Collie Lake Fishing Guide, Custer County, Idaho

• Overview

  In Idaho, Collie Lake falls inside Custer County. It lies 8,215 feet above sea level. At 21 acres it is the sort of place you fish for an evening rather than a day. Challis lies 49 miles from the water. Boise sits 73 miles out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. Close neighbours run: Newman Lake 3.9 miles, Island Lake about 5.9 miles, Ruffneck Lake 6.2 miles, Langer Lake about 6.6 miles and Rocky Lake 7 miles. The nearest boundary is a fair way off.

• Where to Fish on Collie Lake

  Without a survey to go on, judge depth from how the bank falls away. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Records held for Custer County cover rainbow trout, cutthroat trout, Chinook salmon and sockeye salmon. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. At Collie Lake the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate records put July near 54°F and December near 17°F. The year splits cleanly: hard water, then open water. Count the season from break-up, usually mid May. Average temperatures cross freezing around mid May in spring and again near mid November in autumn. Fish feed hardest at the start and the close of the open season. Expect Collie Lake to follow that timing.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing on record says whether the bank is open or closed. Public mapping records no formal access here, so plan for a walk and soft ground. Light line and small metal for the trout; a fly rod earns its place on calm evenings. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. Check whether bait restrictions apply before you buy any. Failing this one, try Newman Lake, 3.9 miles away. None of that is settled for Collie Lake in what we hold.