We got some big ones. This fish caught by Jim Murray on the Mighty Mo.
Missouri River Big Trout come to those who fish here. Can you target large fish?
Yep.
But they mostly come when you are not expecting it. The big ones that is.
Jim has fished here a bundle of days and this is his first giant. Will he land another behemoth?
Here are a couple ways to catch fish like this, or at least target them.
Missouri River Big Trout
Hint #1: You can catch big fish in the winter. The fish are only in a few spots per mile. And they are loaded. Yes, there are fish bank to bank, but the big fish are in a few spots. They are where the big fish live.
On the bottom. For the most part these big fella’s live where the food is plentiful.Like on the bottom in the weeds.
In the summer months they can be found in the dark, nocturnal feeding behaviors, in the shallows searching and inhaling larger prey like baby trouts, crayfish, small children, etc.
But in the winter they are deep. A full sink line on the bottom retrieved can bring this big boy to the bait. Streamer and hand twist style. Takes dedication and lots of time. And research, and patience. All components of big trout hunting.
Hint # 2: Dead drifting streamers. The Bozeman guide gang likes this technique in the summer months. They dead drift a Zonker, or a bugger, or something like that under a bobber and tie a small nimp from the bend. While it is not pretty, it is pretty damn effective.
Doing this in the winter can be effective as well. Sans bobber. Tight line drift and drag is the technique. A learned technique that some anglers can do with exquisite precision. Practice this and you will be rewarded.
Hint # 3: Fish a bunch and you will bump into some big dawgs, some big hawgs…
Anybody can catch a big trout. But, but those who go out and target the bigger fish are more successful. It’s like shooting for the bulls eye with every dart while playing darts. If you aim for the top all the time, you can achieve the desired results!