Glacier NP Fishing

[fmcbrandon]

I am hoping someone here can give me some tips on where to fish in glacier National Park.  My family and I are going in July and camping at St. Mary's Campground in the park.  We are between the upper and lower St. Mary's lake and there is a stream there.  I will also be taking several hikes during the week and will have my rod and real with me.  Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[fishinwrench]

Would love to hear about it when you get back. We are doing an "out west" trip this Aug.-Sept.   

I've never been.

[camburgersoup]

Howdy there. I just moved from Western Montana so I might be able to help. I've been to glacier about 10 times and fished it almost every time. Honestly it is not known for good fishing, but I've had luck catching 8-14in cutthroats, a few bull trout and some lake trout. I was always coming from the Kalispell area so I spent 80% of my time on the western side. It looks like you are on the eastern side. I think the eastern side has more dramatic views and if you go north from where you are staying you are getting into some of the less used areas of the park. I have heard there is good fishing up near Lake Josephine but I have never been on that side.

Tackle I would definitely bring:

1/4oz Thompson Cyclone Spoon - red/gold  (other colors/sizes might work but this is my go-to spinning lure)

Smallest Mepps spinner in yellow/red (and a rod that can cast it)

Small Stickbait like a rapala with a trout pattern on it.

Flies - my favorite flies are purple Chubby Chernobyl, Parachute Adams, Yellow Humpy... small nymphs like PTs, Lighting Bugs, Hares Ear and maybe a few bigger stonefly nymphs like a brown Rubber Legs

(if you don't know how to use a fly rod, they sell these clear bobbers that allow you to fish flies with a spinning rod. You're actually casting the bobber and the fly comes along for the ride. The clear bobber doesn't bother the fish I guess)

Another thing... I'm not sure if you are used to the mountains, but the temperature fluctuates WAY more. At night it will be in the 40s probably. Even if the weather calls for 90 degrees, it is usually around 55 or so when you wake up in the morning and is only 90 degrees between 3-8pm.

 

If you are there May - Mid June the only fishing would be in the big lakes near the main roads. The streams will be "blown out" with melting snow and the hike-in mountain lakes will be unreachable due to snow. The creek between those two lakes I do not know about, maybe it is more regulated because it is between two lakes. I have passed over it near the St. Mary visitor center and have seen people parked and fishing near the bridge.

July - October is when the fishing is the best. Most of the high elevation snow will have melted by mid June and you should be able to hike into backcountry lakes.

I would say you have 3 options for different fishing experiences...

1. Bigger lakes you can launch a kayak or rental boat on

2. Backcountry lakes you can only hike into

3. Small Streams and rivers

 

I will go through each one and hopefully give you some tips....

1. Bigger lakes - The two bigger lakes I have tried fishing at are Bowman Lake and an hour fishing McDonald lake. I caught a lake trout on McDonald lake around dusk with a heavy casting spoon.. its was like a Krocodile spoon in orange/silver... I've heard they hunt in the shallow water at low light so I was casting in a long gradual bay. As for Bowman Lake, it was one of my favorite places in the park. I camped and fished at Bowman lake a few times at least. They don't allow motorboats anymore but I was there a few years ago with my boat and caught 10+ cutthroats in a day. The hottest lure was a small yellow mepps spinner and a gold/red thompson cyclone spoon (unfortunately the next day a storm came in and we ran out of gas trying to get out. We had to flip the 14ft boat over and spend the night under it while we waited for rescue, long story)

2. Backcountry lakes - Your best bet of catching a fish would be hiking into a lake. I have done this all over MT and generally it is really easy fishing. In Glacier, I have only been to one backcountry lake but it was AMAZING. It was Akokala Lake in mid August... the parking lot is in Bowman lake campground. I believe it was about a 4mi hike. I woke up right at dawn and got there around 9 or 10am. The one thing I remember is the fishing died when the shadows were all gone and the lake was in full sunlight. I caught about 20 small cutthroats and a big bull trout. It appeared the cutthroats would eat any fly that looked semi-natural. It was almost like bobber fishing... get the fly as far out into the middle and wait. Usually after about 5min-10min you will get a hit. These cutthroat were really small and I wanted to target the bigger ones. I switched to my spinning rod and tied on a smaller "trout-like" Rapala (I think it was brown trout colored) and caught a bull trout.... found out later it is against the law to target bull trout in some parts of Montana. If you catch one, it is okay to take a quick picture and get it back in the water. I wasn't exactly targeting bull trout, but I would definitely check the rules in Glacier NP before doing that again. I got a nice picture of it though (Attached below...the stringer makes me cringe now. The fish was released, I was just trying to make sure I got a picture!).

