A Long-Time Fisheries Manager Looks Ahead To The Opening Of General Fishing Season

"So many fishing lures, so little time," sighed Jim Vashro

Vashro, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks fisheries manager in Kalispell, describes himself as a gear junkie with the tackle boxes to prove it. He says his new favorite is soft-sided and he’ll bring it along on Saturday, May 21, the opening day of Montana’s general fishing season.

  The theory of this new soft sided tackle box is to add or remove individual containers as needed for each trip.

Vasho says the only draw back to that is his phobia of being on the water when only one lure or fly will work, and he is without that particular one.

"I’ve actually had the one-lure condition happen, " he said. "Well, okay, only twice in 45 years. But I don’t want it to happen again so I take maximum gear with me."

Vashro said he has gone as far as getting a "magnum" tackle box so he could take it all with him, but he has to put wheels on it to move it around.

"I get lots of grief about my tackle boxes from fishing buddies, but they’re always interested in mooching gear," he said.

If he could only have one lure, a thought that makes him queasy, he’d pick a box full of white marabou leadhead jigs in various sizes. He said he has caught just about every fish known on them.

When talk turns to the catch, Vashro is quick to say he thinks the lake whitefish is the most underrated fish in Montana.

"They’re found by the millions in the Flathead drainage and in some other spots around Montana," he said. "They’re abundant, limits are liberal (100 a day), they are challenging to catch,   and they’re really good on the table."

Vashro claims that anyone he talks into trying lake whitefish is quickly converted.

"People pay big bucks to go to Florida for bonefish, but you can hardly get some folks to cross the street for whitefish even though they look and fight a lot like bonefish," he said.

Vashro said he feels badly when he sees someone hook a fish, hoot over the fight, and then land it only to say in discouragement, "Oh, it’s just a whitefish." Whitefish have salvaged many an outing when trout were being "snooty" he said in their defense.

"Maybe it’s that funny upturned nose or the lack of spots. I’ve always thought we should get the hatcheries into bioengineering to get some spots on the whitefish. Maybe they’d get some respect then," he joked.

Vashro is one of about 40 FWP fisheries biologists in the state responsible for managing the state’s fisheries to provide Montanans and our visitors with world-class angling opportunities.
 

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