Best Walleye Day of my Life! Fort Peck Reservoir is On Fire!

This week on the Montana Outdoor Podcast your host Downrigger Dale talks with our good friend Tayler Michaels. Tayler is a Videographer for JMO Productions which is famous for their great TV show Jason Mitchell Outdoors which is all about freshwater fishing. Tayler is the guy behind the camera there, but he is also in front of the microphone on his JMO Podcast! In addition to all that Tayler is also an amazing hunting guide for Burke Ranch Outfitters. In other words, this guy does it all and knows his way around the hunting grounds AND the fishing holes. Tayler recently went out fishing with the Captain of the Montana Outdoor Radio Show on Fort Peck and, quote: “Had my best day of BIG WALLEYE fishing ever!”. When a guy like Tayler Michaels says that it is HUGE! When he came by the podcast, he had pictures and OH MY you all have got to WATCH THIS PODCAST! Keep in mind we are not far from Montana Governor’s Cup Walleye Tournament time, and we feel strongly that this incredible day of fishing that Tayler JUST HAD points to THE BIGGEST GOV CUP EVER! Have you registered to compete yet? You just gotta do that NOW. Once you are done then watch or listen to this podcast and see what you just might experience. And here is the super exciting part of all this. Tayler, though he would love to, does not get to fish Fort Peck much at all, as in rarely. On top of that he told the Captain that he did not want any advice about where to find the Walleye, he just wanted to go out find some structure and give it a shot as if it were the first day of the Gov Cup. So, if he can go out and nail the type of Walleye you will see when you watch this podcast, then the question is WHY CAN’T YOU!!?? This could be anyone’s Gov Cup this year!! So, what are you waiting for?! Watch this podcast now, see and hear about how Tayler got those wonderful huge Walleye and then CLICK HERE NOW AND GET REGISTERED for this year’s Montana Governors Cup!! The tournament is next week July 9th-11th. This is gonna be an AWESOME GOV CUP!! 

Links:

• Click here to learn all about the Montana Governor’s Cup!
• Click here to register your team to compete in this year’s Montana Governor’s Cup!
• Click here to learn all about Fort Peck Reservoir.
• Click here to learn about Fort Peck.
• Questions for Tayler Michaels? Click here to send him an email.
• Questions or suggestions for Downrigger Dale? Click here to shoot him an email.

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

Welcome everyone back into the Montana Outdoor Podcast. So good to have all of you along. And you know, we've got a lot of stuff coming up here. One in particular, we we did a whole podcast on this, but it's worth mentioning because um it's kind of like the the Super Bowl and Christmas all rolled into one for walleye fishermen in Montana, and that is the Montana Governor's Cup. It's it's the biggie, it's the granddaddy of them all. And um I ran across uh one of our old friends here on the podcast that I think the experience he just had on Fort Peck is gonna be a pretty good forecast of what just might happen here soon coming up on the GovCup. Plus, I just want to get uh our friend Taylor Michaels on again to to talk about some of the things that make Fort Peck so special. So we are gonna cover that next. All right, so let's get right into it. Our buddy Taylor Michaels just popped up on the screen there for you. And uh geez, Taylor, it's been a while since we've had you on the podcast. You've been hiding from me or what?

SPEAKER_01 1:14

Yeah, man. Um no, man, it's uh it's it's it's good to be back. Um, yeah, funny enough, we're talking about fishing. Last time I was on talking about something I'm probably a little bit more qualified to talk about, you know, talking about the the elk and deer hunting out there in Montana. I've been uh guiding for Kelly and Tammy Burke at Burke Ranch Outfitters there out of uh Glasgow for more than 10 years. And um yeah, got a lot of experience doing that. I I don't have as many or don't have as much experience fishing on Fort Tech, but uh but definitely loved it over there. And yeah, I did have uh quite an experience here recently uh visiting you know an old friend, uh Mark Ward, the captain. And uh yeah, we we had uh quite a day of fishing. Probably go down as one of my best uh days of of fishing ever, which uh I think there's not a ton of bodies of water across Walleye Country that uh that I could really have that happen. Um yeah, glad to be back talking about it.

SPEAKER_02 2:31

Yeah, yeah, the captain called me. He said, Man, you gotta talk to Taylor. This was a great day. So we're definitely gonna do that. Now, um one of the things that that you do besides you know guiding is you you also are on TV doing these these uh uh um programs about hunting and fishing and all that. Talk a bit about that, just so folks know, because uh some of them might recognize you.