3. Streams and Rivers - The small streams are all similar. There are too many to count. I don't have much experience here but I have fished McDonald creek. Lots of small cuttys (notice a theme?) and some bull trout. The trick is to find the long deep turquoise color pools... most of the creeks are fast knee high water and there might not be a deep pool for couple miles. Some people can fish that fast "pocket water" but I was never good at it. When I find a deeper pool, usually I just use a simple fly like a Parachute Adams and drift it in the seams of the current before the pool starts. Another great tactic is nymphing with 2 flies under a bobber, let them "fall" off the gravel into the deep pool. For flies, I'd try a Pheasant Tail and Prince Nymph first... maybe a Rubber Legs Stonefly. I have heard the best fishing river in the area is the North Fork of the Flathead. It forms the western boundary of the park and it's actually a really easy float if you have access to kayaks or a raft (ford access to polebridge access). It is class 1 or 2, nothing hazardous, easier than most Ozark small streams but probably faster current. I have floated it twice in a raft (pics below), both times we caught 15+ small cutthroats. The fish are pretty small but they seem to be aggressive and easy to catch. I used purple Chubby Chernobyl flies, I would guess size 8 or so. Usually about halfway through the float we get tired of catching small fish and sit back to enjoy the view. I'm sure there is a way to target just the big fish but I've never tried. One more thing... there is a great bakery/general store in Polebridge if you ever get to the west side of the park. It is the only thing in Polebridge besides some rental cabins. They will shuttle your car if you decide to float the N. Fork of The Flathead, just ask the clerk. 

Anyway, good luck! I hope you can sift through my ramblings and find something useful! I'm happy to answer any questions you might have.

Pictures:

N. Fork Flathead River (my mom's first fish on a fly, purple chubby)

 

Bowman Lake (day after spending the night under the boat)

 

Bowman Lake (Cutthroat trout on a small yellow mepps spinner)

 

Bowman Lake Whitefish (you can see my spoon box in the foreground)

 

Akokala Lake - Bull Trout

[camburgersoup]

Also, the town of Browning on the east side is very rough, I would stay away from it. It is on the Indian Reservation and has some shady characters. I've stopped there for gas twice. One time there was about 15 people sitting on the curb of the gas station watching me (the only car) fill up... and the other time I saw someone passed out in front of the steering wheel of their car, it looked like they had ODed. 

[fishinwrench]

Awesome 👍

[Daryk Campbell Sr]

Cool information.   Thank you.  I am not planning on going, but enjoyed reading it.  

[fmcbrandon]

14 hours ago, camburgersoup said:

Howdy there. I just moved from Western Montana so I might be able to help. I've been to glacier about 10 times and fished it almost every time. Honestly it is not known for good fishing, but I've had luck catching 8-14in cutthroats, a few bull trout and some lake trout. I was always coming from the Kalispell area so I spent 80% of my time on the western side. It looks like you are on the eastern side. I think the eastern side has more dramatic views and if you go north from where you are staying you are getting into some of the less used areas of the park. I have heard there is good fishing up near Lake Josephine but I have never been on that side.

Tackle I would definitely bring:

1/4oz Thompson Cyclone Spoon - red/gold  (other colors/sizes might work but this is my go-to spinning lure)

Smallest Mepps spinner in yellow/red (and a rod that can cast it)

Small Stickbait like a rapala with a trout pattern on it.

Flies - my favorite flies are purple Chubby Chernobyl, Parachute Adams, Yellow Humpy... small nymphs like PTs, Lighting Bugs, Hares Ear and maybe a few bigger stonefly nymphs like a brown Rubber Legs

(if you don't know how to use a fly rod, they sell these clear bobbers that allow you to fish flies with a spinning rod. You're actually casting the bobber and the fly comes along for the ride. The clear bobber doesn't bother the fish I guess)

Another thing... I'm not sure if you are used to the mountains, but the temperature fluctuates WAY more. At night it will be in the 40s probably. Even if the weather calls for 90 degrees, it is usually around 55 or so when you wake up in the morning and is only 90 degrees between 3-8pm.

 

If you are there May - Mid June the only fishing would be in the big lakes near the main roads. The streams will be "blown out" with melting snow and the hike-in mountain lakes will be unreachable due to snow. The creek between those two lakes I do not know about, maybe it is more regulated because it is between two lakes. I have passed over it near the St. Mary visitor center and have seen people parked and fishing near the bridge.

