Author Topic: Perch in Bozeman (Read 7328 times)

trouthunter150 · « **on:** Jan 07, 2009, 01:05 PM »

Best places to find perch are only at 2 places. Bozeman Beach and Bozeman Pond by the mall. Strikes will be light in general so small floats or spring bobbers are a must.

fishinwithbrittanies · « **Reply #1 on:** Jan 08, 2009, 10:31 AM »

Id add canyon ferry to that list as well, really not that far. The other Helena lakes aren't really that far either if your going to head that way.
I was at the beach yesterday and just hammered them. I went to the N end of the lake first, nothing. Tried down south a bit more, saw fish but nothing. Moved past the skating rink and fished some holes that had been punched and bam. The vexi was red for about 5 feet up from the bottom pretty much the whole time. Tough to get them to bite but I landed four while talking on the phone with the wife. They were all pretty small and I go there for fun anyway, I don't keep them in there. Other guys I talked to said they had about 30. I found that you had to move around. Fish a hole catch five or six, move to the next hole catch five or six, move again repeat and finally the last hole I fished stayed consistent enough to stay. Jig light.

trouthunter150 · « **Reply #2 on:** Jan 13, 2009, 04:58 PM »

Ya good to mention canyon ferry and all.. Ya the perch are generally small at the beach. But at bozeman pond in the summer on the west side I landed some decient perch. The thing is catching them in the winter..

fishinwithbrittanies · « **Reply #3 on:** Jan 13, 2009, 06:58 PM »

I was on the beach yesterday and we hammered them again. I would venture to say somewhere in the neighborhood of 80. Fished most of the day for once. I got there at about 11 and fished till 3.30. Met up with a couple of other guys who were keeping them and I helped them out with a rather nice pile of fish. One rainbow and one sucker as well.
I fish the ponds in bozeman because they are close. The mall pond or bozeman pond is fun for numbers. I've done the best for the perch which really are pretty big by the dog beach part. I guess that would be the west side. Problem is fighting through all the stocker rainbows

spedray · « **Reply #4 on:** Jan 13, 2009, 07:34 PM »

Fished the mall pond today for a couple of hours caught a bunch of little trout but only a few perch. I was fishing in the far cove by the mall.

jig-jig THUMP · « **Reply #5 on:** Jan 14, 2009, 09:59 PM »

Does the Lions Club still hold a trout derby there for kids in the spring with those magnum sized brood fish? My middle son (the biggest in the pic below) caught the derby winner there in 2003 before we moved east. It was 24" and weighed 7.5 lb. Pretty good for a 6 yr old. Those would be a blast to latch onto through the ice.

jjT

Bowhunter4Life · « **Reply #6 on:** Jan 15, 2009, 01:54 PM »

Hows it going been killing them on the beach for the last four years just wanting to know if the fishin has been good yet this year always fish in front of the willow bushes on the southeastern side of the pond. let me know.

trouthunter150 · « **Reply #7 on:** Jan 15, 2009, 05:07 PM »

Plan on hitting one of these ponds this weekend if i get the chance if the ice is still good...

fishinwithbrittanies · « **Reply #8 on:** Jan 15, 2009, 10:44 PM »

The ice is plenty good. They even have an ice rink on the beach. Drill a hole or two and if your not getting bites in 5 minutes move. Drill another repeat. I've been getting them on both ends of the lake but they definitely seem to hold in different spots. I fish one afternoon and was on them, fished the same holes the next day and nothing. Moved 25 yds and couldn't keep them off. Helps to fish flashes right away until you start getting bites then switch to smaller jigs once you got them at the doorstep. jig softly and you'll get them to bite. At the mall pond you would be hard pressed to not catch anything. Seriously each time I've been there I can't even fish two rods. Dink stocker rainbow but its fun. Take some kids along

chucknduck · « **Reply #9 on:** Jan 27, 2009, 09:03 PM »

ever catch any big enough to keep

fishinwithbrittanies · « **Reply #10 on:** Jan 28, 2009, 01:43 PM »

Not really. Its just a place for me to take out my dogs, and I think it would be great for kids. I mean there are fish in there you could fillet and I know people who keep them but if I know I am going to keep some I usually just head to CF. They are just bigger

fishinforpigs · « **Reply #11 on:** Jan 29, 2009, 08:17 AM »

I Fished the Bozeman pond last night for about an hour and ended up with 15 or so. Fished on the east side near the mall back in the little bay. Didn't keep any, they were mostly all pretty small, biggest was 11 inches. Jigging with a Halli and maggots did the trick, didn't explore much beyond that as I din't have much gear with me

perchhogslayer · « **Reply #12 on:** Jan 29, 2009, 09:32 AM »

