Fishing at Big Butte Lake, Carbon County, Montana

• Overview

  Big Butte Lake is one of the Carbon County listings for Montana. Around the bank it is pine and birch. It covers about 23 acres, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. It is high ground by Montana standards. For supplies, Red Lodge is 24 miles out. The nearest city of size is Billings, 76 miles away. This one is safely inside the county line.

• Where to Fish on Big Butte Lake

  Depth went unrecorded, which puts the reading back on you. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Fish documented in Carbon County include rainbow trout, brook trout and sauger. The county list is broader than any single water. At Big Butte Lake the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The seasonal spread runs 14°F to 49°F. The year runs cold to warm and back, with clear transitions. Expect a solid lid for months and a thaw around early June. Break-up near early June, freeze-up near early November: that is the shape of an average year. June through September is the settled part of the year, with the shoulders busier for fish. It holds true on Big Butte Lake more years than not.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. Access points are not mapped for this water, which suits people who like quiet. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. Where access is informal, keep it that way by behaving. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. Should this one be busy, Anchor Lake is 0.4 miles off. Check the position at Big Butte Lake before loading the car.