
Lake Koocanusa
Lake Koocanusa, created by Libby Dam, is a very large lake, stretching from Montana all the way back into Canada. Due to its isolated location in far northwest Montana, as well as the nearby proximity to Whitefish Lake and Flathead Lake, the lake only receives a fair amount of use for recreational boating. Additionally, draw downs of the reservoir for power production in late summer during low water years can leave Lake Koocanusa very low, severely limiting boat landing opportunities.
Lake Koocanusa has a wide variety of fish. Rainbow trout, whitefish, kookanee salmon, cutthroat trout and bull trout all can be found in the lake. Some limited shore fishing is possible in the spring and early summer, before the draw down, for small cutthroat trout and kokanee salmon. However, due to the lakes very large size, a small boat to more easily cover the shoreline is the best way to fish during this time.
Access to Lake Koocanusa is quite good. Highway 37 parallels the lake on the east side for most of its distance. On the west side, a bumpy dirt road more or less parallels the lake too. A number of boat landings, some private and some public, are found on both sides of the lake and near Libby Dam.
Mo Fisch Charters is located at the Marina in Lakeside Mt. on the west shore of Flathead Lake They have 3 boats available for trophy lake trout,Rainbows, Bulls,as well as lake superior whitefish. Visit Their website for more information on targeting Trophy fish in that area.