Arrowhead Lake in Boise County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  In Idaho, Arrowhead Lake falls inside Boise County. The bank gives way to lake country bush. The water measures roughly 6 acres, so nothing here is far from anything else. It is high ground by Idaho standards. Nearest place of any size is Ketchum, 43 miles away. The big place round here is Boise, 60 miles distant. The nearest boundary is well away, so one set of rules covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Arrowhead Lake

  The records we hold are silent on depth, so plan to find it yourself. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Open biodiversity records for Boise County list cutthroat trout, rainbow trout, california golden trout and Arctic grayling. Some of the species recorded here are protected or tightly regulated, so check what may be targeted before you fish. At Arrowhead Lake the water rewards a slow, careful approach.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July runs about 53°F on average, December about 17°F. Cold winters and warm summers give a wide working range. Hard cover is dependable here; it goes around late May. Break-up sits around late May on average, with the water closing again about mid November. Right after break-up, and again as the nights sharpen, is when to go. Plan around that when you fish Arrowhead Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is not recorded for this water. Formal access is not mapped, so the last stretch is likely on foot. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. Where a permit is needed, the nearest town usually sells it. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. Should this one be busy, Pats Lake is 0.4 miles off. For Arrowhead Lake, the notice at the access point is the final word.