FSH 210 Sport
Jetboaters Admiral
- Messages
- 6,761
- Reaction score
- 8,017
- Points
- 482
- Location
- Tranquility Base
- Boat Make
- Yamaha
- Year
- 2020
- Boat Model
- FSH Sport
- Boat Length
- 21
I’ve been wanting to get over to Keyhole Reservoir all summer and finally made it happen.
The drive over was brutal with all the traffic. Still green!
Sadly there are signs everywhere that fall is coming a month early this year….
What I don’t have any pictures of was my stop at the watercraft inspection / de con station just over the border. I had called the station the day before I went so I knew what to be prepared for and Chad was very helpful, while Chad was not there when I got there he had left extensive notes for the two young guys that were on duty when I got there. They had two types of equipment on hand, a pressure washer / boiler and a low pressure / boiler system-this is a big deal from my past experience with South Dakota’s systems this year. The low pressure system is what they used on my boat to flush the engines, more importantly the water locks / mufflers, it was the only area of my boat that they wanted to de con. Once they were done they placed a wire seal between the bow eye and the winch and gave me a CC of the paperwork they filled out on my boat. Our boats are rare here, and these two guys had never seen one before so it was a learning experience for them and they expressed gratitude for me walking them through a Yamaha jet boat and where to find any hidden water that could harbor villigers. If you don’t have to deal with this in your area you are fortunate, having to deal with AIS (aquatic invasive species) is a PITA, but it is what it is, and it’s a lot easier if you are prepared ahead of time, I got a crash course in AIS when I went to Lake Powell where quagga mussels are present.
The reservoir is pretty large
All camping is by reservation May 1 through September 30th then it’s first come first serve. I thought the camping rates were high, especially for non residents, Montana is like that too.
From what I’ve been told WY had to start enforcing this 14 day stay limit over in the Big Horns as people (gotta lov’em) were dragging their RV’s out to these remote spots very early in the season to the best spots and leaving them all summer.
Got down to the Marina to find the store was all closed up for the season, there a couple of gals there doing end of season clean up stuff and provided some great info.
Finally got on the water about 1030 hrs, water temp was 67° and just short of glassy, got my lead lines in the water and just that quick had a good fish on, then it was gone, I must have not clipped the swivel in correctly, or the swivel came unclipped when the fish hit because all I got back was the swivel with the bail pulled out straight, that was my only all white, wonder bread pattern, crank bait.
Theres a few houses by the lake but the are all up away from the lake, some are on the bluffs overlooking the lake.
I did manage to catch a couple of crappie on a black and gold striped Salmo crank bait, but no walleye. I tried several other colors but no das.
A nice end to the first day on the lake.
I went over to the little town of Pine Haven, population 493, and to “R Place” bar and grill to get 40# of ice for the fish box. This place sells live bait, there was a big post it on the cashier counter “we have leeches”, and it was pool league night, so a lot of locals there playing pool. I had an awesome bacon cheeseburger & fries before heading back to my campsite. I was also able to get quarters here for the campground showers as the change machine was out of service.
I got an RV site with electric so I could charge my trolling motor batteries back up, it was a nice spot, went over to the showers and was underwhelmed with these, coin operated and not very much water, but I got a hot shower before bed. The wind came up as forecasted overnight but not too bad, it wasn’t too cold and the clear skies made for awesome star gazing, saw one really good shooting star. I did wear a set of long Johns to bed, and kept them on through the early part of the next day.
The next morning looked like…
I made coffee with my jet boil before heading back to the lake.
Once I rounded a point there were two and three foot rollers coming my way, I had to stow those items in the bow right after this pic was taken as the wind was grabbing the bow splashes and throwing them into the boat. Also had to use the engines to help the trolling motor out through the waves and wind. I did catch a crappie in these conditions.
By about 1000 hrs the wind had laid down and the temperature came up quickly and it was swimsuit weather the rest of the day
The bite picked up this day, and the black and gold Salmo lures ruled the day. I ended up with two crappie and four walleye, I did catch another crappie that was twice the size of these two but it had an injury on its back, looked like it had been bitten, so I tossed it back to heal up and get bigger. This was the christening of the fish box.
I’d give Keyhole Reservoir a four star
rating, it loses a star for the price gouging of non residents, the less than stellar showers, there was only one shower house with four showers, and the change machine was out of service, and making reservations on line was less than easy. (Here in South Dakota all camping rates are the same for residents and non residents, roughly $25 a night with electric, less for tent sites, the showers are clean and included with your stay-no coins required, and there is at least two shower houses per camp ground and not just one for several campgrounds, and ample trash cans at campground entrances.) The lake is great, it smells really good, fishing was decent, Marina facilities and launch ramp are really good and Pine Haven has R place for good food and ice, and there is huge coin operated car wash next door.