SPEAKER_01 2:57

Well, right on um I uh yeah, when I'm not out guiding in the fall, the other nine months out of the air, I work for Jason Mitchell Outdoors Productions um for you know almost as many years, you know, 10 plus years, and uh mostly as uh you know a videographer, kind of behind this behind the scenes, behind the camera. Um, and then for the last you know, going on seven years, I've been hosting the JMO podcast. Uh we uh we talk walleye fishing and uh yeah, just interview anglers as a as an amateur myself. I'm always trying to get better and and uh you know try to have have the best fishing experiences I can and get as get as good as I can and and nothing better than to to interview anglers that are far better than me to learn from. And so that's what that's what that's all about. That's what I'm doing when I'm not uh out there guiding.

SPEAKER_02 3:48

Well, you're a humble man because uh I know you know your way around a fishing pool too, and uh, and obviously you're awesome at at hunting, especially you got to be one of the more patient people that you will actually go out uh well hunting with the captain, which uh I I don't even know how you do that. I mean, a day of fishing drives me. I I I don't think I could do the hunting thing. You know, with with the first day of summer just happening week or two ago, uh a lot of you out there are making plans, and I really want you to consider including Fort Peck and the Gov Cup in your plans. Yes, it isn't a remote place. In fact, interesting little tidbit, the most remote town in the world, the world, uh, and this was done by uh, I don't know, some big agency that did all this stuff using GPS and near cities and highways and all that. But the most remote town in the world is Glasgow, Montana, which is bizarre 12 miles from Forth Peck. But with that, that said, um it is a bucketless lake, I think. And uh you certainly kind of had one of those bucketless experiences. Talk a bit about why you decided to, because you drove what a round trip, about 11 hours. Uh talk about what made you want to come to Fort Peck and and uh spend just eight hours out there doing what you do.

SPEAKER_01 5:21

Yeah, well, you know, I think that's you know, the fact that it is kind of remote, you know, considering even just the surrounding area, or like I'm over here in Basemark, North Dakota. You look at just the whole upper Midwest, like, you know, this day and age with uh, you know, the internet and and all the information, like, you know, to hear about a place like Fort Peck and being remote, I think that's one of the big draws to it.

SPEAKER_02 5:46

We're gonna get into to the walleyes and stuff that you were going after, but I want to start with this bad boy right here. That is a Laker that that was out there that you you went after. Talk a bit about because you didn't just catch walleye, you caught pretty much about everything that that Fort Peck is famous for. Talk about catching Lakers on Fort Peck and and what this experience was like. How big it was that fish, do you remember?

SPEAKER_01 6:14

That's a good question. Like we didn't we didn't measure it. Um we we actually fished the lake trout sort of after we had had some some success uh with the wall ice. And but again, going back to it, like I'm a non-resident. It it's kind of exotic to go to a place like Fort Peck that has such a such a prolific like lake trout uh population and that average size. This was the first lake trout that we caught. It was, I'm gonna guess, uh, you know, give or take, an inch or two. That was probably like a 32 or 33-inch fish, you know, well, over 10 pounds. And that was the first one we caught. And I let Cap take a picture, but um, and it might be hard to see on the graph, you know, but in the background of that picture, but there was like six more down there. But it was it was like an hour and a half heater of just the most non-stop, like by definition, it was non-stop. Um, they they were eating our baits on the drop, like sometimes 10-15 feet below the boat, uh, in like 90 feet of water. Um, even Captain was catching them at will. Uh once I uh kind of you know tied his jig on properly and and uh you know got his bait figured out. Um but uh yeah, and he oh he was you know he got him kind of tuned into uh you know you if you drop a dot, they don't eat it on the fall, you know, as soon as you get one engaged, you just start reeling up. Even if even if you don't think they're looking at your bait, if you see one within 50 feet of you, just start slow reeling, and when they come over, you just start reeling as fast as you can, and they're they just there's nothing you can do. They just eat it. But it was we were doubled up multiple times, and like it got to the point where he was digging a fish out of the net, and I had like a like a smaller, maybe like a four or five pounder on, and I was just boat flipping like four or five-pound Lakers uh just to uh you know, just because the net was too busy, and would throw them back in and just go back down. I mean, it was I mean it was just like uh almost like a bloodbath uh to do the Lakers. But um but yeah, that's like the kind of the uh again, kind of the exotic thing about Fort Peck that you just don't find everywhere on other on other great walleye fisheries across, you know, the Midwest and beyond to just have that multi-species element that's just you know, just this lights out.

SPEAKER_02 8:39

But well, speaking of multi-species, uh another fish that uh you pulled out, which you know, Fort Peck's a lot of people don't think about it for smallies, but it's a great smally uh uh a smallmouth bass fishery. Uh so was did you catch this kind of around the same area or what what was that about?

