Capital Sports

Get ready, the countdown to archery season is on! Ed had Shaun custom fletch new Easton FMJ arrows so he can effortlessly get into shooting shape🎯

Oh! And save the date for Elk Camp coming up August 6th-8th. Our favorite time of year is almost here!

Helena Area Fishing Report 7/3/26



Canyon Ferry:

The rains were very helpful for Canyon Ferry. Lake Level is rising despite being July which is good to see but the fish seemed to have responded well. Walleye are still being caught on the south end. It has not been crazy hot action but anglers are staying busy reeling in fish. Size is still on the smaller end at the 12” to 14” range. The inflow being strong has muddied up the water again. So back to bright colors but I have had consistent reports of black working well. Particularly around Confederate and on the Goose Flats. I would start at 8’ and work back and forth on each contour to about 30’ of water until you find where the fish are primarily hanging out. Just make sure to keep the bottom bouncers slow. 0.5mph to 1.2mph at most. Mid lake to the dam is fishing very well if you have some patience and maybe a little bit of luck. Casting jigs mostly in anything from 1’ of water to 20’ of water. The best colors seem to be anything with a dark colored back and lighter colored belly such as the 4” Brown Back Flatnose Max Scent or Perch colored Keitech. On the darker days, jerk baits with some flash seem to produce some fish too in 15’ or shallower. I will warn you that the action tends to be sporadic and there are long stretches of nothing but the bigger fish and best chance at bigger fish I find come from casting.

Trout remain active as heck from mid lake to the dam. We couldn’t seem to keep them off our baits at times during the tournament. Outside of the need to focus on catching a specific fish, they are still a ton of fun to catch! The water temps of 62 to 64 degrees Fahrenheit are making them very aggressive and active. If you want to target them, I would try trolling a crankbait in the 10’ to 25’ range over 20’+ of water at 1.5mph to 2.5mph. It did not seem like there was a particular color they were more drawn to, but I favor the more metallic stuff like gold or silver though rainbow or brown trout patterns tend to work as well. The thing that seemed to affect them the most were bite windows. When the bite was on it was really on! But when it shut off there isn’t a thing you could throw to get them to bite. Unfortunately I did not key in on any patterns for when they were on or off. The other good news is those fishing from shore should find some decent luck if you can fish on a shore that drops to depth quickly. Todd and managed to catch some trout close to shore while fishing for walleye. Spoons like a kastmaster or Thomas cyclone or a Panther Martin in gold, silver or some other bright color should yield results. Zonkers or marabous would also be effective from what I saw.

Inflow is about 6500cfs and lake level is sitting at 87.3% full



Hauser:

Still the same as last week, below Canyon Ferry Dam has remained slow for walleye and mediocre for the trout. Zonkers still work but a worm under a bobber or on the bottom is your best bet. But there is a chance with the current inflow that the spillway may be opened. Keep an eye out for that and if they open the spillway get there! Fishing a jig in those higher flows can be incredible!

Around Spokane bay and through the deeper water in front of Lakeside is still producing fish. Same as the stretch from White Earth to Hauser dam. I have not heard of any exceptional fishing, but it sounds like anglers are entertained at least. Mainly trolling crankbaits in the 10’ to 15’ range at the typical 1.5mph to 2.5mph speed. Black/gold is a staple, but silver, rainbow trout and perch patterns can also produce fish. I have heard of some murmurs from folks trolling in the deeper water with a dodger and wedding ring of some kokanee being caught. Unfortunately I don’t have much for details but it is curious.

Walleye continue to be caught off the rock piles and points in the Causeway arm. My go to tactic is a 1/8oz or 1/4oz jig head with a white, perch or pumpkin colored paddle tail. Cast up shallow and jig of the bottom as you work the bait back to the boat. Another fun tactic is drop shotting in the slightly deeper water around the rock piles (dredge cuts, Eldorado Bar) with a perch pattern or white bait. The big downside is you are likely to get piked using this technique.

Unfortunately, I don’t have much info this week for the Hauser pike. Was tied up and too preoccupied with the Canyon Ferry Walleye tournament. But I would suggest either a tube jig off the w**d bed edges or a bigger jerk bait worked along the edges as well.



Holter:

Sounds like not much has changed as the Gates. Fishing has remained strong. Maybe slightly further down the canyon is producing more consistently but I am still hearing of fish being caught at the mouth. Drop shot with a perch pattern or a white split tail or drip minnow is where I would start and adjust from there. Using live bait like a leech can also be very effective if the fish are being fussy. The typical areas like Willow creek and Cottonwood are still the targeted areas but I have heard of some luck coming from the clay banks or oxbow bend.

Split rock to the dam is still producing nice rainbows. Snap weights with a dodger and a squid is the bait of choice. Remember to shorten the leader on the squid down to somewhere between 12” to 18”. You want to make sure to get the dodger to impart action to the bait. Scented corn is still the bait of choice. Chartreuse, pink or a purple back squids are the main baits on the menu. Wedding rings are also a good choice in the same colors. Troll anywhere from 1.0mph to 2.0mph. If targeting trout, favor the faster side and for kokanee keep it on the slower side. Depth range to target is 15’ to 35’ for the trout. I would say the kokanee should be looking to start diving down but with these cooler temps and rains keeping the surface cooler I have not heard if that is affecting them. Keep an eye on the fish finder. If you see a mark in 50’+ of water, there is a good chance it is a kokanee.



Regulating Reservoir:

Still have not heard much on the Regulating Reservoir. The little I have heard is there was some decent luck in 10’ to 15’ trolling wedding rings at 1.0mph. Chartreuse, chartreuse/black, red or pink are the typical colors to try this time of year. If you have a fish finder and can locate the schools, vertical jigging with a small pink or silver Swedish pimple tipped with scented corn is a fun tactic. I would say the key would be to keep moving and note the area that holds the fish that day and focus there as much as possible.



Missouri River (Toston Dam to Canyon Ferry):

I have yet to hear any reports of too much gunk flowing down stream but also, the flows are significantly higher this week with all the rain. Floating would be fun but fishing will be harder. However, if you can find some good slack water or calm, deep stretches a drop shot with a leech or small minnow pattern is worth throwing. The walleye will be hunkered down but they should remain in that stretch until late fall.



Missouri River (Holter Dam to Great Falls):

This weather is kinda wreaking havoc on the river. The safest choice I would say at this point is to really focus on PMD’s but there may still some caddis hatches on occasion. Particularly in the upper stretch, you may still find luck on sow bugs, scuds and hare’s ear. There’s a chance some small hoppers are showing up but I have not heard of much in the way of any hopper hatches yet. However, flows are finally on the healthy side with a discharge of 4,800cfs. I doubt this will remain for long but hopefully this will give the fish a good reprieve from the warmer, slower water.



Have a safe and fun 4th of July!

-Jonathan