I’ll be headed back there in the future!
The drive over was brutal with all the traffic. Still green!
Sadly there are signs everywhere that fall is coming a month early this year….
What I don’t have any pictures of was my stop at the watercraft inspection / de con station just over the border. I had called the station the day before I went so I knew what to be prepared for and Chad was very helpful, while Chad was not there when I got there he had left extensive notes for the two young guys that were on duty when I got there. They had two types of equipment on hand, a pressure washer / boiler and a low pressure / boiler system-this is a big deal from my past experience with South Dakota’s systems this year. The low pressure system is what they used on my boat to flush the engines, more importantly the water locks / mufflers, it was the only area of my boat that they wanted to de con. Once they were done they placed a wire seal between the bow eye and the winch and gave me a CC of the paperwork they filled out on my boat. Our boats are rare here, and these two guys had never seen one before so it was a learning experience for them and they expressed gratitude for me walking them through a Yamaha jet boat and where to find any hidden water that could harbor villigers. If you don’t have to deal with this in your area you are fortunate, having to deal with AIS (aquatic invasive species) is a PITA, but it is what it is, and it’s a lot easier if you are prepared ahead of time, I got a crash course in AIS when I went to Lake Powell where quagga mussels are present.
The reservoir is pretty large
All camping is by reservation May 1 through September 30th then it’s first come first serve. I thought the camping rates were high, especially for non residents, Montana is like that too.
From what I’ve been told WY had to start enforcing this 14 day stay limit over in the Big Horns as people (gotta lov’em) were dragging their RV’s out to these remote spots very early in the season to the best spots and leaving them all summer.
Got down to the Marina to find the store was all closed up for the season, there a couple of gals there doing end of season clean up stuff and provided some great info.
Finally got on the water about 1030 hrs, water temp was 67° and just short of glassy, got my lead lines in the water and just that quick had a good fish on, then it was gone, I must have not clipped the swivel in correctly, or the swivel came unclipped when the fish hit because all I got back was the swivel with the bail pulled out straight, that was my only all white, wonder bread pattern, crank bait.
Theres a few houses by the lake but the are all up away from the lake, some are on the bluffs overlooking the lake.
I did manage to catch a couple of crappie on a black and gold striped Salmo crank bait, but no walleye. I tried several other colors but no das.
A nice end to the first day on the lake.
I went over to the little town of Pine Haven, population 493, and to “R Place” bar and grill to get 40# of ice for the fish box. This place sells live bait, there was a big post it on the cashier counter “we have leeches”, and it was pool league night, so a lot of locals there playing pool. I had an awesome bacon cheeseburger & fries before heading back to my campsite. I was also able to get quarters here for the campground showers as the change machine was out of service.
I got an RV site with electric so I could charge my trolling motor batteries back up, it was a nice spot, went over to the showers and was underwhelmed with these, coin operated and not very much water, but I got a hot shower before bed. The wind came up as forecasted overnight but not too bad, it wasn’t too cold and the clear skies made for awesome star gazing, saw one really good shooting star. I did wear a set of long Johns to bed, and kept them on through the early part of the next day.
The next morning looked like…
I made coffee with my jet boil before heading back to the lake.
Once I rounded a point there were two and three foot rollers coming my way, I had to stow those items in the bow right after this pic was taken as the wind was grabbing the bow splashes and throwing them into the boat. Also had to use the engines to help the trolling motor out through the waves and wind. I did catch a crappie in these conditions.
By about 1000 hrs the wind had laid down and the temperature came up quickly and it was swimsuit weather the rest of the day
The bite picked up this day, and the black and gold Salmo lures ruled the day. I ended up with two crappie and four walleye, I did catch another crappie that was twice the size of these two but it had an injury on its back, looked like it had been bitten, so I tossed it back to heal up and get bigger. This was the christening of the fish box.
I’d give Keyhole Reservoir a four star
rating, it loses a star for the price gouging of non residents, the less than stellar showers, there was only one shower house with four showers, and the change machine was out of service, and making reservations on line was less than easy. (Here in South Dakota all camping rates are the same for residents and non residents, roughly $25 a night with electric, less for tent sites, the showers are clean and included with your stay-no coins required, and there is at least two shower houses per camp ground and not just one for several campgrounds, and ample trash cans at campground entrances.) The lake is great, it smells really good, fishing was decent, Marina facilities and launch ramp are really good and Pine Haven has R place for good food and ice, and there is huge coin operated car wash next door.I’ll be headed back there in the future!
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