SPEAKER_01 8:58

Oh gosh, yeah. The small mouths, um, you know, yeah, I feel like the smallmouths on some of these western reservoirs are kind of like a deal where like if you know, you know, right? Like it's just you know, that those smallmouths are are super uh involved in that that Cisco forage base and they just grow big um on on places like Fort Peck. And actually, this particular smallmouth was like pretty comical. We were we weren't in the lake trout spot, but um we had slid out deep, just uh you know, just out deep looking for suspended fish. And uh this was just a random deal where I think we were over like 60 feet of water, and this mark was like 10 feet down, like feeding on a bait ball. And uh I just I pretty randomly threw like haphazardly threw a lure out, and just in typical smallmouth fashion, it just rifled over like in the blink of an eye, 20 feet, and just smashed my jig. And and uh I just couldn't resist, you know, like you you see a healthy looking mark that's um you know preying on on a bait ball, like you just have to find out what it is, and uh it's just bizarre. Like you think about uh smallmouths and anywhere else, you know, they're feeding on crayfish or or you know, minnows in in the weeds or you know, deep rock or something like that, which is all you know, all the typical smallmouth behavior does happen on uh on the reservoir. But in this particular case, it's like you know, there's just there's big, dumb smallmouths that have never seen a lure before. Most of them, most of the big ones are dumb and have never seen a lure before on Fort Peck, I feel like the way they act. And it's it's awesome.

SPEAKER_02 10:41

They they're aggressive too. I'll never forget this one day. I I um Captain and I were were uh walleye fish. In fact, we were bottom bouncing, and I had uh pulled in one of my rods and I was working on the other. I kind of got into a tangle thing, and so one of the uh bottom bouncers was just hanging uh uh over the side of the boat. I mean, not even fully into the water, and a a smallmouth came and grabbed that and damn near took the rod and everything away from me. So that's what they do.

SPEAKER_01 11:14

Yeah, they're very friendly fish, and and and on tough days, like uh you know, a fish like smallmouth, you get into a school of smallmouth, sometimes they can make a make a tough day pretty good, even if they're not your target species that day. Like, you know, there's a lot to love about a smallmouth of any size, but you know, I don't know, that fish, again, we didn't, you know, measure or anything, but it was probably like a a three and a half, maybe, maybe close to a four-pounder. And it's like stuff like that can just happen in a blink of an eye, you know, for like no good reason on a place like Fort Peck, and it's like a yeah, it's just like a non-target, you know, it's like a bycatch, but like awesome all at the same time.

SPEAKER_02 11:57

Yeah. Well, and then you've got uh this one, which which I had to get a real kick out of just because uh I'll I'll tell you, uh you find this a lot on Fort Peck, and that is uh where you will pull in some of these these pike which are just savage there, and sure enough, um they're eating something that's damn near as big as they are. Talk about this. What what was in this pike's mouth?

SPEAKER_01 12:26

Okay, this this whole thing is like uh an experience that um you know I we were both kind of like little children when this happened. This is like so this was right, this was like right next to where where that smallmouth happened. Like these were like back-to-back fish. And uh again, we we had just kind of like drifted out into this deeper water. I was just up front, like casting at the last couple marks. I had a jig head with no bait on it. I'm talking a bear hook. Like I actually, after I took the hook out of that smallmouth's mouth, uh I I think I had a crawler. I was it was like a jig and a crawler, right? Standard bait. And um a little bit of crawler that was still left on my jig after catching that smallmouth. I actually took it off because I was I would have otherwise been prepared to put a brand new crawler on. And I looked down at the graph, and again, there's this like pretty healthy looking mark cruising up below us, like right below the boat, like 20 feet below the boat or less, and we were around this bait, this bait ball still. And um, so again, just like a predator-looking fish, I I'd love to just know what it is, and thinking it might just be another smallmouth. Like I just I wasn't looking at the graph that hard to really try to identify species. I just saw this thing swimming on the uh Garmin. I threw a bare jig head, a bare-naked jig head in the water, straight down. I just opened the bale, and this fish shot over and hit it. And I was just like, this must be a lake troll. This must be like a small lake troll. It was just it was just peeling me off. And what other what other species of fish would just so unconsciously eat what couldn't have looked like more than like a baby June bug? Like it was just a jig head, bare naked jig head. I'm I'm not joking. And it comes up and it's like a four-pound pike that has probably a one-pound Cisco sticking out of its mouth. It the belly on it, the belly on that fish that like that Cisco had obviously just been eaten recently. Right. Yeah. The pike wasn't even big enough to swallow it, it was digesting that fish with the tail still out, and and it ate it ate a tiny naked jig head, like the kind of thing that you would you just giggle about. Like this fish was just so suicidal, but that's not uncharacteristic, also of pike, you know, like that a lot of times it's uh it's almost like a nuisance, but on a day of fishing where I'm in this special place and I'm at, you know, it's like I'll just catch anything that bends my rod well. And um, and so we just thought it was just the most hilarious thing. But yeah, it's like a like I wouldn't even give it credit for being a four-pound pike. Um, it's like a three and a half pound pike that had a giant Cisco in its mouth. So very impressive. Kudos to that fish for doing what it did, and uh hilarious that that uh it went down that way.

