Fishing at Spruce Gulch Lake, Custer County, Idaho

• Overview

  Spruce Gulch Lake lies within the bounds of Custer County, Idaho. Everything around it is mixed forest. Small at around 14 acres: two anglers spread out cover most of it. By elevation it is in the upper part of our Idaho listings. Nearest place of any size is Challis, 13 miles away. Further out sit Salmon (48 miles) and Sun Valley (63 miles). Rules here are straightforward: one county, one set of rules.

• Where to Fish on Spruce Gulch Lake

  Nothing we hold settles how deep this runs. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Fish documented in Custer County include rainbow trout, cutthroat trout, Chinook salmon and sockeye salmon. Several of these carry legal protection or closed seasons; the rulebook comes before the rod. Read Spruce Gulch Lake for ten minutes before the first cast goes out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Between December at about 17°F and July at about 53°F, the water has a wide range to work through. The freeze arrives properly here and holds. Winter locks it down, and late May brings it back. Break-up sits around late May on average, with the water closing again about mid November. The strongest runs come at either end of the open season. On Spruce Gulch Lake that shapes the whole year.

• Tackle & Baits

  No access rule appears in what we hold. No slipway, car park or made path shows up nearby in mapping, so treat access as rough. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Look for a notice board at the entrance. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. Should this one be busy, Mosquito Flat Reservoir is 6 miles off. The position on Spruce Gulch Lake is worth confirming on the day.