The Rise of Montana’s Tiber Reservoir as a Walleye Powerhouse

Montana's fishing tournament season is in full swing. And one recent tourney's results is hooking a lot of attention.

Angela Montana with the Montana Outdoor Radio Show shared a fascinating look at what is making Montana anglers giddy in the knees. That would be the stunning results of the annual Tiber Reservoir Walleye tournament, held this past weekend, June 13-14. While ultra-sophisticated electronics are becoming the norm in tournaments, those who simply enjoy fishing as a hobby are taking notice, too.

Angela tells us that it is hard to believe now, but Tiber Reservoir wasn’t always the walleye juggernaut it is today. For example, back in 2011, a modest 27.60-pound haul was enough to crown Ken Seay and Marlin Cross champs at the Tiber Walleye Tourney. This was definitely respectable for the time—but by today’s standards, that is like a warm-up lap. Things have definitely changed!

Fast forward to 2025, and we’re in an entirely new weight class. Wayne Wilcox and Zeik Gordon, hailing from Billings and Bozeman, respectively, obliterated the leader board with an insane 10-fish weight of 143.15 pounds! The second-place finishers recorded a weight of 123.01 pounds, followed by 111.90 ponds for the third-place finishers.

Incidentally, all tournament fish were returned to the water. Tiber is not just producing walleye—it is raising monsters and bringing in some good anglers!

Veteran angler Brian Olson, who won the tournament in 2015 on a 38.70-pound weigh-in, has watched this fishery level up from the inside over the years.

“When I won, we were still using basic 2D sonar and mapping was fairly new, and that is what I depended on along with sonar. I didn’t fish individual fish, as all I could see were marks,” Olson recalled. He still just uses his old school 2D sonar today but is considering changing that if he goes back to competing in tournaments again.

So how did Tiber Reservoir go from sleeper spot to heavyweight champ? Located approximately 90 miles north of Great Falls, Tiber (aka Lake Elwell), is approximately 25 miles long, located on the Marias River and offers 181 miles of shoreline, featuring solid angling for walleye, northern pike, and rainbow trout.

And if you’re looking to create your own Tiber story, Ru's Tiber Marina in Chester n Chester has you covered. Located at 669 Tiber Marina Road, it’s the one-stop shop for camping, RV hookups, gas, bait and tackle, ice, kayak and paddle board rentals.

Get Angela Montana's full account of "Tiber: The Walleye Giant" here.