SPEAKER_02 15:27

So anyway, that I I just love that picture. It it it just cracked me up. And and again, that that's not something unusual that you're gonna find uh on Fort Peck. Those pike just get crazy. Um so uh now let's get into the walleye side of it. And you know, you you you love to fish walleye. Uh you've been doing it a long time. Um, so it's it's it's something that uh you know uh most people come for. And uh I want to talk about this fish here, right here. I'm gonna I'm gonna pull up uh because this is this is just it used to be something that you would say, well that that's a that's quite a fish. That's not a typical thing. Um but uh in uh in Fort Peck, it really has almost become the norm. And that is this bad boy uh right here. I'll pull him up. There he is, or she is. Uh, that's an impressive walleye. Over the years, you've heard me talk a lot about superior hardwoods of Montana. Yeah, I've talked a great deal about their incredible reclaimed wood from old barns, green elevators, old homesteads, even an old log flume zigzagging down a mountainside in Montana. If there's an amazing piece of wood that can be reclaimed and turned into an unbelievable, one of a kind wood floor, paneling, or well, just about anything, Superior Hardwoods of Montana has found it, created it, and showed all of us right there online at superior-hardwoods.com. They truly are artists that just happen to use wood as their canvas. And yes, I've also talked about their amazing ability to find some of the most unbelievable exotic woods from all over the world. I was asked the other day if Superior Hardwoods of Montana ever just sold normal wood floors or paneling, or do they only sell wood products that are incredible and unusual? I had to stop and think about that question for a minute. No, not because I could not think of a case where Superior Hardwoods of Montana sold just some usual nice looking flooring or paneling. They do that a lot. I had to think about it because the folks at Superior Hardwoods of Montana make really any piece of wood incredible and unusual. Simply because you will not find any, let me say it again, you will not find any place on earth that cares more about what they sell than Superior Hardwoods of Montana. I guess that's why they've been in business since 1977. It's a a passion of everyone at Superior Hardwoods of Montana. I know that because I've known these folks for, well, most of the 65 years that I've been around. So believe me when I say at Superior Hardwoods of Montana, they absolutely cannot wait to guide you through the woods. Go see them next time you're in Missoula, or why not go see them right now at superior-hardwoods.com. Superior Hardwoods of Montana. Go see them.

SPEAKER_01 18:49

Yeah, that was like the unicorn of the day. Um yeah, yeah. So, you know, as far as the walleye fishing, like getting back to just like how great Fort Peck is, and as a non-resident, like this is what you this is what you get off the couch for. This is what you spend your hard-earned money on, this is what you take time off work to go to places that you know will maybe give you a chance to just just give you a chance to be around, you know, fish like this. And uh, and yeah, like I yeah, I would say, you know, walleye fishing is definitely my wheelhouse when it comes to just overall fishing the last 10 years or or more. Um I've just I've been a pretty committed uh you know walleye angler with Lake Sakakua, you know, just uh downstream uh being, you know, kind of my favorite body of water. That's where I live by. Uh, but you know, we've got we've got all kinds of good walleye fishing around here. But um but yeah, like I I can't come into Fort Peck. You don't you don't ever say it out loud, you don't ever want to jinx yourself, but but I guess to just be totally honest, you come somebody like me will travel and do ridiculous things, drive all night and uh, you know, uh, you know, leave all kinds of uh loose ends at home, um, you know, to come out here and fish for the day and have a chance at a fish like this, or in my case, you know, a few fish uh, you know, that uh that we caught that day. But yeah, like going out there with cap, um, that was the number one goal. I wanted to try to catch big fish, and I was gonna kind of die on that hill. Um, and of course, it was it was a little bit of a process. Um, you know, like any day of fishing is a process. You got to go out there, you gotta find some fish, you gotta figure out what they'll eat, and then you gotta try to, you know, cover as much ground as you can in a day to dial in, you know, either a big fish. If you're lucky, you'll get on a pattern or in an area where there's there's a few of them. Um, but really I I wasn't expecting anything like this. I caught the biggest walleye of my life three times that day, and this was the biggest one. This was the third of three giants, and this was the biggest one. And uh yeah, this was yeah, just like I'll never never forget it.

