Northwest Reel Life July 2024 Volume 3 Issue 9 - Flipbook - Page 10
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FORT PECK RESERVOIR’S PLETHORA OF FISHERIES By John Kruse
Big lakes often mean big
opportunities and Fort
Peck Reservoir, located
in Northeast Montana,
qualifies in that regard. This
huge impoundment of the
Missouri River was formed
when Fort Peck Dam was
built in the 1930s. The lake
is 134 miles long and with
1520 miles of shoreline, it
is larger than the length
of the California coast
There are fifty different
species of fish swimming
in the waters of Fort Peck
Reservoir, and one of the
most important is the cisco,
introduced as a forage fish
for walleye and lake trout
by Montana Fish Wildlife
and Parks in 1984.
The cisco population is
thriving now and so are a
variety of species that feed
on them.
Today anglers flock to Fort
Peck from spring into the
fall for a variety of fisheries.
The most popular of them
being walleye, which can
grow to a huge size here.
Jason Mundel is a top
walleye tournament angler
in Montana who hauled in
a 17.76-pound behemoth
earlier this year, just missing
the state record of 18.02
pounds. Mundel says he
is certain the big female
was over the limit when
he netted it but when it
was brought into the boat
it began rapidly squirting
eggs all over the place.
By the time Mundel
was able to weigh it and
photograph the weight, it
was down several ounces,
to the still impressive
weight of the big hen. He
then released to finish
spawning.
Mundel lives near Fort Peck
and spends lots of time
fishing in the reservoir (147
days last year). He likes to
work long primary points
and secondary points and
uses sonar to find schools
of Cisco. Once he finds
the bait fish, he usually
finds several different
species in the same area
feeding on them including