Hyalite Greyling or other Hyalite tips

[jimmerjammer]

I went out to Hyalite today, and i did better than i usualy do there, but i still have yet to catch a greyling. Does anyone have any info as to where to fish for these guys on this lake, and in what depth and other info. I caught 6 brookies, and 6 cut-throughts, one was 16 1/2 (CT), a pretty nice sized fish.  Used a little srimp jig w/ a piece of night crawler in about 17 fow, about straight across from the youth camp.  Thanks for any info, its a nice place close to town, but hate treking all the way through all that snow to get skunked, and i have yet to see a greyling, so that would be great to mark another species of my list of fish to catch

[MSU Jay]

I have caught greyling on a jig with red maggots only, have yet to catch one using worms up there. Caught just under a 3# and 2.4# in about 12 fow a little while ago.

[fishonice]

I have caught greyling on a jig with red maggots only, have yet to catch one using worms up there. Caught just under a 3# and 2.4# in about 12 fow a little while ago.

Are you the Jay that i maybe tried to help get un-stuck up there??

[MSU Jay]

Ya it is, thanks for all your help by the way.

[fishonice]

yeah no prob anytime man. how did all that work out anyways? been back up fishing?

[spedray]

I have yet to catch any thru the ice up there. I have heard they like the deeper water in the winter. There is some really deep (100' plus) water towards the dam. Were you fishing out of a black sled by the inlet. I was up there that day in the same area with a red tent. Ended up with 5 cut's, one was 19".

[fishonice]

I have yet to catch any thru the ice up there. I have heard they like the deeper water in the winter. There is some really deep (100' plus) water towards the dam. Were you fishing out of a black sled by the inlet. I was up there that day in the same area with a red tent. Ended up with 5 cut's, one was 19".

i have a black sled if you were asking me. i usually fish first thing in the morning by hood creek

[jimmerjammer]

might have been me, the cuts i caught that day were pretty nice too.

[spedray]

Yeah most of the cuts I have been catching have been of a good size this year. However for the past month I have had a tuff time finding a lot of them. I always seem to catch a few though. Earlier this winter I had a tough time keeping them off the hook. Has anybody had any luck fishing really deep. I have been finding most of the trout at 20 fow or shallower. And it seems the only time I catch them is buncing the bait right in front of their nose.

[jimmerjammer]

i have been fishing between 20-45 fow, most in the 25 foot zone. i talked to some guys who were fishing in like 60 fow and they caught 2. I always see people by the dam, but i  don't know if they are fishing on bottom or what.

[fishawn]

Hey fellas, I'm new to this ice shanty thing and have never made it up to Hyalite. Is it worth the short trip from Bozeman or is Canyon Ferry the place to go for ice fishing? I've always made the trek to CF, but am interested in knowing a little more about Hyalite. I got the depth from your posts, but is there a side or area of the lake that seems to be better fishing than others? Any info would be helpful. Thanks fellas.

[fishonice]

Hey fellas, I'm new to this ice shanty thing and have never made it up to Hyalite. Is it worth the short trip from Bozeman or is Canyon Ferry the place to go for ice fishing? I've always made the trek to CF, but am interested in knowing a little more about Hyalite. I got the depth from your posts, but is there a side or area of the lake that seems to be better fishing than others? Any info would be helpful. Thanks fellas.

I usually fish between 10 and 15 FOW and have good luck early morning. I set up in the dark and the bites tend to stop around the time the sun crests the mountains. I generally use either size 6 or 8 tear drops. Red, green/yellow, or blue seem to work with a piece of crawler or maggots. jamminjigs has a great selection and they are pretty quick to get em to ya.

[fishawn]

I usually fish between 10 and 15 FOW and have good luck early morning. I set up in the dark and the bites tend to stop around the time the sun crests the mountains. I generally use either size 6 or 8 tear drops. Red, green/yellow, or blue seem to work with a piece of crawler or maggots. jamminjigs has a great selection and they are pretty quick to get em to ya.

Thanks fishonice for the info. I'll have to give it a try since it's much easier to get out of bed and make it up there before light than it is to do it on CF. To pass along some info back, if you ever make it up to CF and want to fish for trout, go past the pressure ridge by the Silo's (might be sketchy right now) and around the corner there's a bay and about at 20-25 fow we did pretty good for trout. They were suspended at 6-8 fow and were hitting jigs tipped with worms. Biggest was 24". I'm going up there this Sat. and will report back (assuming the pressure ridge is safe) if the bay is still holding fish.