Quote from: fishinforpigs on Jan 29, 2009, 08:17 AM

I Fished the Bozeman pond last night for about an hour and ended up with 15 or so. Fished on the east side near the mall back in the little bay. Didn't keep any, they were mostly all pretty small, biggest was 11 inches. Jigging with a Halli and maggots did the trick, didn't explore much beyond that as I din't have much gear with me

Ever eat those fish, or are they like fish out of Spring Meadow or Lake Helena? city fish. too much attitude for my tastes...

fishinwithbrittanies · « **Reply #13 on:** Jan 29, 2009, 10:16 AM »

the fish out of the bozeman pond by the mall are the very definition of "city fish"

perchhogslayer · « **Reply #14 on:** Jan 29, 2009, 10:41 AM »

Kinda like I'd never shoot and eat a city deer. eating all that fertilizer and pesticides can't be good.

fishinforpigs · « **Reply #15 on:** Jan 29, 2009, 12:04 PM »

Never even thought about eating one of them. SOmething about a pond that is located next to the mall parking lot just doesn't sound good to me.

trouthunter150 · « **Reply #16 on:** Jan 29, 2009, 05:45 PM »

Deer that eat out of city parks would just be fine as any other deer, especially if it has been in grandma's garden and roses...

fishinwithbrittanies · « **Reply #17 on:** Jan 29, 2009, 07:09 PM »

like fishinforpigs said about the parking lot sorta tells you about the water quality. People swim in it but Im not one of those people. That said its still fun to go kill a couple hours and you can catch literally hundreds of fish in a day. They also have hatchery fish in there that are huge.

Bowhunter4Life · « **Reply #18 on:** Jan 29, 2009, 08:32 PM »

Was out on the beach last week almost every day in the afternoons and didnt have much luck other than a bunch of monster suckers. Just throwing my two cents in the pot. Hope ya guys have better luck that i did.

spedray · « **Reply #19 on:** Jan 29, 2009, 08:49 PM »

The suckers in there would make good ling fishing bait

Been wanting to try for some in Canyon Ferry.

fishforfood72 · « **Reply #20 on:** Jan 29, 2009, 09:36 PM »

what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger

fishinforpigs · « **Reply #21 on:** Jan 30, 2009, 03:23 PM »

Eating a fish from the Bozeman beach might just kill ya, didn't that used to be the old land fill?

fishinwithbrittanies · « **Reply #22 on:** Jan 30, 2009, 10:31 PM »

Id say the beach is much much cleaner than the one buy the mall

AfternoonAngler · « **Reply #23 on:** Feb 01, 2009, 02:48 PM »

I don't know... I landed a 3 pound rainbow right behind the mall a couple summers ago. It fought like a heavy log and when I got it to shore, I saw that it's fins had rotted into nubs and the tip of it's jaw was the size of a gumball from fungus.

Went belly up when I gave him a shove back home.

Just gets too warm I think.

mtjohn · « **Reply #24 on:** Feb 01, 2009, 09:35 PM »

Quote from: AfternoonAngler on Feb 01, 2009, 02:48 PM

I saw that it's fins had rotted into nubs and the tip of it's jaw was the size of a gumball from fungus.

Its fins didn't rot off of the fish, it was most likely a brood trout from the hatchery, before it was in that pond it lived in a concrete tank and it rubbed its fins off.

fishinwithbrittanies · « **Reply #25 on:** Feb 01, 2009, 10:03 PM »

by the beach I mean bozeman beach, not the mall pond. Those fish, especially those big ones are pretty gnar.

spedray · « **Reply #26 on:** Feb 01, 2009, 10:09 PM »

Fished the Beach on Sat. I couldn't believe how many people where out there. There was easily over a dozen dif. groups. Didn't catch a whole lot of fish but did find a sucker for ling next time I'am at Cf. Fish would only seem to hit if you where jigging. I also couldn't believe how murky the water was. It was kind of disgusting.

Bowhunter4Life · « **Reply #27 on:** Feb 03, 2009, 05:06 PM »

It is the first time that I have noticed the the water has ever been this murky most years when in an ice shack you could see the bottom and sometimes see the fish but now it is hard to see even 2 feet down the hole.

wallinuts · « **Reply #28 on:** Feb 03, 2009, 09:48 PM »

Do you guys catch many suckers in there?

fishinwithbrittanies · « **Reply #29 on:** Feb 04, 2009, 11:51 AM »

Seems to me whenever I have been there you can't help but catch a sucker or two. Its weird but the one time I caught them they were suspended. People hate catching suckers, and I am not a fan of them, but for the beach they are the hardest fighting fish in there.

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Author Topic: Perch in Bozeman (Read 7328 times)