brookies in lakes around kalispell

[heine]

are there any brooky lake around the flathead valley that would b good for icefishing???
 

[MatCat]

I think upper whitefish lake has brookies if you can get into it.

[gregv17]

Beaver Lake is supposed to have some brookies in it. Though I have only caught salmon and rainbows out of there.

[Papa John]

Been fishing brookies around the Flathead for 30 years and the decline is discouraging. FWP has decided that they are nearly a trash species and do not promote nor plant them any longer. Once upon a time, many of the lakes west of Kal. and Whitefish were brookie havens. NOooo longer. Little McGregor has a remanent population as does Spoon (Nine Mile) above C.Falls. Never caught one out of Upper Whitefish and I fished it alot. Still some in Stryker, Cliff, and the Lakes above Whitefish, although they are disappearing fast due to concentrated pressure. It's a shame. They're still one of my favorites. FWP thinks rainbow are the answer to everything these days. That, combined with our very own bucket-biologists and their affinity for perch and pike, will kill the rest eventually, me thinks. I travel to the Two Med. lakes in GNP for good brookies but winter access is out of the question.

[heine]

thanks for the help guys ya it is pretty discouraging ones of the prettiest fish i have caught

[PyroZuki]

thanks for the help guys ya it is pretty discouraging ones of the prettiest fish i have caught

Tastiest too!!!

I've had pretty good luck at Little McG. It's been two years since I've been there, but the years prior were rewarding!

[heine]

where should u fish little mcg for brookies
 

[PyroZuki]

I used to stick around the rock bluffs and north of them.

[natedogg18]

Yea, Pyros right.  Little McG has been pretty good for me for brookies in the summer.  Never fished it in the winter.  Most of the brookies in that area seem to be up in the glacier area and there is no way you are making it up there in the winter.  I've heard of a secret pond up that way that is not on the FWP page but is indeed a public pond.  Only overheard conversations up there at Snappy's but I guess there are supposed to be some hogs.  Never been there myself.  Might be worth it to ask around and see if anyone is dumb enough to give away its location.

[MTviking]

It may be a little farther than you want to drive but there are some lakes in the clearwater chain that have brookies.  I don't know that any of them could be considered good Brookie fisheries but they have some anyhow.  I've heard of a few out of either Inez or Alva or both, Rainy Lake, and I've personally caught quite a few out of Placid, but even that was maybe one brookie out of every 2 or 3 outings with the exception of one particular day that we caught several between 3 people.

And honesty, I highly doubt there is a better lake for Brookies in the lower 48 than Georgetown.  But that is quite the jaunt from Kalispell.

[PyroZuki]

^ True, Georgetown is a KILLER brook fishery! Especially since we'll be able to keep them after the first!!!

[bucketbass]

Been fishing brookies around the Flathead for 30 years and the decline is discouraging. FWP has decided that they are nearly a trash species and do not promote nor plant them any longer. Once upon a time, many of the lakes west of Kal. and Whitefish were brookie havens. NOooo longer. Little McGregor has a remanent population as does Spoon (Nine Mile) above C.Falls. Never caught one out of Upper Whitefish and I fished it alot. Still some in Stryker, Cliff, and the Lakes above Whitefish, although they are disappearing fast due to concentrated pressure. It's a shame. They're still one of my favorites. FWP thinks rainbow are the answer to everything these days. That, combined with our very own bucket-biologists and their affinity for perch and pike, will kill the rest eventually, me thinks. I travel to the Two Med. lakes in GNP for good brookies but winter access is out of the question.

wow reading that statement makes me sick "trash species" i would personally smack that dude who would rather replenish the rainbow over a brookie first off, not to mention the char/brook trout is one of the most native fish in north america

[Papa John]

Bucketbass:

The logic of FWP not promoting brookies, if I get it correctly, is that they are not native to Montana and are very prolific breeders. There is so much emphasis on the West Slope cutt these days and "native" fisheries that all else is sinful. Most other species we see being promoted are native to the state in one drainage or another ('eyes in the Missouri, rainbow in the tribs of the Columbia as examples) and are therefore OK, even though most of the waters they are in now may never have had them originally. Rainbow are on the black list now due to their ability to cross with the beloved cutt. Brookies, being a char, can only cross with lake trout as I understand it, so that threat is non-existant. They spawn over bottoms that can not be used by other chars or trout and can therefore take over a lake, over populate, and stunt quite rapidly, thus the 20 fish limit.  Many local lakes contained good brookie populations over the years, but the lovers of perch and pike with their bucket-biology have ruined many of them for everything else with illegal introductions of those species. Ya, many of us love the brookie but it appears to be a fading affair for us.

[missoulafish]

Brook Trout  hybridize with Bull Trout with great success where they interact in the same environments causing genetic polution and sterile offsping.  There has been extensive work done in the Mission Valley on this.

[MTviking]

^ True, Georgetown is a KILLER brook fishery! Especially since we'll be able to keep them after the first!!!

