Pete Ott Lake Fishing Guide, Clearwater County, Idaho

• Overview

  Pete Ott Lake is a Clearwater County water, Idaho side. The water sits 5,702 feet up. It covers about 6 acres, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. Supplies mean a trip to Orofino, 50 miles off. The nearest city of size is Spokane, 117 miles away. Rules here are straightforward: one county, one set of rules.

• Where to Fish on Pete Ott Lake

  Depth is unmeasured here, so let the shoreline guide you. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Open biodiversity records for Clearwater County list rainbow trout, cutthroat trout and Chinook salmon. At least one recorded species is protected in parts of its range; read the local rules before targeting anything. Pete Ott Lake gives up its fish to patience rather than distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Between January at about 21°F and August at about 58°F, the water has a wide range to work through. A solid cap is the normal state through winter. The freeze runs deep into the year, with break-up near late April. Ice usually gives way near late April, and forms again about late November. Reckon on open water from spring through to late autumn, with May and June the strongest. The season on Pete Ott Lake rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. Facilities run to toilets 0.9 miles from the water. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. A landowner's word beats anything printed elsewhere. Night access is frequently treated as a separate matter. Should this one be busy, Ice Lake is 0.4 miles off. The position on Pete Ott Lake is worth confirming on the day.