HELLO! My name is John Maetzold and I live in Jordan, Montana, when I'm not fishing or hunting. Jordan is a small town of less than 500 people. We are located about 25 miles south of the central part of Fort Peck Lake. Jordan is the only town in Garfield County. Garfield County has about 1000 people spread out over an area that stretches nearly 100 miles wide by 100 miles deep. We are remote! Only sheep and cattle ranches and a little farming occupy this country. The area around the lake is rough badlands called the Missouri Breaks. Sagebrush, cactus, and gumbo and shale soil make up the area. Wildlife is abundant with elk, mule deer, whitetail deer, pronghorn antelope, bighorn sheep, coyote, fox, bobcat, mountain lion and golden and bald eagles making up the majority of the wild critters. For more specific information on lodging etc. available, please check out our Lodging and Local Information page.
I am 54 years old, married to a great lady, and dad to 3 wonderful boys ages 12-17. I have lived, and fished, here since 1983. I grew up in Minnesota around Alexandria's lakes area, and have been fishing for about 47 of my 52 years on this planet. I lived on some of the hottest walleye fishing lakes in Minnesota as I was growing up.
Fort Peck Lake is actually a reservoir on the Missouri River. It is about 2200 feet above sea level. The lake is about 150 miles long with over 1500 miles of shoreline. There is no shortage of good fishing holes and you don't have to worry about a bunch of other fishermen in your spot. There are many species of fish to catch and we fish for many different kinds. Walleyes are probably the most sought after. Sauger, saugeye, northern pike, lake trout, smallmouth bass, chinook salmon and perch are all in great supply. Some of the lesser sought after fish are: channel catfish, burbot (ling), paddlefish, rainbow trout, brown trout, crappie, drum, cisco, sturgeon, suckers and carp. World record sauger and saugeye came from Fort Peck.
Fort Peck Lake is a premier walleye fishing area hosting several large tournaments throughout the summer. Montana Walleye Circuit Tournaments on Fort Peck include Rock Creek, and Hell Creek. The Montana Governors Cup is also held here. In 1997, 1998 and 2000 the InFisherman Professional Walleye Trail held the Western ProAm on Fort Peck.
Ice usually goes off the first part of April, but some years the lake has not completely frozen over. I generally start off by fishing for lake trout and salmon. In 1998, the ice went off on April 4. On April 5, I caught a 28 pound laker which was a possible lake record at that time. That spring, the lake trout we caught averaged about 12 pounds.
The walleye bite picks up in May as the water warms into the mid 50's and the lakers go into deep water. I start to fish walleyes and saugers which progressively bite better well into July. Last year there were several good year classes to catch and many walleye over 10 pounds were taken on Fort Peck.
In late July and August, as the water temperature warms into the mid 70's and the food base is at it's peak, the walleye fishing slows down a little. As for northerns, they are usually biting great all year. In 1998, the Fish, Wildlife and Parks raised the limit to 10. Northern pike averaged about 10 pounds last year. What a fight and great eating too!
Salmon fishing picks up in July and August as the fish begin to stage and stalk up on grub before they spawn. This is usually a downrigger situation, and the success depends on the amount of mature fish that are returning to spawn and die. The state record chinook caught on Fort Peck is 31 lb 2 oz, but last year the fish were few and averaged about 15 pounds.
The early ice period, usually in December, seems to be the best bet for numbers of walleye. If you have any questions, regardless of if you want to book a trip, give me a call (406-557-6261), or e-mail me at maetzold@midrivers.com. I am always glad to help or just talk fishing.
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