July - October is when the fishing is the best. Most of the high elevation snow will have melted by mid June and you should be able to hike into backcountry lakes.

I would say you have 3 options for different fishing experiences...

1. Bigger lakes you can launch a kayak or rental boat on

2. Backcountry lakes you can only hike into

3. Small Streams and rivers

 

I will go through each one and hopefully give you some tips....

1. Bigger lakes - The two bigger lakes I have tried fishing at are Bowman Lake and an hour fishing McDonald lake. I caught a lake trout on McDonald lake around dusk with a heavy casting spoon.. its was like a Krocodile spoon in orange/silver... I've heard they hunt in the shallow water at low light so I was casting in a long gradual bay. As for Bowman Lake, it was one of my favorite places in the park. I camped and fished at Bowman lake a few times at least. They don't allow motorboats anymore but I was there a few years ago with my boat and caught 10+ cutthroats in a day. The hottest lure was a small yellow mepps spinner and a gold/red thompson cyclone spoon (unfortunately the next day a storm came in and we ran out of gas trying to get out. We had to flip the 14ft boat over and spend the night under it while we waited for rescue, long story)

2. Backcountry lakes - Your best bet of catching a fish would be hiking into a lake. I have done this all over MT and generally it is really easy fishing. In Glacier, I have only been to one backcountry lake but it was AMAZING. It was Akokala Lake in mid August... the parking lot is in Bowman lake campground. I believe it was about a 4mi hike. I woke up right at dawn and got there around 9 or 10am. The one thing I remember is the fishing died when the shadows were all gone and the lake was in full sunlight. I caught about 20 small cutthroats and a big bull trout. It appeared the cutthroats would eat any fly that looked semi-natural. It was almost like bobber fishing... get the fly as far out into the middle and wait. Usually after about 5min-10min you will get a hit. These cutthroat were really small and I wanted to target the bigger ones. I switched to my spinning rod and tied on a smaller "trout-like" Rapala (I think it was brown trout colored) and caught a bull trout.... found out later it is against the law to target bull trout in some parts of Montana. If you catch one, it is okay to take a quick picture and get it back in the water. I wasn't exactly targeting bull trout, but I would definitely check the rules in Glacier NP before doing that again. I got a nice picture of it though (Attached below...the stringer makes me cringe now. The fish was released, I was just trying to make sure I got a picture!).

3. Streams and Rivers - The small streams are all similar. There are too many to count. I don't have much experience here but I have fished McDonald creek. Lots of small cuttys (notice a theme?) and some bull trout. The trick is to find the long deep turquoise color pools... most of the creeks are fast knee high water and there might not be a deep pool for couple miles. Some people can fish that fast "pocket water" but I was never good at it. When I find a deeper pool, usually I just use a simple fly like a Parachute Adams and drift it in the seams of the current before the pool starts. Another great tactic is nymphing with 2 flies under a bobber, let them "fall" off the gravel into the deep pool. For flies, I'd try a Pheasant Tail and Prince Nymph first... maybe a Rubber Legs Stonefly. I have heard the best fishing river in the area is the North Fork of the Flathead. It forms the western boundary of the park and it's actually a really easy float if you have access to kayaks or a raft (ford access to polebridge access). It is class 1 or 2, nothing hazardous, easier than most Ozark small streams but probably faster current. I have floated it twice in a raft (pics below), both times we caught 15+ small cutthroats. The fish are pretty small but they seem to be aggressive and easy to catch. I used purple Chubby Chernobyl flies, I would guess size 8 or so. Usually about halfway through the float we get tired of catching small fish and sit back to enjoy the view. I'm sure there is a way to target just the big fish but I've never tried. One more thing... there is a great bakery/general store in Polebridge if you ever get to the west side of the park. It is the only thing in Polebridge besides some rental cabins. They will shuttle your car if you decide to float the N. Fork of The Flathead, just ask the clerk. 

Anyway, good luck! I hope you can sift through my ramblings and find something useful! I'm happy to answer any questions you might have.

Pictures:

N. Fork Flathead River (my mom's first fish on a fly, purple chubby)

 

Bowman Lake (day after spending the night under the boat)

 

Bowman Lake (Cutthroat trout on a small yellow mepps spinner)

 

Bowman Lake Whitefish (you can see my spoon box in the foreground)

 

Akokala Lake - Bull Trout

Thank so much Camburgersoup, this is fantastic!  We will be in park from July 2-July 10.  I am planning on hitting some streams and the lakes as well.  My boys and I are getting kayaks a few times on a couple lakes.  Your advice will be listened to and I will post a report!!!