SPEAKER_02 21:14

That's just a beautiful fish. And the it's fish like that that you will see in a two-day tournament like the Gov Cup, you're gonna see uh fish that you know weights rather in in two days that are gonna exceed well over a hundred pounds for a team at the end of two days. And that's that gets people freaking out and excited for sure. Um here is uh an another one of these great walleye, but that you know, when people hear these kind of weights, you know, that oh, at the end of day one, they're uh the the top three fishermen are right around 50 to 55 pounds, yeah. Uh and everybody goes, Well, that that's gotta be an anomaly. No, it's not. Uh, you know, you look at this beautiful fish here. Um, now normally captain's really good at making it uh huge. This fish is actually a little bigger this time than it than it actually looks in the picture. But another beautiful fish. Um now were you seeing these on forward-facing sonar and just dinging right at them?

SPEAKER_01 22:20

Yeah, yeah, that was that was the program. And uh, and in this case, you know, just uh being able to be selective and cast at you know only fish that appear to be, you know, bigger. And uh so yeah, that was definitely the program. And yes, that was the first time I broke my PB that day. That was a 29 and a half incher that was like eight and a half pounds. And uh, you know, I've caught I've caught probably a couple of fish that were eight and a half or or more, uh, but they weren't 29 and a half inches. I've caught maybe a couple 29 and a half inchers, but they weren't eight and a half pounds. But I, you know, that we were we'd been on, we'd had the trolling motor in the water for about an hour, give or take, which is not long, not long. And um, and how we got into our first spot was just random. I was just so we had waited out that storm in the morning, and Cap, like I I told Cap that you know I wanted to go way west, and and uh, you know, a typical tour guide, he wanted to take me. We were driving, and it was bumpy out there, and I was like, just pull in. I was like, we're driving past fish. What are we doing? Let's just pull into this. There's yeah, there's no boats, like there's no boats around here, like let's just get on this stretch, you know. And um, and so yeah, we just yanked in and uh we were around fish right away, and so that was cool. And I'm learning the you know the live scope, and uh because I guess I have I have Lorentz electronics, you know, anglers, so you know, understand the difference. But um, so I'm familiar, I'm I'm pretty familiar with forward sonar. Um, but in my own boat, I don't have the Garmin live scope, so I'm you know, I'm kind of getting used to what fish are looking like. We're around fish. The first fish was like uh yeah, the first fish that uh I actually cast at it was kind of important to kind of get the skunk out of the boat, right? And I think it was like maybe like a 24 or 25 inch inch walleye. And that really clued me into know that okay, now I know what a walleye looks like. I know that we're around walleyes, and I got a little bit of a clue as to what they'll eat. And so I've got, you know, I'm trying to process information and get any sliver of confidence that I can as fast as I can, because this day is just like burning away. Like the minutes are going by, like, yeah. And um, and so within an hour, I think that was the second fish that I caught because I caught that first like 24-incher just to kind of catch a fish. And that's a big fish. Anywhere, anywhere you go. That was like almost a five-pound fish.

SPEAKER_02 24:54

Uh yeah, Captain Um, yeah, that was I can't maybe I can't remember which one that was, but yeah, I I want to talk about this fish here in a second, but uh I I do want to just take a brief moment uh to to welcome in a couple groups that that I always do on these podcasts that they're very special to us uh because well one Montana per capita has more uh uh active and and uh veterans um of anywhere, but uh that is welcoming in our active military out there. We've got a lot of some watching this podcast on their ships, several of them uh on bases all around the world and that. So uh thank you so much for your service and what you do. And of course, welcome to all of our veterans who love to take part in this as well and uh listen and and watch. So thank you for your service, including my daughter, who's a veteran, and uh so glad to have her back home. So uh anyway, yeah. So let's let's talk a bit about this fish. Um this has become kind of the norm on Fort Peck, but yeah, uh you don't get to see this in a lot of other places, do you, Taylor?

SPEAKER_01 26:10

No, man, no man. It's uh like I've never I've never personally experienced it. I've I've you know working for JMO like you know has uh given me the opportunity to travel to great places, and I've taken pictures of some really great fish, and I've been around some unbelievable fish catches, um, but I've just never had it, you know, myself. I've never been able to kind of test my own metal, as I say. And like I've never been able to kind of try to apply my own skills on a body of water that has this caliber of fish to try to make it happen for myself. And yeah, so again, just kind of right in sequence, like we were in a in this in this area, tons of fish. You know, you would have needed a really high-powered pair of binoculars to see a boat, you know, any like there was just nobody else around us. And that's incredible. There was there was more mule deer and antelope and you know, uh elk probably closer to us than than people, and um, and to to catch this caliber of fish. It just at this point, at this point, we probably caught, you know, three or four or five fish that were you know big on anybody's standards and any wall anglers' standards. And um, you know, that maybe doesn't sound like a big number, but the quality that we were targeting that and getting them to eat that day, it just felt like we were on this, like I say it with the lake trout, like we I we were on a heater. Like for me, you know, I I'm sure there's there's there's no question, like I've interviewed some phenomenal anglers from Montana, you know, that that call for it peck home, that um that do this, you know, they're the they're the guys that you're gonna see at the Gov Cup and their names are gonna be at the top, you know. They can put this stuff together and they put a lot of time in to get really, really good at that, um, you know, on that body of water. But yeah, just for me to be out there seeing these fish, getting a few of them to eat, it was like, yeah, like within two hours, within two hours, I had like I said, I I had broke my my personal best like walleye twice in like the first couple hours, and I was like, I was like, Cap, like I don't even know what to do with my hands. Like, uh like what is going on here? Like, and and it was yeah, it was just incredible. And I think it was fun for Cap too. He was kind of I kind of had him tucked away in the compartment in the back of the boat. I felt a little bad, but um, but he was back there. Uh he's a heck of a negative.

