# Huge smallmouth reported caught at Tongue River



## Bob Kellam (Apr 8, 2004)

Story available at http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles ... report.txt

Published on Thursday, August 09, 2007.
Last modified on 8/9/2007 at 1:10 am

Fishing Report: Huge smallmouth reported caught at Tongue River Resevoir
By MARK HENCKEL
Gazette Outdoor Editor

Here's a fish story for you - and Greg Paxiao swears it's true.

A Montana fisherman - name unknown - caught a smallmouth bass at Tongue River Reservoir last week that weighed 7.2 pounds on the unofficial scale at Paxiao's Tongue River Marina. It was a monster bass that could have broken the state record of 6.66 pounds by more than a half-pound.

"We were excited - so excited we didn't even get the fisherman's name," Paxiao said. "He caught it on a jig and night crawler off PeeWee Point. But we don't have an official scale. So he took it to Sheridan and couldn't get it weighed. And then we heard he took it to Billings and couldn't get it weighed on an official scale. His brother-in-law told us that.

"So that's all we know about it," he said. "I wouldn't even have mentioned it, but we did see it, and we did weigh it. It was huge."

Paxiao said a similar situation occurred last summer with a smallmouth bass that went 6.74 pounds on the marina's unofficial scale - also over the Montana state record caught out of Fort Peck Reservoir.

"That fisherman took it to Sheridan and he couldn't get it weighed either," he said. "So he brought it back to the lake and released it. That one was 6.74 pounds and 23 inches long and was caught in August."

Paxiao said one of his off-season projects is going to be to acquire an official scale for the marina.

"We're so far from places that have official scales that I think I'm going to look into getting one here," he said.

Those are big bass by anyone's measure - even if they don't have the blessings of an official weight from a certified scale.

Here's more fishing possibilities for you in this week's Gazette Fishing Report:

Montana waters
Bighorn Lake: A lot of bass being caught with fish up to 2.5 pounds. Jigs and little minnows are working. Bass are feeding on crayfish. - Scott Lundin, Osprey Realty.

Bighorn River: Caddis, caddis, caddis. From about noon on, the dry fly fishing is phenomenal on black caddis patterns. Black quill emergers are being used as a dropper. Waters remain in the upper 40s to low 50s. Tan hoppers are also working. Fishing is very good. - Tom Osen, Bighorn Fly and Tackle.

Boulder River: Hoppers and stimulators with a dropper off the end is a good tactic. Action slows down during the afternoon. - Chris Hellekson, Rainbow Run Fly Shop.

Canyon Ferry Reservoir: Walleye fishing is still pretty good throughout the reservoir. The south end of the lake is producing lots of smaller fish, while some larger fish are being caught off Hole in the Wall and around Magpie and Court Sheriff on the north end. Trolling cranks or jigging is working best for the bigger fish. Boat fishing for rainbows has been a little slow, with most action off White Earth and Cemetery Island trolling cranks or cowbells 30-40 feet deep. - Eric Roberts, FWP, Helena.

Castle Rock Lake: Lots of bluegills with walleyes biting on leeches in the early mornings and evenings. - Scott Lundin, Osprey Realty.

Cooney Reservoir: A lot of little walleyes being caught. A lot of pleasure boaters. - Scott Lundin, Osprey Realty.

Deadman's Basin: Action has slowed down. Some trout and salmon are still being caught but anglers are going deeper for them. No muskie reports. - Garlynn Buffington, Super D, Ryegate.

Flathead Lake: The hot lake whitefish action continues with anglers taking them on jigging spoons including the Rattle-D-Zastor. Lake trout are also biting well. The biggest laker to be caught during last weekend's Great Montana Mack Attack weighed 28.86 pounds and was caught by Dean Vaughn, of Charlo. - Mark Ward, Montana Outdoor Radio Show.

Fort Peck Reservoir, Big Dry Arm: Action is slowing down a bit. Some walleyes are being caught on bottom bouncers and crawlers. Northern pike are biting on crankbaits. - J.R. Lala, Rock Creek Marina.

Fort Peck Reservoir, Dam area: Fishing is good. Walleyes are biting. Anglers are going down 18 to 25 feet to catch them on bottom bouncers and Lindy rigs. Lake trout are down to about 90 feet and biting on flashers and squids and flutter spoons. Just one 18-pound salmon caught so far. Todd Riggs and Ken Schmidt won last weekend's Fall Classic tournament with 73.4 pounds. - Gene Moore, Lakeridge, Fort Peck.

Fort Peck Reservoir, Hell Creek: The walleye bite depends on the day. Fish are biting both east and west of Hell Creek. Bottom bouncers, Lindy rigs and crankbaits are all taking fish. Most fish are holding 15 to 30 feet deep. The kids team of Charlie South, Ross Ryan and Sammi South won last weekend's Jordan WU Kids Tournament while fishing with Bernie Hildebrand and Shelley Ryan. - Crystal Taylor, Hell Creek Marina.

