Fishing at Blanchard Lake, Bonner County, Idaho

• Overview

  Blanchard Lake falls in Bonner County, part of Idaho. Around the bank it is farm and woodlot. It measures about 128 acres, which is a comfortable size for bank fishing. The bank runs about 1.9 miles all the way round, so one visit can cover most of it. Size puts it in the front rank of our Bonner County list. Start from Spirit Lake, 5.6 miles down the road. Beyond it, Priest River at 12 miles and Newport at 12 miles. A border sits close enough to be relevant to the paperwork.

• Where to Fish on Blanchard Lake

  Open data we checked carries no depth for this water. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Across Bonner County, recorded fish include rainbow trout, cutthroat trout, sockeye salmon, brook trout and brown trout. Some of the species recorded here are protected or tightly regulated, so check what may be targeted before you fish. Blanchard Lake responds to conditions more than to tactics.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect August near 64°F and January near 26°F on the long-run figures. In milder years the surface never sets. Cover comes and goes, so treat it with suspicion rather than trust. Autumn steadies things again once the heat lets go. That is the shape of the year on Blanchard Lake. The first warm days of the year bring fish shallow quickly.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is not recorded for this water. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. The nearest mapped parking is half a mile away, so the last stretch is on foot. Light line and small metal for the trout; a fly rod earns its place on calm evenings. Rules for this water may differ from the county norm. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. Lake San Souci, 1.7 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Where Blanchard Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.