SPEAKER_02 28:45

He enjoys watching people catch great fish as much as he enjoys catching them. He's he's that way. But now, so for for people that might be, you know, kind of sitting on the fence right now, um saying, boy, should I should I pull the trigger and and uh uh register for the GovCup and and make that trip? What do you gotta tell them now?

SPEAKER_01 29:10

Oh man. I mean, yeah, like tournament fishing is very in right now. Like if you look across across the walleye industry, like far and wide, something that I pay attention to. Um tournaments are just people are realizing that they're just a ton of fun. Um you know, like it like honestly, like I'm an amateur angler. If I fish a couple tournaments a year, I look forward to it because it's such an experience and uh and I learn a lot, you know. Uh you learn a lot just because of you know the the competitive nature. You're on the water, you're kind of putting pressure on yourself to to work hard and and do the best you can. But ultimately, like I don't think I would ever fish a tournament and and expect to like win or cash a big check or anything, but it's still such a worthwhile thing. And I say that like the Montana Governor's Cup on Fort Peck Lake is like, you know, all the conversations that I've had, I've talked to some like really high-profile anglers that are not from out there, that have traveled out there. I think about like Joe Wakata, he's a Wisconsin guy, just like the nicest guy in the whole world. He's a phenomenal angler and did good in that tournament a few years back. Um, well deserved. He's just like a heck of a stick. But talking to him after it, you know, being out there fishing Fort Peg for the first time in his life, his words were that it's just one of the most fun tournaments that he ever fished because all the things we talk about, it's the experience. You're in this remote place, and uh, you know, the the the local, the community is just like the energy is so high, everybody's you know, shaking hands and backslapping and having a good time. And then you're just on this like unbelievable, like famed body of water where there's just giant fish out there. And and um, but I would also say, you know, it's um like any sensible angler would would have to know that like these big fish don't bite every day. Um like I don't take for granted that I could just go out there and you know catch 30 inchers, you know, like uh uh you know a handful of 30 inchers every time that I ever went out there. It normally takes a lot of work, but when it's your day, you know, it can be your day out there. And yeah, I think that um no doubt about it, like the Montana Governor's Cup is it would be on my bucket list to go out and fish it. And and I I certain I feel like for sure um you know I would find time to go out there. And I just think it's you know, a place like that, that would just be like the one thing I would look forward to all summer. You know, like I I'm so jealous of anybody that does fish it. I say that all the time. I've been saying like I've been familiar with that tournament and people that fish that tournament um for a long, long time. I just couldn't imagine an excuse not to if you could make it happen. Fort Peck in July, the weather's gonna be good. I I should knock on wood for that. But um, but yeah, like it's just uh that would just be the event of the summer to look forward to. You should mark it on your calendar every single year. I just don't know why you wouldn't.

SPEAKER_00 32:15

Hey Rigor, I wanted to jump in here real quick and remind our viewers and listeners that the Montana Outdoor Podcast is brought to you by Rocky Mountain Truck and Trailer, home of boss snow plows and accessories. And Diamond Sea trailers and accessories. Go to rmtte.com and see everything they have waiting for you online. Or just come by 5680 Expressway in Missoula and buy Superior Hardwoods of Montana, delivering the highest quality lumber, paneling, flooring, and reclaimed wood products anywhere in North America. Let them guide you through the woods at their showroom in Missoula on Highway 93 South or at superior-hardwoods.com.