[spedray]

A nice thing about hylite it they have a lot of brookies that are excellent eating and you can keep 20. I like fishing there if I can only get away for a half day. It's good to have a shack on hylite because you can see so far down the holes and actually jig to the fish. I have had good luch near the inlet at the far end, and near the youth camp in 13 fow give or take. Cf has a lot bigger average fish but those big boys don't taste nearly as good unless smoked. If going to cf you almost have to make it a full day to make it worthwhile. But on the other had you can also go after perch, ling, and walleye.

[fishonice]

Had a great morning up Hyalite today. Couldn't have asked for much better. At least 12 brookies and 5 cuts. Couldn't keep them off the hook. 

[Bozeiceman]

Hyalite is beautiful and slow fishing for 14-19" cutts and small brookies and rare grayling in my experience. The cutts are pretty and tasty but not so game at all...This is a place where super light lines 2 and 4 and small razor sharp hooks and absolute minimum weights are critical. The far shallow end of lake is better for action the deep dam side larger cutts in my experiance.
To me Canyon Ferry is a homely wind blown place. You need to be prepared out there. But Canyon Ferry has rainbows in the 3 to 5 pound class that will PEEL DRAG and sizzel under the ice...there are days on canyon ferry where you can hammer perch....totally different experiance. I use 2 and four at hylite and 8 lb at CF....you hook a 5 pound CF rainbow and you won't want 6 pound on ofcourse it can be done..if you are into that sporting thing I'm afte a picture and a release!

[jimmerjammer]

i think for the proximity to town, hyalite can't be beat. there are lots of fish in there, lots, but i still havn't caught a grayling yet, and those cuts taste so much better then them big bows. The last 5 times i went out i caught my limit in a few hours, plus releasing a bunch, while i have yet to have a good CF trip. I find that you should fish areas that don't get fished much. I have noticed on my vexilar that by the dam, fish tend to come in at the bait and do several "fly-bys", before just barely sucking in the jig... super light bights. Farther back twards the other end of the lake, fish seem to come in, look at the bait, and maybe do one or two fly-bys, and then give decent bite. Some of the areas of the lake that are a pain to get to because of thigh deep snow are worth it. Friday i caught a 22 inch cutty that looked more like a tuna, but i had to really trek through some crap to get there. i put her back, figured she was plum full of eggs for how fat the fish was.

[Icejigs]

Can a person get down to the ice around the cabins or do you have to get on off the boat ramp? Drove up there with the wife last week but did not drive around much to look things over. Thanks.

[fishonice]

what cabins are you referring to? the boat launch is burried in snow so there is no driving down to it.

[Icejigs]

Cabins toward East (?) end, and yes I saw the boat ramp was full of snow. Lots of kids playing on it too. Thanks.

[fishawn]

Hey another tip is not to bring your quad up there! It's a $175 fine and the lady isn't forgiving at all. Wow times have changed since I was last up there in the winter. You used to be able to ride snow machines around all over up there. Now pulling your quad out, driving it down the boat ramp, and riding it on the ice cost you some serious cash!

[pickledpike]

If you don't mind me asking, what was the fine for.  I have seen lots of snowmobiles up there.  No quads though.

[spedray]

You can't have a motorized vehicle of any kind up there anymore except for moser area I believe. You can't even ride a snowmobile on the res. anymore. They do have it posted pretty good about that on all the boards. The road is plowed a pretty good ways. You can acesses it by the cabins but you have to carry everything down and the snow is about knee height.

[fishawn]

You can't have a motorized vehicle of any kind up there anymore except for moser area I believe. You can't even ride a snowmobile on the res. anymore. They do have it posted pretty good about that on all the boards. The road is plowed a pretty good ways. You can acesses it by the cabins but you have to carry everything down and the snow is about knee height.

I realized that after she pointed it out. I showed up before dark and pulling your sled down the boat ramp you aren't really looking around, but rather watching to make sure your sled doesn't tip over or anything is falling out. It was an honest mistake, if I would have seen the sign I wouldn't have gone out there, but that didn't happen.

