Fishing America

STATE #21 - MONTANA JUNE 2018 - FT. PECK RESERVOIR

SPECIES CAUGHT - Lake Trout, Walleye, Smallmouth Bass, Northren Pike

I found one way to go from worst to first with state fishing travel experiences. Leave Hawaii and head to the high country and big skies of Montana. My second time to visit this beautiful state was a solo road trip to the first reservoir impounded on the Missouri River that originates in this same state.

Although 20 states fell in line before this one, Ft. Peck Reservoir was one of the first I researched for fishing in early 2017. At 245,000 acres it is the second-largest dammed reservoir in the U.S. measured by surface area. My research hooked me up with professional guide Trevor Haddix who stays at Ft Peck each summer.

We talked on the phone several times before my trip. He’s a guy easy to get to know and communicate with. He resides near Milford Lake in KS, where I fished in April of 2018. He was raised in Ketchikan, AK where I fished the Gulf of Alaska in September of 2017. Sometimes it is just a small world. Immediately we had a lot to talk about with those commonalities.

My perceptions of this lake and this guide were that both would probably rank with the very best and neither one disappointed. I was relaxed on this entire trip from traveling to and from here, to the 2 & a half days of fishing while there. Of all the highways I have traveled in the U.S., this road trip route I took from TX through the Dakotas offered the best allaround to drive.

Scheduled to fish two full days with Trevor I arrived in the late afternoon the day before. He called while I was gassing up my truck at the only gas station in the tiny town of Ft Peck built next to the massive earth dam it is named after. This town and dam filled with overlooked history make for good reading.

We quickly added a short evening of fishing to our plans. Instead of the main lake we launched in one of the dredge cuts below the dam next to and actually part of the river where we fished at the edge of the current. I can’t remember the count for the evening but one of them was a beautiful model walleye over 27” getting us started right.

The Ft Peck Hotel where I stayed had a freezer for its fishing guests so that worked out good. We hit the lake the next morning going after those walleye first catching a limit on them along with some nice small-mouth bass. Once we limited on walleye we directed our attention to lake trout.

As with the other fish we used all artificial bait for them. A good-sized spoon following the 10-pound cannonball weight suspended with a downrigger was how we rolled em out from about 80 feet deep. It took Trevor a few fish to train me on the hook-set with this method. It was different and lots of fun and got me a limit of them. What a fun day fishing while we grazed on PB crackers, beef jerky, and Gouda cheese.

When we got done with a full day of the steady somewhat laid back fishing, we cleaned and froze the fish and then went to the Gateway Club, Ft Peck’s only restaurant in town and had a fine steak supper. With no competition it was still top of the line. Everything

I had there was great including the “walleye fingers.”

After soaking up all that sun and fun I was tuckered out and slept well. We struck out again the next morning for an almost identical day on this huge lake that Trevor knows well. This was just great fishing with somebody I identified with on life and fishing. I added a Northern Pike to the catch list but turned him loose to fight another day. This time we had to go about 110 feet down to find the big lake trout.

Steady on a calm smooth day and limited on all three targeted species by mid-afternoon wound up the perfect fishing trip. I had plenty of meat in the ice chests because of full possession limits and the size of them. I had checked out of the only hotel in town that morning but I still had to go back to it and fetch my other fish from the freezer before hitting the road.

This proved to be one of my very favorite guides and places to fish. This lake is located in a remote place without any big cities near it. Hardly any cities for that matter with no tourist attractions other than itself relieves it comparatively speaking from too much fishing pressure. With that said I think this is one of the best our nation has to offer.

Adding Chinook Salmon and Sauger to the mix of the ones I caught rounds out the variety of premium fish to catch here. Thanks to our government for spending 7 years building this awesome dam finishing it in 1940. Especially to the 60 men that died doing it. Although the eastern side of “The Treasure State” is barren in places Ft Peck Lake is the crown jewel.

Haddix is the complete fishing guide by definition, by experience, and by deeds done. He is a specialist on this lake and for almost all species in it. His boat is set up as good as any I have seen to easily change targets smartly designed by make and customization both, and also comfortable to ride in. In a place way up north and far away from east Texas, I still felt at home on account of who my fishing guide was.

Trevor can be found on Facebook at Trevor Haddix and Fort Peck Fishing at Trevor’s Guide Service. His business is at www.fortpeckfishing.net online. If the United States are still united this coming August I have plans of fishing a week with him then. In a town that has only one of everything, one guide was all I needed for Fishing America at it›s best in Montana.