD today so we might get some ice up here soon!

waterloo · « **Reply #40 on:** Dec 03, 2009, 05:43 PM »

Had planned on going back all week until I saw the weather last night and they were calling for temps in the -15 degree range. When I woke up this morning I was surprised to see that it was a balmy -5 degrees, so I decided to head up again. Fished the Philipsburg Bay area targeting trout this go round. Ice a solid 8 inches with 2 inches snow on top. Started in 15 foot of water, but only got two SMALL rainbows, so I headed into 4 foot of water, where I caught 4 more rainbows (12-13- and 14 inches respectively), and 1 kokanee, and lost two others. Kept the 3 larger trout, and everything else went back in. I thought that I was the only one on the ice until my way out, and I saw two groups at the pump house. A nice day.

With these temps, a few of my area lakes should be fishable middle of next week, so I don't know if I will be making it back to georgetown this winter or not.

bill

tom1234505 · « **Reply #41 on:** Dec 03, 2009, 05:54 PM »

Quote from: waterloo on Dec 03, 2009, 05:43 PM

Had planned on going back all week until I saw the weather last night and they were calling for temps in the -15 degree range. When I woke up this morning I was surprised to see that it was a balmy -5 degrees, so I decided to head up again. Fished the Philipsburg Bay area targeting trout this go round. Ice a solid 8 inches with 2 inches snow on top. Started in 15 foot of water, but only got two SMALL rainbows, so I headed into 4 foot of water, where I caught 4 more rainbows (12-13- and 14 inches respectively), and 1 kokanee, and lost two others. Kept the 3 larger trout, and everything else went back in. I thought that I was the only one on the ice until my way out, and I saw two groups at the pump house. A nice day.

With these temps, a few of my area lakes should be fishable middle of next week, so I don't know if I will be making it back to georgetown this winter or not.

bill

thanks for the update bill, looks like I will be heading up there soon too. I will fill you guys in on the details

.45-75WCF · « **Reply #42 on:** Dec 05, 2009, 11:05 PM »

OK, I know someone had to have gone over to Georgetown today, so how was the fishing?

slyfishy · « **Reply #43 on:** Dec 06, 2009, 03:16 PM »

Sorry for the delayed report. Went out on the morning 12-4-09 and fished for 4 hours before the wind kicked me off the ice (no shelter). I am fairly certain that I did not even have one Kokanee bite the entire time. However, I did catch 13 RBT ranging from 12-16". The fish seemed to get bigger as the morning progressed. Was fishing in about 20-22' of water and there was 6.5-7" of ice about 150 yards from shore. The trout were definitely more into hitting my brighter set ups including my hand line rig with small rat-finkies and a single maggot for salmon. Orange was hot but there was interested in yellow and silver too. Good luck and stay bundled up out there over the next few days.

.45-75WCF · « **Reply #44 on:** Dec 06, 2009, 04:31 PM »

Thanks Slyfishy, for a very interesting report. What area did you fish?

Shyp · « **Reply #45 on:** Dec 06, 2009, 05:51 PM »

went out today and fished dispite the cold and it was well worth it. There was probably 8 inches of ice and i fished in about 10 feet of water. the bite was good in the early morning on small jigs tiped with maggots and a little later in the day at about 10 or so a more aggressive lure like a jigging rapala seemed to work good.

waterloo · « **Reply #46 on:** Dec 06, 2009, 06:26 PM »

You guys are animals, lol! I have wanted to get to both Harrison Resevoir and Delmoe Lake this weekend, but with these temps and the winds, I have just stayed at home trying to stay warm. Hopefully I will get to both by the end of the week. Glad Georgetown is doing well for some of you. I also appreciated the answer one of the members gave on catching Kokanee, there was some good tips there. With ice forming up in my neighborhood, I am not sure if I will make it back to Georgetown this winter, but if not, I will be up there again early next season.

bill

slyfishy · « **Reply #47 on:** Dec 07, 2009, 10:31 AM »

I was off of Piney Point

iceotter88 · « **Reply #48 on:** Dec 07, 2009, 05:53 PM »

Quote from: Russ-T on Nov 24, 2009, 04:30 PM

This would be a 3 hour drive for me(what in Montana isn't though). Thinking about making the drive this weekend however if the ice is good. I've never been here before and am new to the ice. Any tips for this place? And yes if i go i would post a report. Also does this lake contain anything besides trout? Thanks for any info

It's been below zero or just above zero there with light snow cover. The ice should be good and solid by now. Comer's Point and Sunnyside are easy access and usually good indicators of how the lake is. The bays should be easy to get into now too.

iceotter88 · « **Reply #49 on:** Dec 07, 2009, 08:29 PM »

Quote from: andercee on Nov 25, 2009, 04:14 PM

Took the day off of work Tuesday and drove there. Bunch of brookies and a rainbow. There is a huge brookie with a Chubby Darter in it's lip. If found please return it to me.
(Image removed from quote.)
(Image removed from quote.)
The next two pictures are what happens when you let someone use your auger and they hit rocks.
(Image removed from quote.)
We found it was better to actually chop a square in the ice but not go all the way though, then take a rock and bust out the square. Just chopping throws up too much water.
(Image removed from quote.)
Me with a nice catch.
(Image removed from quote.)

