Helena reservoirs: Canyon Ferry walleye on the south end, Holter rainbows

Helena-area reservoirs are in a fall pattern, with walleye on Canyon Ferry’s south end and rainbows spread across Hauser and Holter. Troy Humphrey and Chris Hurley of Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks wrote the week-of-Oct. 5 report in the Helena Independent Record, published Oct. 5, 2026.

On Canyon Ferry, Humphrey says the walleye bite has picked up on the south end. Anglers are trolling bottom bouncers with pink spinners and a worm harness in 10 to 15 feet around Ponds 1 and 2 and between the river mouth and Pond 4. Pink and gold crankbaits are working, and a few walleye have come from north and south of Goose Bay. Rainbows are also coming on walleye gear, lures, or cowbells, best on the south end, with an occasional perch in the same fishery.

Hurley reports Hauser rainbows along the shorelines at the Causeway and Spokane Creek on streamer or leech flies. Trolled crankbaits, or cowbells with wedding rings, are putting a few trout near York Bridge and Black Sandy. A few walleye are coming near Dana Point and across from Black Sandy on perch-colored jigs tipped with crawlers, or on slip bobbers and leeches.

Holter rainbows are the strong bite in his section, especially on the lower end, trolling shiny baits. He names Black Beach, Split Rock, the Oxbow Bend, and the water just above Holter Dam. Fly anglers are using streamers or leeches between the Gates of the Mountains and Hauser Dam. A few walleye and perch are coming inside the Canyon, near the Sleeping Giant, Cottonwood Creek, and the Clay Banks, jigged in 25 to 40 feet. Kokanee at the dam have slowed.

At Helena Valley Regulating Reservoir, Hurley says snagging has been going well and the fish look larger this year. The kokanee snagging season opened Sept. 1 and runs through Oct. 31. The limits in the report are 35 salmon a day and 70 in possession.

This is a The Gillnet news desk summary, not a reprint.

Source: Helena Independent Record — Helena-area fishing report for week of Oct. 5 (Oct. 5, 2026), by Troy Humphrey and Chris Hurley, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks.