Wildhorse Lake in Idaho County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  This water sits in Idaho County, Idaho. The bank is 7,346 feet above sea level. Surface area runs to about 16 acres — small enough to read in one session. Nearest place of any size is Grangeville, 30 miles away. For a city, Boise is 144 miles off. What else is close: 1.2 miles away is Rainbow Lake, Kelly Lake about 1.5 miles, 2.5 miles away is Crystal Lake, Fish Lake about 3.1 miles and 3.6 miles away is Mirror Lake. The nearest boundary is well away, so one set of rules covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Wildhorse Lake

  No published figure covers depth, so learn it as you fish. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Species logged across Idaho County include rainbow trout, Chinook salmon and cutthroat trout. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. Fish Wildhorse Lake to its features, not to its size.

• Seasonal Patterns

  In an average year July sits at 52°F and December at 18°F. Expect a real winter and a strong spring after it. Count the season from break-up, usually mid May. Climate figures give an open season running mid May to mid November. The strongest runs come at either end of the open season. Wildhorse Lake fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  We hold no note on access for this one. A parking area is marked roughly half a mile out. Overnight stays are possible about half a mile out, where camping is mapped. Facilities include toilets around half a mile from here. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Ask in the nearest town if you are unsure. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. Rainbow Lake, 1.2 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Nothing on Wildhorse Lake should be assumed from this page alone.