[iceandwiskey]

Yep, Isn't Bozeman great!!  Last year you could still ride a sled on the res. and on the trails only, now only on the trails.  The year before that you had free range with a sled.  Last year was the first year they plowed the road all the way to the res. so now all of the Subaru driving, tree hugging, bunny ..., tulip smelling, nature natzies have complained about the sledders that have been going up there for the last 20 years with there nasty two strokes.  You should take a sled up there on the weekend when there is a crowd and just see the looks you get from them!  They way its going it will not be long and it will be catch and release with barb less hooks.   

[fishinwithbrittanies]

Its all about catering to the few and not the masses.  I think its because the few people make the most noise.  I don't ride snow mobiles but I really can't see the harm.  They ride on snow and snow melts in the spring so I can't see who gets hurt by them.  I like the road being plowed but in my own way I wish they wouldn't do it.  When its plowed its more accessible to the college kids to go up there and throw parties and leave their garbage everywhere.  One of the times I was up there I picked up maybe 6 or seven beer bottles and cans just left on the ice after they were partying.  Another guy I ran into had his sidewall on one his tires get ripped wide open buy a broken wine bottle.  So, lets give a fine to people riding snowmobiles or quads but by all means lets leave it open to become bozeman's other dump.

[fishonice]

Its all about catering to the few and not the masses.  I think its because the few people make the most noise.  I don't ride snow mobiles but I really can't see the harm.  They ride on snow and snow melts in the spring so I can't see who gets hurt by them.  I like the road being plowed but in my own way I wish they wouldn't do it.  When its plowed its more accessible to the college kids to go up there and throw parties and leave their garbage everywhere.  One of the times I was up there I picked up maybe 6 or seven beer bottles and cans just left on the ice after they were partying.  Another guy I ran into had his sidewall on one his tires get ripped wide open buy a broken wine bottle.  So, lets give a fine to people riding snowmobiles or quads but by all means lets leave it open to become bozeman's other dump.

I couldn't agree more. I'm in college but it has always driven me mad to see people leave there trash behind. Guess i was brought up differently i guess. Might have something to do with be a fish&wildlife management major too.
I don't see any reason why sled and 4 wheelers can't be used up there as long as they are on the trails. I wish they wouldn't even plow the D@%N road i made it up just fine when they didn't, plus i think it was safer. All they did by plowing was let the ice form and the people drive like idiots on the road. Can ride sleds in a national park but not up hyalite??? doesn't make any sense to me

[jimmerjammer]

This is the dumbest thing on earth!! I can see staying on the trails, because i love golf, and in the winter in my hometown, snowmobilers would use the golf course to cruise around on, and where the snow was a little bit thin, the snowmobiles would tear the hell out of the ground. Then again this is a wild, rocky area, and not a manicured golf course. So who cares about tearing up the ice, its all going to melt anyways. I think you should be allowed to use a snowmobile on the lake at an idle speed at least, just enough to get to point a to b. If their complaint is the noise, then it will only be a matter of time until gas augers arn't allowed, only hand augers.... Bull crapz!!!! I don't snowmobile, but i don't have anything against them, and i have a really big problem... REALLLY BIG with someone else telling me or someone else what they can or cannot do. I thought this was America, it has become the United States of Buerocracy, and i am sick of it!!! I think we should start a petition through this site, after all, we have lots of members... and we may be able to offer a different point of interst than the tree huggers to the forest service. If they can get crap like this passed, there is no reason why a large group of ice-fisherman can't undo it.

[jimmerjammer]

Or maybe we should get like 100 guys together with sleds, and hold a big drag-racing tourney on ice one saturday. I serioulsy doubt that they would be able to ticket everyone, or even willing. If i was one pencil pusher up against 100 angry snowmobilers, i might think twice about how much i really like my job.

[fishawn]

I really appriciate the enthusiasm fellas, as I feel the same way! I think first and for most is to show up to court with me and plead a case. Yeah, its only $175, but its the point that pisses me off the most! What I don't understand is why can't that land be used for both the Subaru x-countrying skiing folks, the "need for speed" sledders, and the people like us who want to ice fish, but also want the luxury of towing our crap across the ice. I don't see it in a way that you ban one activity from participating in the outdoors for another, you just allow more people to join in the festivities! Who seriously has freedom, the one who b***hes the most?
I think we should put together a petition for the right to drive on the ice! They allow motor boats in the summer on the water, why not sleds or quads in the winter?

P.S. She also threatened me that my quad is not street legal. What was she going to fine me for driving my quad from my truck across 20 yards of gravel to the boat ramp without having mirrors and a licenses plate? I about lost it on that one!