If you are an ice angler here in Montana there are very few places to hit the hard water better than at Canyon Ferry Lake. But before you load up the ice shanty, it's always good to do some research. Thankfully MTN's Andy Curtis took the hard work upon himself and spoke to someone who knows this body of water as well as anybody, found out what’s biting and where.
“It depends on how you fish," said Canyon Ferry KOA owner Debbie Blagg.
And she knows because she gets a lot of first-hand fishing information from people stopping by the store before and after hitting the water.
“I love it when people stop by because I love it when they tell me their exciting fish story," laughed Blagg.
All those stories have helped Debbie build up quite the arsenal of tips for anglers looking to bring home some fillets and she’s happy to share– so listen up.
“So there are some that fish specifically for perch and some individuals know how to do it, know where to get it. They show up with bucket loads of fattys, and they looked really great," Blagg said. "The trout fisherman are kind of in the 8-10 foot range going south of the silos/Broadwater area. They are getting plenty of trout, they are super happy about that. The walleye are fewer and far between, and they are being very south mouthed, and very delicate tasters on those hooks. So you have to be really diligent in watching your polls on those. Some people have just started going out [after] Ling, but I don’t know how the Ling are biting yet.”
And if you need a sneak preview of what’s going on before heading down to the ice Debbie is accepting calls, but she would rather see you in person with a fish story.
“We don’t mind at all. We get about 200 calls a day," Blagg said. "And unfortunately, it blew up our phone lines the other day and our phone lines were down for all last week.”
And with the warm weather we’ve had lately Debbie does have one last piece of advice.
“Don’t drive your ATV on the ice,” Blagg warned.
