Crater Lake in Stillwater County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Crater Lake is one of the Stillwater County listings for Montana. The water sits 6,572 feet up. Surface area runs to about 4 acres — small enough to read in one session. It is a small entry by Stillwater County standards. Supplies mean a trip to Absarokee, 17 miles off. Further out sit Red Lodge (21 miles) and Columbus (29 miles). The line between counties passes nearby, which can change who manages the water.

• Where to Fish on Crater Lake

  Without a survey to go on, judge depth from how the bank falls away. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Open biodiversity records for Stillwater County list rainbow trout, california golden trout, brown trout and brook trout. Records at this level tell you what is in the area. Treat Crater Lake as a water to read rather than to cover.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Temperature averages peak at 62°F in August and bottom out at 26°F in January. Ice comes and goes from one year to the next. It is not guaranteed from one year to the next. March through May is the strongest run, with October and November a second stretch. Crater Lake fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing we hold confirms whether access is permitted. No launch point is recorded nearby, so this is a bank water unless you carry a boat in. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. Gates get locked out of season on water like this. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. Failing this one, try Lily Pad Lake, 0.4 miles away. The position on Crater Lake is worth confirming on the day.