SPEAKER_02 32:59

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SPEAKER_01 36:30

Oh, yeah. Yeah, no, I think it's really cool. You see it, you actually see it a lot with like non like non-tournament series, like it if it's not a series or a tour, a touring type of um, you know, format, but like a lot of like the GovCups or or just other like sort of big one-of tournament, um, you know, you'll you'll see these kind of things. I feel like what is happening out there at the Montana GovCup this year is like really above and beyond. Like you said, it's thousands of dollars. Thousands of dollars are gonna be given out in in sort of the side pots and and that random draw variety. But I'll say this, like, you know, to your point about um, you know, just the fishing skills and stuff like that, when you get on a western reservoir like Fort Peck, if the weather doesn't cooperate, those guys that are gonna be up in the bow running forward sonar, um, it's not guaranteed that every big check is gonna be cashed by one of those guys. There is still always, always, and I I pay a lot of attention to this, I look at tournaments all over the place. I do interviews with guys all over the place. And um, there's no question that somebody that is super dialed into trolling cranks, whether it's LED core or snap weights, um, you know, for like deep trolling or guys that um can just hum bottom bouncers right along the cabbage weeds and they get in the right area. Um, there's no question that good checks can be cashed by guys that are not up on the bow. And and it's so there's there's no question. Like I know enough about walleye tournament fishing to know that there's guys out there in Montana that are so dangerous uh covering water with a spread of cranks, they can they can hum them and the the right fish are out there. Um, those guys are gonna catch them. So so yeah, there's there's definitely, you know, there's there's conversations everywhere about you know the impact that Forward Sonar has had and what we're learning from it, uh, you know, uh from a tournament perspective. But uh, but yeah, man, I think that uh you don't ever want a discount, especially if the wind blows hard and uh those guys can't uh they can't keep their trolling motor in the water. The guys the guys that can, you know, they can troll with the wind um in waves, like those guys are out there. Those guys are out there, they're definitely in montane.

SPEAKER_02 38:49

A lot of them out there, you know, and and that that's such a great point, Taylor, because uh uh there are so many aspects of Fort Peck, and especially the wind and and some of that stuff that can be such an equalizer. You can take some of these guys that are the big sticks that just you know are always in the money, and all of a sudden, uh, you know, you you got people like me going right by them. So it it to me, I I just am so excited about this tournament this year because of the added little things to it and the fact that Fort Peck is fishing so well that there's everyone's got an opportunity. You know, like the day you just had I mean, if if that was Gov Cup day, you would be right right on the the the top peg.

SPEAKER_01 39:41

Oh yeah, we had oh we had over 40 pounds. We had well over 40 pounds, you know. If we were fishing the Gov Cup, Captain and I were kind of giggling about that hypothetical scenario, too. But the one other cool thing, too, that I've learned about the Montana Gov Cup this year, you know, I don't know if you were gonna bring it up or not, but uh to go to that catch photo release on that e-tournament fishing app, um, I think that that is a really a cool deal. It's kind of a sign of the times where this catch photo release stuff is very in right now because it's uh it's not that hard to do. Um, you know, there might be some older folks out there that are kind of wondering how they're gonna, you know, fish a tournament with their phone, but I'm sure you guys are gonna do a good job of over there of um you know teaching them the ropes on all of that. But yeah, so good for the fish. So good for the fish. They're not gonna have to take a long ride in a live well anywhere. Um, they're gonna be caught and they're gonna be, you know, verified and they're gonna go right back in the lake. And it's also great for the anglers. It's like it's easier than having to strategize, you know, what to keep. But I wanted to make that point because that's another thing that I pay a lot of attention to with tournaments like big high profile tournaments, uh especially big fish tournaments.

SPEAKER_02 40:51

I'm glad you brought that up because that e-tournament fishing that that is uh that is something I know that some people, you're right, are saying, oh geez, now another element I gotta learn, it is really not tough at all. The other thing is they're gonna have a represent some representatives from e-tournament fishing there. Uh, so they'll they'll kind of help at the rules meeting. But the other cool thing, and fishermen, if you do not take advantage of this, you're crazy, is you can do a practice day with with the app, and that is great because then you can get out there when you're pre-fishing and and do it. And you will be amazed at how quickly you catch on, but why not? And it and it really simulates the way it's gonna be. So uh I'm telling you, what on pre-fishing, I hope everybody does that. I think that's a really cool feature.

SPEAKER_01 41:45

Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure. I've um that's one of the things that I've paid attention to, like I said, in the industry and and anywhere. There's a time and a place for everything at all these different tournament formats for sure. Um, you know, there's probably like at least for the foreseeable future, there's always gonna be way tournaments in places. Um, you know, and and there's uh yeah, there's just all the different formats are are are gonna be um, you know, kind of in play at different time in a different place. But um, especially these big fish tournaments um in uh yeah, think about July in in Montana. You might have, you know, warmer surface temperatures or whatever. Like it's just it's not always great to stress those fish in the live well. Yeah. And um, and it's just again, just like uh, you know, it's gonna be part of the evolution of that Montana Gov Cup, continuing to be a great tournament to fish.

