Fort Peck

[Lungdeflator]

Andybody have experience fishing here on the ice? I understand the ice can be sketchy.
It looks about the same as Sak as far as structure. I've been looking around online and there is not a lot of info about it. Where can a guy get on the lake?
Be fun to give it a try next year.

 

[hardwaterdriller]

There is usually much less ice on Ft Peck than Sak. I am guessing the shore lines there are already a mess since they have been getting temps above 60 already, probably open water in spots. The roads to the lake are not near as well maintained as Sak access, but they didn't get much snow over there, so I am guessing roads should be almost completely dry. Usually just look for the boat ramp locations, those will probably have the best roads to access. Never have caught much there. Mostly a few small walleyes and northerns, haven't found a great spot yet.

 

[BGH]

Just use caution. Fort peck is MUCH warmer thank sakakawea (air temp), its surprising.
16-20 inches is about the most you'll ever see up there. People fish it all the time on the ice, but the window is much shorter...just use caution

 

[scrotcaster]

I have also been curious about Ft.Peck, Any info about summer fishing to would be appreciated.. thx

 

[Brian Renville]

Careful not to get into other peoples "spots" perfectly legal to string tip-ups and other set lines all over the place as long as they are checked every 24 hours. Guys get pretty cranky when you get too close to what ND calls "unattended lines."

 

[5575]

Brian you nailed it on the head! I've driven 15 miles out and couldn't find a point that wasn't littered with tipup/set lines and finally said piss on it we're fishing right here! come afternoon and sure enough here comes the atv cavalry. And your right, 6 big cowboys telling me they have tipups setup 10 miles on each side of this point and we're lucky they are pulling them and leaving....wtf!

We come in at Hell and crooked creeks, watch the pressure ridges. Folks are right, ice isn't near as thick as sak but folks there drive around on peck with atvs and utvs like folks drive around sak in the summer with boats! You never see folks out driving across the mid section of sak. on Peck its not uncommon to leave in the morning and put out your setline for like 10-20 miles.

 

[scrotcaster]

How does that work? DOnt they have a limit on fish? or lines you can have out? Could have a lot of fish with 10-20 miles of set lines i would think

 

[snow]

Never fished peck but always wanted to give it a go,years ago I fished with a guy from that area(PWT days),he claimed the next world record walleye would come out of peck,after searching the web they have numorus reports and pics from the 10lb club and up,some walleyes exceeding 15lbs,not sure about world records but I think the currrent record is 25lbs from down south,one would think the columbia river would spit out a giant one of these days (over 20lbs)

 

[hardwaterdriller]

At Peck, you can fish with 6 tipups. They need to have your name on them and just have to be checked every 24 hours. We have left them over night and checked in the morning, usually have a few flags, but only a couple might have a fish. But then you spend an hour chipping out your holes to check if you have a fish. Only place I have fished where you bring binoculars to check your tipups.

 

[Brian Renville]

Saw some pics from 3 weeks ago and a group of ten guys had tubs of walleyes at the cleaning tables with 4 fish between 31-35 inches. It was unreal. Setting lines and heading for the bar for the better part of the day then heading out to check is pretty normal.

 

[Fisherman25]

So does it not pay to sit and jig? Or do they just do that cuz they can i.e. Local culture?

 

[Fishmission]

Sounds like trotline/juglines down south for catfish, me thinks gamefish deserve better than this.

 

[5575]

You can't even imagine the stringers of fish I've been around running jet boat up river from peck with like 8 folks in it!
They just drive up to the bank and shove a stake into the ground thats got a metal spool on top of it and you slowly back up, letting out the setline with 6 baited hooks on it and a weight at the end. And each person can have 6 of these bad boys out,its something straight out of swamp people when you go out in the evening to check them let me tell you!

Per the MT game and fish web site.

Hook and Line Limits

Open Water
Rivers and Streams
• 6 lines with 6 hooks per line. The line/s must be attended and in the angler’s immediate
control unless they are used as setlines.


Setlines

• Number of lines is the same as for Hook and Line Limits. Setlines may be used in all
waters unless prohibited in the District Exceptions to Standard Regulations.
• Setlines (unattended lines) must be checked by the owner at least once every 24 hrs.
• The angler’s name and phone number or name and 9/10-digit ALS# must be attached
to each setline.
• Setlines shall not be attached to jugs or other floating devices.


crazy eh!

 

[Huskerdu]

I saw a report from Hell Creek this winter that they had 5 atvs and trucks to pull out of the lake, use caution, lots of big fish in lake.

 

[Ericb]

Whats the limit in MT? 36 hooks over 24hrs You'd think often times 5-6 fish would be unrealeasable.

 

[5575]

Peck ice is very dangerous for sure! Folks drown there every so often.

 

[Brian Renville]

Whats the limit in MT? 36 hooks over 24hrs You'd think often times 5-6 fish would be unrealeasable.

Same as it is in ND. Other than guys catfishing I haven't seen many circle hooks around so that is probably a fair assessment.

 

[Lungdeflator]

Wow sounds like the wild west out there. That would be really frustrating to get all the way out there only to find a bunch of unattended tip ups in spots we wanted to try.
So for those that have fished it, is it not worth sitting in one spot jigging? Can a guy expect to catch a lot of fish, or not very many but a chance at a big one?

 

[5575]

It's allot like sak. Good days and bad with the chance of a giant. Not gonna twist your arm thou that's for sure. #$%^&>

 

[hardwaterdriller]

Seems every time I go fishing there, all the fish came on tipups. We try jigging with a sonar, and you mark some, but didn't seem to want to bite. So now we just bring the tipups. Even the northerns didn't care for smelt, usually have better luck on minnows. So usually everything has a steel leader, walleyes don't seem to mind it either. During the summer, I think it is different than Sak. Try the same tackle as Sak, and can't get a bite. So figure pull cranks for awhile, and had to use the biggest musky cranks (6"-8") I can find. Get some big northerns and nice walleyes.