Spearfishing for pike on Seeley Lake

On May 29 and 31 I went spearfishing for pike on Seeley Lake.  I got 7 on the 29th and 6 on the 31st.







Spearfishing opportunities are very limited in Montana's western fishing district.  You can only spearfish in the Clearwater drainage (Seeley Lake, Salmon Lake, etc.), and only for pike.  In Montana's central and eastern districts you can spearfish in many more rivers and lakes, and for many more species.

On May 30 I went lake trout fishing on Lindbergh Lake, but only caught one lake trout before I got chased off the lake by a big thunderstorm.

You're having too much fun out there. Stop!!

That looks really fun. What other species are legal to spear over there?

That looks really fun. What other species are legal to spear over there?

As I said earlier, the spearfishing opportunities in Montana's western fishing district are quite limited, and in Montana's central fishing district, they are only better with respect to non-game fish.  In Montana's eastern fishing district, however, there are pretty broad opportunities for both some game fish spearing and for non-game spearing. 

in Montana's western district, you can only speargun for pike, and only in the Clearwater drainage (Seeley Lake, Salmon Lake, etc.), Upsata Lake, and Lake Mary Ronan. The spearfishing in the Clearwater drainage has been pretty slow for the last couple of years; I blame a FWP pike netting program.  Spearing on Lake Mary Ronan is new this year, apparently inspired by the fact that last year for the first time a couple of pike were caught in that lake, which threatens a real nice kokanee fishery.  Pike numbers are probably still quite low in Lake Mary Ronan.  In addition, you can spear through the ice for pike in the Clearwater drainage, Echo Lake, Upper and Lower Stillwater Lake, and Upper, Middle, and Lower Thompson Lake.

In the Central District, in all waters open to fishing, non-game fish may be taken with rubber or spring-propelled spears by persons swimming or submerged. In addition, in Tiber Reservoir, speargunning and spearing through the ice is permitted for pike, walleye, sauger, and burbot. Spearing is permitted through the ice in several additional lakes.

In the Eastern District, in all waters open to fishing, non-game fish, pike, burbot, walleye, and whitefish may be taken with rubber or spring-propelled spears by persons swimming or submerged, and spearing through the ice is permitted for non-game fish, pike, burbot, walleye, and sauger.  In addition, on Fort Peck Reservoir, spearing through the ice is permitted for Chinook Salmon and Lake Trout.

Very nice Pete. What depth are you diving to get to these pike and how do you prepare your catch? Spear gun or Hawaiian sling?  cheers!

Very nice Pete. What depth are you diving to get to these pike and how do you prepare your catch? Spear gun or Hawaiian sling?  cheers!

I'm snorkeling in lily pad beds or over weed beds in water depths between 3 and about 12 feet. I don't dive. I whack the pike with a 36" speargun.  A longer speargun would get in the way more in the weeds, and the visibility is usually too low to make a longer speargun useful.

Pike is one of the tastier fish around, and because it's a popular fish, there are a lot of good recipes for use with pike.  But you have to fillet it, skin it, and take out the Y bones.  If you ever talk with somebody who says "I tried to eat pike once, and it was terrible," ask them "Did you skin it before you cooked it?"  If they say they didn't, tell them "There's your problem.  Always skin pike fillets. The skin tastes lousy."  You also need to remove a line of Y bones from the fillets.  There are a lot of videos on the internet which show techniques for removing the Y bones.  With the help of those videos, you can produce completely boneless fillets.