We stopped in Helena at Sportsman's Warehouse on the way back and the fishing report board said Georgetown had skim ice. So don't tell anyone!

You DO know that it's catchand release for Brookies at Georgetown don't you? You posted a pic of you holding a decent APPARENTLY dead Brookie.

andercee · « **Reply #50 on:** Dec 08, 2009, 11:07 AM »

Quote from: iceotter88 on Dec 07, 2009, 08:29 PM

You DO know that it's catchand release for Brookies at Georgetown don't you? You posted a pic of you holding a decent APPARENTLY dead Brookie.

The fish was very much alive just had some snow on him. We released all fish. I don't understand why it is catch and release on brook trout though.

IllynPayne · « **Reply #51 on:** Dec 08, 2009, 11:14 AM »

Quote from: andercee on Dec 08, 2009, 11:07 AM

The fish was very much alive just had some snow on him. We released all fish. I don't understand why it is catch and release on brook trout though.

FWP performs gill-netting counts every year, apparently they're counts showed a decline in Brook Trout population. It never made much sense to me though. Seems they usually drop their nets in the deeper parts of the lake, where you don't see a lot of brookies anyway. In my experience they tend to hang in the shallows near springs and inlets.

flyfish59102 · « **Reply #52 on:** Dec 08, 2009, 03:07 PM »

Booke Trout are catch and release because a few years ago there was a significan crash in the brooke trout population. Whirling disease is devestating to brooke trout and when it got into Georgetown the population dropped by something like %80 to %90 in a year or two. They are doing a ton better now, but 4 years ago you saw 1/4 the fish spawning along the pumphouse that you see now.
Hopefully in a another few years they will open it back up. The state record is swiming around in there someplace. Rumor has it that FWP shocked one up a few years ago that was 12lbs.

flyfish59102

.45-75WCF · « **Reply #53 on:** Dec 10, 2009, 06:23 PM »

Anyone been to Georgetown within the last few days? We plan to go again on Saturday.

all4elk · « **Reply #54 on:** Dec 10, 2009, 09:35 PM »

was up their tuesday about ten inches of ice.not much on fish one salmon and a few trout.Was pretty cold so never really moved to find fish.I might head that way saturday or maybe browns lake.

slyfishy · « **Reply #55 on:** Dec 11, 2009, 06:05 PM »

10" of ice, 22' H2O. Rainbows good from first light until I stopped fishing them at 0930. Then it was koker-time. Yeah, that was a waste of two hours. Did pull in a few and had a number of hits and missed hook sets with my hand line but at least this time out there where salmon actually looking at my stuff. Tomorrow should be a good one out all over western Montana so get out and fish folks. See you on the ice.

slyfishy · « **Reply #56 on:** Dec 13, 2009, 09:53 AM »

Was out again yesterday and boy what a difference a day makes. Very few fish of any sorts. It seemed everyone around was moving a lot and that meant we were all having an off one. Could it be the weather front that was moving in and the days leading up to that event cause the fish to forage harder and then shut down with the drop in barometric pressure?

.45-75WCF · « **Reply #57 on:** Dec 14, 2009, 09:47 AM »

My fishing bud and I were on the ice by 7:30 Saturday morning. Fished at Sunnyside until we pulled up stakes at 2PM. We caught around 25 fish all together, two Salmon and the rest were Rainbow with one nice Brookie thrown in. The fishing wasn't the best, but still had a great day.

flyfish59102 · « **Reply #58 on:** Dec 14, 2009, 10:20 AM »

I fished Georgetown on Saturday from about 5:00 a.m. to 11:00am. Fishign for salmon was slow with only 2 silvers. I caught the heck out of trough though. About 20 in all with the biggest being 18 inches. I also got one good brookie. There is plenty of ice. I estimate about 8+ inches. Time to start taking the 4 wheeler so I don't have to haul my gear.

flyfish59102

mtnfisher · « **Reply #59 on:** Dec 14, 2009, 11:51 AM »

Fished Sunday from 8:30am - 1:00pm. 19 rainbows and 2 kokes. Never real fast, but we had fun. Ice 8-10". Water not as clear as it was earlier. Quite a few people on the ice.

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Author Topic: Georgetown Lake ice conditions? (Read 33400 times)