Good evening all. So I have a pair of friends making the trek from Billings to Eureka this weekend for an extended fishing trip, and I was hoping to solicit some advice on the Thompson Chain. I had hoped to be able to float the Kootenai, but the output from the dam is just under 3x the normal flows for this time of year, so I'm switching gears and intend to target pike and bass on lakes instead. Having only fished Middle Thompson, I don't know enough about the lakes to know which one would be the best to target this early. Would you go to Lower or Middle? Are there better lakes in the chain to hit? Anyone know which warms up the quickest? Answers to any or all the above are greatly appreciated.
Or for a complete curve-ball, should I bail on the chain and take them over to Bull Lake outside of Troy? I could target the same species and have a shot at some wade fishing in Lake Creek (which is now open all year) to boot. So many choices...
