Spring Ice-Out Fishing on Montana’s Lakes

Ice-out is one of the best times of the year to take a truly large trout. This fish came just after ice-out along Montana's Rocky Mountain Front. Cruise the shorelines during mornings and evenings, when the wind is calm, and you can often sight-fish to these monsters. Take a variety of flies and a floating line, along with an indicator or two.

The ice has finally come off some of our favorite lakes and reservoirs, and over the next week or so more lakes will open. Anglers have been chomping at the bit because warming water temperatures make aquatic organisms active and the trout take notice. In many of our lakes, rainbows congregate along shorelines to feed and search out suitable gravel for spawning. This provides great chances—the best of the year in fact—to sight-fish for some big trout, even if you are restricted to fishing from shore. Here are a few tips to increase your success.

Don’t do what everyone else is doing, unless it’s working

Anglers have a tendency to congregate in specific places. Sometimes there is a reason. Other times anglers just go where there’s easy access, such as boat launches and docks. Sometimes trout are drawn to those areas and those spots can produce lots of fish. But, these places can become crowded and the fish may be very difficult to catch. During these times, it might be worth looking for some quieter locations. If you do just that, you may find a concentration of trout that haven’t been beaten over the head by lures and flies. These fish may be way more aggressive to your flies and you might enjoy a legendary day.

Find structure or ambush points and embrace the wind

When scouting a lake for the first time looks for points, inlets, outlets of streams, docks, depressions and even broad flats. The fish can concentrate in these areas and if you find these spots before anyone else, again, you might enjoy some legendary hours on the water. If you find the fish, turn the flash off on your phone . . . unless you want company.

If the wind is blowing don’t give up. In fact, the wind can be your friend. Find a point with a crosswind and you’ll likely find fish working into the current created by that wind. The wind can stir up the bottom and expose food sources. In addition, a chop on the water makes the fish happy and comfortable.

Fish during the best times

The first and last one-to three hours of daylight are always key times. Rainbows are typically not night feeders. But, when the light comes on, they are ready to eat. Later, when the sun gets high, they can become spooky, fussy, and switch on and off. Once the sun drops, the bite often returns. But, remember, fish can be aggressive during the midday hours, too, so fish if you have the gumption.

Trout foods

Leeches, minnows, shrimp/scuds, water boatman, chironomid larvae and pupae are the key players during spring. My favorite place to start is with balanced leeches and buggers. Whether the fish actually take them to be leeches or minnows doesn’t matter. The key point is they consistently work. If you encounter calm conditions, casting and retrieving is the way to go. If there is wind and wave action, fishing one or two flies under an indicator is the preferred method. Wind pushes the flies along and the wave action imparts great action, essentially making the flies come alive in the water. The indicator suspends the flies at the depth you desire, which means where fish are cruising. Fish have time resisting a fly that is dangling in front of their faces.

If its calm and a leech is not working, I often suspend a chironomid under an indicator. Trout have a hard time passing up a red chironomid or midge pupa during spring—it’s an easy meal and they always have chironomids on their minds, no matter the season . During the day, if the fish get fussy, various nymphs, scuds and water boatman can trigger some bites. These flies fish best on a strip retrieve. It pays to experiment with various depths and retrieves until the magic combination is discovered.

Its go time

Ice-out fishing action can sometimes be fast and furious and some of the largest trout of the year will be taken over the next few weeks. Ice-out is a little late this year and the prime window won’t last as long as it would in a normal year, so if you want in, it’s go time. We are stocked to the gills with balanced leeches, balanced squirrels and lots of other tasty flies to get you in the game. If you need help with understanding the best rigging methods, we are always happy to give you a hands-on lesson. We’ve got the lines, tippet and indicators you need. So drop in and we’ll set you up.