Fishing at Colt Lake, Missoula County, Montana

• Overview

  Montana holds Colt Lake, in Missoula County. Elevation runs to 4,846 feet. At roughly 25 acres, the whole thing is within casting reach of a single walk. Start from Seeley Lake, 15 miles down the road. It is 166 miles to Lethbridge, the nearest city. Also worth knowing: Beaver Lake a shade over 1.1 miles, Summit Lake after 1.9 miles, Pierce Lake a shade over 2.7 miles, Rainy Lake after 3.5 miles and Lindbergh Lake a shade over 3.9 miles. The nearest boundary is a fair way off.

• Where to Fish on Colt Lake

  No depth figure appears in our records, so the bank has to tell you. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. County-wide records name rainbow trout, brook trout, cutthroat trout, northern pike and sockeye salmon. Several of these carry legal protection or closed seasons; the rulebook comes before the rod. Read Colt Lake for ten minutes before the first cast goes out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate records put August near 61°F and January near 21°F. Winter shuts things down for a spell, then spring reopens them fast. The lid arrives early and lasts until roughly mid April. The water is typically free of ice between mid April and late November. Spring is short and heavy here; autumn is longer and steadier. Time your trip to Colt Lake by conditions rather than dates.

• Tackle & Baits

  The rules here are undocumented as far as public sources go. No slipway, car park or made path shows up nearby in mapping, so treat access as rough. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Read any posted signs at the access point rather than assuming. Night access is frequently treated as a separate matter. For a change of water, Beaver Lake is 1.1 miles distant. What applies at Colt Lake may have changed since it was mapped.