Big Horn Reservoir Fishing Report, Early April
It is never a good thing when the parking lot to a major Montana waterbody is empty on arrival. Empty to the point one is worried if you are doing something wrong.
We were committed and the weather was perfect, so we carried on. Glass like conditions, 49° water temps, a gin and tonic, and not a soul in sight. It was going to be good….
Success, as usual, would not come easy. The f$X%! engine kept reading “No Oil” and shutting down- even though the reservoir was full and it was clearly getting oil through the blue cloud of smoke it would belch when I would force winterization process. This new Evinrude 150hp is VERY sensitive. To be fair, the things I was calling it would have made any sailor blush.
Onto the fishing. The new Lowrance electronics (HDS 7 Gen 3 with 3d Structure Scan) was finally working after updates were installed. I honestly cannot believe they would put the product on store shelves the way it was prior. Super sketched out so far with Lowrance. Anyway, the fish-o-meter showed fish EVERYWHERE. Catching, not so easy.
We pitched jigs and crank baits for a while and then decided to troll and enjoy the scenery. Walleye and fish tacos were on our mind. We ended bringing a couple of nice brown trout to the boat and no walleye or smallies. Go figure- unexpected indeed, but certainly not complaining.
When we took off the following afternoon we ran into a couple of other boats at the launch. One reported decent smallmouth fishing in about 25′ of water, but no walleye. The other boat reported one 22″ walleye and nothing else. Conclusion: still a little cold but what a great way to spend the day/ night on this gorgeous body of water with no one else around.