Mud Lake Fishing in Valley County, Idaho

• Overview

  Set in Valley County, Mud Lake is an Idaho water. Beyond the shoreline you have rolling bush. At about 40 acres, a day is enough to walk the shoreline properly. McCall lies 34 miles from the water. Further out sit Challis (63 miles) and Emmett (73 miles). Also within reach: Pistol Lake at 6.6 miles, Honeymoon Lake some 6.8 miles off, Warm Lake at 8.5 miles, Roaring Lakes some 9.1 miles off and Tule Lake at 9.3 miles. The nearest edge is a long way off, so local rules apply throughout.

• Where to Fish on Mud Lake

  Depth remains unrecorded, so treat the first session as a survey. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Records held for Valley County cover rainbow trout, cutthroat trout, Coho salmon, Arctic grayling and yellow perch. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. Take Mud Lake a stretch at a time.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July runs about 53°F on average, December about 17°F. Winter puts a hard lid on this one. Winter locks it down, and mid May brings it back. In an average year the thaw lands around mid May and the freeze near mid November. Early summer and early autumn carry the open-water season. Time your trip to Mud Lake by conditions rather than dates.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. No slipway, car park or made path shows up nearby in mapping, so treat access as rough. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. State or provincial rules still apply whatever the bank status. Signs go up and come down, so check on the day. Failing this one, try Pistol Lake, 6.6 miles away. Nothing on Mud Lake should be assumed from this page alone.