You may be "allowed" to keep them, but unless it is a monster that you want to hang on your wall, I hope you and other people will release them.  Georgetown is chocked full of Kokanee that need thinning, hence the no limit, and they are every bit as tastey if not more so than Brookies.  Keep the bows and Kokes for eating and keep Georgetown renowned for it's trophy sized brookies.

[Papa John]

Missoula:

Hey, thanks for the correction on the hybridization w/ bull trout.

[Aaron072]

try fishtrap lake i think up by stryker

[fish to live]

any  beaver pond in the swan valley has plenty to satisfy, clear water lake has sum good fishing, u need a snow cat to get to it... good luck

[Papa John]

Fished Stryker Lake(aka: Fish Lake) a week ago. Good ice, about 8" or so. Only caught three small skinny brookies on Sweedish Pimples. Not sure what's going on with the lake but the size of fish has decreased the past few years since the water level was raised by the lodge owners. Still some better fish in there, but nothing like it was just a couple years ago.

[Aaron072]

haven't fished it in 4 years but boy we got some dandies when we did

[cjflorence88]

You may be "allowed" to keep them, but unless it is a monster that you want to hang on your wall, I hope you and other people will release them.  Georgetown is chocked full of Kokanee that need thinning, hence the no limit, and they are every bit as tastey if not more so than Brookies.  Keep the bows and Kokes for eating and keep Georgetown renowned for it's trophy sized brookies.

yes please think of what everybody has said once the big brookies are gone they are gone fwp will not restock them. and brookies are slow growing fish, the hogs in there can be as old a 10years old to get to be 4 LBS

[snakeyes_981984]

Been fishing brookies around the Flathead for 30 years and the decline is discouraging. FWP has decided that they are nearly a trash species and do not promote nor plant them any longer. Once upon a time, many of the lakes west of Kal. and Whitefish were brookie havens. NOooo longer. Little McGregor has a remanent population as does Spoon (Nine Mile) above C.Falls. Never caught one out of Upper Whitefish and I fished it alot. Still some in Stryker, Cliff, and the Lakes above Whitefish, although they are disappearing fast due to concentrated pressure. It's a shame. They're still one of my favorites. FWP thinks rainbow are the answer to everything these days. That, combined with our very own bucket-biologists and their affinity for perch and pike, will kill the rest eventually, me thinks. I travel to the Two Med. lakes in GNP for good brookies but winter access is out of the question.

Yeah i agree fwp everything they touch turns to screwed up. Rainbows are nice but lets be honest brookies are better eating.

[snakeyes_981984]

Been fishing brookies around the Flathead for 30 years and the decline is discouraging. FWP has decided that they are nearly a trash species and do not promote nor plant them any longer. Once upon a time, many of the lakes west of Kal. and Whitefish were brookie havens. NOooo longer. Little McGregor has a remanent population as does Spoon (Nine Mile) above C.Falls. Never caught one out of Upper Whitefish and I fished it alot. Still some in Stryker, Cliff, and the Lakes above Whitefish, although they are disappearing fast due to concentrated pressure. It's a shame. They're still one of my favorites. FWP thinks rainbow are the answer to everything these days. That, combined with our very own bucket-biologists and their affinity for perch and pike, will kill the rest eventually, me thinks. I travel to the Two Med. lakes in GNP for good brookies but winter access is out of the question.

Yeah i agree fwp everything they touch turns to screwed up. Rainbows are nice but lets be honest brookies are better eating.

[heine]

Been fishing brookies around the Flathead for 30 years and the decline is discouraging. FWP has decided that they are nearly a trash species and do not promote nor plant them any longer. Once upon a time, many of the lakes west of Kal. and Whitefish were brookie havens. NOooo longer. Little McGregor has a remanent population as does Spoon (Nine Mile) above C.Falls. Never caught one out of Upper Whitefish and I fished it alot. Still some in Stryker, Cliff, and the Lakes above Whitefish, although they are disappearing fast due to concentrated pressure. It's a shame. They're still one of my favorites. FWP thinks rainbow are the answer to everything these days. That, combined with our very own bucket-biologists and their affinity for perch and pike, will kill the rest eventually, me thinks. I travel to the Two Med. lakes in GNP for good brookies but winter access is out of the question.

i have tried little mcregor and wuz just wonderin i couldnt catch the brookies where r they at?

[heine]

turns out fish and games poisened little mcregor a couple years back to get rid of the perch and now most of the big trout r gone and the brookies are gone and just a bunch of little dinky perch

[snakeyes_981984]

They poisoned little mcgregor to get rid of perch and all it did was get rid of the trout wow another good idea by fwp i was up there 2 weeks ago and all you caught was perch.

[heine]

definately snakeyes we asked the game warden and he wuz clueless and then he yelled at us for leaving perch on the ice i mean a little contradictory if u ask me

[heine]

silly fwp but still we have to have some law u know

[snakeyes_981984]

yeah i know but i still think we could do a whole lot better but damn the bad luck we have to deal.

[heine]

i totally agree snakeyes we just have to bend over and take it