Toston Dam?

[borntohunt365]

Any buddy ever ice fish, it have any luck?, looking to try some new places and I was there a few summers back and caught a couple. Just curious to know.

[feklar]

Past people have said FWP has done a great job cleaning out (killing) the pike that were in there, this is supported by articles detailing their efforts in the Helena IR.  People have reported catching nice trout there in the summer months.  I fished it through the ice one time and the wind was screaming one way, and the current under the ice going to other.  The current was so strong I couldn't get anything besides the heavier jigs to the bottom.

I kind of quit thinking of it as a fishing destination after fwp is working so hard to remove pike from it.

[Wenger]

The pike in there are from an illegal pond stocking up stream that escaped. The reason they are trying to remove them is that several river systems including the Madison, Gallatin, Jeff, Big Hole and Ruby and all the tribs are possible destinations for an out of control invasive pike populations. It is best that they get them controlled at this point IMO.

[camand post 92]

the ice gets thin fast just out past the campground and its bout 30 feet deep there its not worth the drive i don't think

[borntohunt365]

Ya sounds like there is definately better places to try, thanks for the info guys

[vicster]

I don't know that there is the spawning habitat for them to get out of control in those tribs.  We have them in the rivers here in Missoula area from a illegal introduction in the clearwater drainage and the only places they have really taken is in the clark fork from missoula down and the lower sections of the bitteroot where there is some good spawning habitat.  Trout fishing is about the same as before in my opinion and they make for kind of a fun option since they are there, but I definitely don't think we need them in that system (or any more) and I'm glad they are making efforts to knock them back.  Good to hear it seems to be working and it's not just more money down the drain like the Walleye in Noxon.

[Wenger]

They are thick in some off the sloughs off the Jeff and could certainly become established up in parts of the upper Big Hole in the grayling sections where water gets low and warm. They have been caught in the East Gallatin as well. If someone wants some closer to Bozeman they should go up from Whitehall and ask for permission on some of the cattail sloughs around there. I was told FWP was targeting some of those areas a couple years ago as well.

I caught one about 20 years ago in Big Spring Creek and a warden told me about a huge one that lived below the hatchery there.

I have no problem with pike, hell I drive lots of miles to catch them, but I want them in areas that are more suited for them in terms of primary fisheries.

[RipLipper]

Fished it a couple of times through the ice and did not get a bite.  Sketchy ice and a bad current was not enjoyable.  The ice made more noise than any other place I have been to.

[PerchPounderMT]

Where do you think all the pike in Canyon ferry came from,they are spawning in the river just fine.

[vicster]

Spawning in the slack water above toston primarily, and in Canyon Ferry as well (I've seen pics of large ones caught there in the Mid 90's).  They are also all through the Missouri river system, have been for a long time, and haven't taken over as there is limited spawning habitat.  I'm not saying they are not reproducing in the river, but not in huge numbers.

[Fishman Teters]

Never had luck ice fishing Toston. I have done well on open water for trout, carp, and an occasional ling(2 below the dam and multiples upstream by Lombard). I would say the reason I have had no luck on ice is because I am terrified of moving water below the ice, and I won't stay right on top of the current. As for pike....I have had success from Old Town Bridge down to CF. Its been almost 2 years since my last one, but I haven't been targeting them either.

[Fishman Teters]

2 more things...Some old timers I have talked to over the years have told me about pike around Townsend since before CF was developed. That is interesting to me. I personally remember people catching pike by the pipes in Toston back in the mid 90's.
Second thing...has anybody but me gone out and had a day of catching Stone Cats along the pockets of the Missouri, from the Headwaters to a little past Fairwether?

[cutbow_07]

I have heard much of the same.   People have been catching them around three forks for a long time and up towards Cardwell as well.   This is certainly a touchy subject with many people though and I merely find it amusing to keep in mind which fish are "native" from one year to the next. 

[njoy]

fman Teters, yes on the stonecats. In the mid 60s several of us would get together and get a mess of them for a fish fry party. Also caught my first northern in Canyon Ferry around 1999 or 2000. Thanks for bringing up the stonecats. Good memories!

[Fishman Teters]

fman Teters, yes on the stonecats. In the mid 60s several of us would get together and get a mess of them for a fish fry party. Also caught my first northern in Canyon Ferry around 1999 or 2000. Thanks for bringing up the stonecats. Good memories!

You are welcome. I caught my first stone cat in 1986. I was 6 years old, fishing at the Headwaters with my dad. Garden hackle....crawler on an eagle claw # 6, under some split shot. My dad just tossed it back like it was nothing special, but that day started a love affair between myself and catfish. I still catch them stones periodically. The boat ramp at the Headwaters, downstream from where the Gallatin joins, will have some close to the bank starting in April. The numbers are not as high as they used to be, but they are in there.

[eastmont]

You are welcome. I caught my first stone cat in 1986. I was 6 years old, fishing at the Headwaters with my dad. Garden hackle....crawler on an eagle claw # 6, under some split shot. My dad just tossed it back like it was nothing special, but that day started a love affair between myself and catfish. I still catch them stones periodically. The boat ramp at the Headwaters, downstream from where the Gallatin joins, will have some close to the bank starting in April. The numbers are not as high as they used to be, but they are in there.

So I've always referred to stone cats as the tiny (not over 4-5in long) catfish you catch in the lower missouri, known to the rest of the world as madtoms (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madtom). Are you guys catching bullheads?

[Fishman Teters]

So I've always referred to stone cats as the tiny (not over 4-5in long) catfish you catch in the lower missouri, known to the rest of the world as madtoms (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madtom). Are you guys catching bullheads?

They are indeed a Stone Cat. Not a bullhead. I have never caught one over 11". They are even listed in the fishing regs. I do catch bullheads, stone cats, and channel cats out on the Yellowstone by Huntley and Pryor Creek. By the time you get to Captain Clark, it really gets good.

[eastmont]

Interesting, thanks for the clarification.