SPEAKER_02 42:40

Well, you know, unfortunately, um I'm uh we're we're running low on time here, and I've taken so much of your time, I uh I don't want to take too much more of it. But what I would like to to close it out with is this um you had uh an incredible day on Fort Peck. It has lately been something that is becoming more the norm. Now not you're not always gonna have a day like that, but right uh it can happen. It can happen on Fort Peck. Here's a guy that doesn't fish Fort Peck that often, though he'd love to, but you know, he's he's got stuff he's got going on too. So just give us some of your closing thoughts on this incredible day you had with the captain and why Fort Peck needs to be on everyone's list of I I gotta go there.

SPEAKER_01 43:35

Yeah, I would say um yeah, maybe uh a couple of things. One about the experience, like uh you know, just one thing that I'll never forget about that particular day or this trip that I just had was like I said, pulling into the marina after this thunderstorm had just kept everybody off the lake. And you know, we're all pulling in because we're getting ready to put our boats in because the clouds are. Finally breaking and just seeing the camaraderie at that boat ramp. It's I'm serious. It's so fun to just be there and witness it. And every everybody's talking and chattering and smiles. And like it's just, and it was just like a I guess it was just like a random day to go fishing, but it just felt like there was some sort of a holiday happening. And I think that you guys have something really special with the culture around there that it's just so community and so fun. I think that that in itself makes an impression on non-residents like myself that go there that maybe you aren't expecting. Yeah. But it's it's really, really cool to go there and just see all the camaraderie happening. And uh, and of course, at the at the bar afterwards, you know, we didn't we didn't do that, but that happens, right? Like you go to the restaurant afterwards and everybody's like sharing, you know, pictures and everything else. Um, but then yeah, just with the fishing, um it's uh you know, for us, uh, we didn't go there with any waypoints. Like I know Captain had just had some good fishing recently. I told him I didn't want to go where he had had good fishing. I wanted to go somewhere new where we could find our own fish, and it happened. You can go out there and you can just you can just pick pick some structure or pick an area and just get you know, just put your lines in the water and just start fishing. And um, yeah, we found fish, we found fish in uh as shallow as 12 feet, big fish, and we caught fish out in 25 feet of water. It ended up being a target rich environment for us. The fish played ball, they made it easy for us that day, but just to know what can happen, like I would go back there a hundred times and and crash and burn. Um, but just knowing that it happened to me one time is enough that it'll forever it'll just it'll forever be like at the top of the mountain for me.

SPEAKER_02 45:49

Yeah. Well, Taylor, it's it's been great seeing you again. It's great having you. And now that you know that you can have days like that, no excuses. You gotta come back out some more and and uh hang out with the cap and I uh because we sure have a a lot of fun and it's great to have uh great folks like you. Uh but Taylor, uh, thanks so much. Uh if you don't mind, uh do you mind if if I pass on some questions that some of our viewers might have for you, just you know, as far as hey, what were you using or that? You can share or not share what you want with them. But uh uh if you if you want to get some some thoughts and some more thoughts and ideas and ask Taylor some questions, uh my email's right there on the podcast description. Hit me up with it and I'll have Taylor get a hold of you. Uh and uh, you know, uh this is special guy, and he's shared a great day with us and and we appreciate it. Uh don't be a stranger though, and we'll see you soon.

SPEAKER_01 46:43

I know, man. I know. I'm coming back. It's it's in my blood now.

SPEAKER_02 46:47

There you go. All right, Taylor, Taylor Michaels, everyone. Uh just another great fisherman here that uh we love to have on the show, and we'd love to hear what you guys are all doing too. So make sure that you uh spend some time with us too. And uh when you catch a big one, send it to my email. We'll get it on MontanaOutdoor.com, and we'd love to brag on you a bit because uh that's what we do it for, and this is what it's all about. Until we talk again, everyone. Uh, you know, have a good time out there, be safe, and be good to each other. And we'll see you next time on the Montana Outdoor Podcast.

SPEAKER_00 47:25

Thanks for watching the Montana Outdoor Podcast. You know there's no way we could do this podcast without the incredible support of sponsors like Superior Hardwoods of Montana, home of the largest selection of in-stock, high-end wood products and flooring in the western United States. Let them guide you through the woods at superior-hardwoods.com. And of course, Rocky Mountain Truck and Trailer in Missoula, home of both snowflows and accessories. And Diamond C trailers and accessories. Go see them on the web at rmtte.com. We'd love to hear what you thought of this week's podcast. When you get a minute or two, shoot us an email and tell us your thoughts. Same goes if you have any questions for Rigger or this week's guest. Just send your questions or comments to downrigger at MontanaOutdoor.com. Hey, don't forget we should be dropping a new podcast this next Saturday. Until then, gang, we hope to see you soon out in Montana's great outdoors.