Smith Lake in Bonner County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Smith Lake lies in Bonner County, Idaho. The ground around here is lake country bush. At 8 acres it is the sort of place you fish for an evening rather than a day. Bonners Ferry is the closest town at 21 miles. Ponderay is 21 miles away, with Sandpoint at 23 miles. More in the same country: Lake Darling out at 2.5 miles, Lake Estelle after 3 miles, Gem Lake out at 3.2 miles, Moose Lake after 4.5 miles and Blacktail Lake out at 5.5 miles. No border sits close enough to matter.

• Where to Fish on Smith Lake

  Depth remains unrecorded, so treat the first session as a survey. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. County-wide records name rainbow trout, cutthroat trout and sockeye salmon. Several of these carry legal protection or closed seasons; the rulebook comes before the rod. On Smith Lake the first feature you find is usually worth a session.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warm month here averages 58°F; the cold one sits at 20°F. The season turns properly here, and fish follow it closely. Expect a solid lid for months and a thaw around late April. Break-up sits around late April on average, with the water closing again about mid November. Reckon on open water from spring through to late autumn, with May and June the strongest. The season on Smith Lake rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. Public mapping records no formal access here, so plan for a walk and soft ground. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Rules for this water may differ from the county norm. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. Lake Darling, 2.5 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Check the current arrangement for Smith Lake.