Gallatin River: It's currently running dirty with rain runoff. Look for it to clear in a day or two. Spruce moths and caddis are working well along with attractor dry flies. - Kiel Duckworth, Montana Troutfitters, Bozeman.

Hauser Reservoir: Rainbow fishing is fair around Black Sandy and White Sandy in the early morning hours. Trolling cowbells tipped with a crawler fished 20 to 25 feet deep has been working best. Walleye fishing is very good in the Causeway while using jigs or slowly trolling crankbaits. However, most walleye caught have been small. Perch are being caught in the Causeway, as well. - Troy Humphrey, FWP, Helena.

Holter Reservoir: No fishing report. Gates of the Mountains boat ramp is now open, but Holter Lake and Log Gulch Campgrounds remain closed due to nearby wildfires. - Troy Humphrey, FWP, Helena.

Madison River: Flows are about 1,100 cfs. That should improve the dry fly fishing with hoppers and droppers and attractor patterns. Nymphs are also taking trout. - Kiel Duckworth, Montana Troutfitters, Bozeman.

Missouri River, Below Holter: Water temp is 65 degrees. Nymph fishing is good down deep with lightning bugs and MFGs. Hoppers and droppers are working. There is some trico activity in the morning. The best fishing is early in the morning. - Garry Stocker, Montana Fly Goods, Helena.

Nelson Reservoir: Walleyes are running 16 to 18 inches. Bottom bouncers and spinners and trolled crankbaits are working on walleyes and northern pike. Fish have gone a little deeper and are 12 to 18 feet down. - Dan Lowney, Westside Sports, Malta.

Stillwater River: Hoppers and stimulators with copper John and pheasant tail droppers are working. A few caddis are coming off as well. - Chris Hellekson, Rainbow Run Fly Shop.

Tongue River Reservoir: Fishing is good. The south end has been producing some nice northern pike and nice walleyes including a 31.5-inch walleye Saturday. Anglers are trolling the south end with Shad Raps in about 16 feet of water. Walleye fishing has been very good this year. - Greg Paxiao, Tongue River Marina.

Yellowstone River, Livingston: It's running dirty right now with rain runoff. Big black woolly buggers may work. When it clears, lightning bugs and small woolly buggers will be good patterns. Hopper fishing is just so-so. - Kiel Duckworth, Montana Troutfitters, Bozeman.

Wyoming waters
Beartooth Plateau lakes: Fishing is good. This is the time of year to head for the high country. Beartooth Lake, Island Lake and Long Lake are all fishing well early and late in the day. Beartooth Lake is known to harbor some very large lake trout. - Robert Crooks, Cody, Wyo.

Bighorn Mountain creeks: Been getting some rain up in the mountains. Creeks are good to fish. Dry flies including royal Wulffs, Adams parachute and elk-hair caddis are good choices. Real small rooster tails or a worm and split shot are other good tactics. - Charlie Gould, Just Gone Fishing, Buffalo, Wyo.

Boysen Reservoir: Fishing is good with big walleyes biting. Some 6s, 7s, 8s and 10s have come in. Crawler harnesses and bottom bouncers are producing along with crankbaits over the trees. Some decent-sized perch are also being caught. Trout fishing is always good. - Troy Hackett, Boysen Lake Marina.

Buffalo Bill Reservoir: Things have been pretty slow which is typical for this time of year with the hot weather. - Robert Crooks, Cody, Wyo.

Cloud Peak Wilderness lakes: Trigger Lake has been fishing well for Snake River cutthroats and cut-bows with a bubble and fly. Rooster tails are also working well. Long and Ringbone lakes are also fishing well for Yellowstone cutthroats with a grasshopper and a fly. Wild raspberries are ripe right now. - Charlie Gould, Just Gone Fishing, Buffalo, Wyo.

Cody area rivers: Recent thunderstorms have made fishing conditions a day-to-day thing due to muddy water. Game and Fish is asking anglers to not release fish as water temps approach 65-plus degrees. Try heading to the high country of the Bighorns or Beartooths for trout and cooler water temps. - Robert Crooks, Cody, Wyo.

Lake DeSmet: Fishing is fair if you go down 30 to 40 feet. - Charlie Gould, Just Gone Fishing, Buffalo, Wyo.

Gazette outdoor editor Mark Henckel can be contacted at 633-2598 or at [email protected].


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## canadianmoose (Jul 30, 2006)

pretty small record you guys have down there, i believe the ontario record smallmouth is around 10 lbs... i have caught a few smallies in my day that have topped 5 lbs, and i have seen a few that would easily top 7 lbs. small mouth are an amazing fighting fish though


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