Deerhead Lake Fishing in Beaverhead County, Montana

• Overview

  Deerhead Lake is a Beaverhead County water, in Montana. The bank is 7,579 feet above sea level. At roughly 21 acres, the whole thing is within casting reach of a single walk. Some 20 miles away sits Dillon, the nearest settlement. The big place round here is Boise, 205 miles distant. The nearest boundary is well away, so one set of rules covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Deerhead Lake

  No chart reached our records; the first cast is your sounding. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Reported across Beaverhead County: rainbow trout, brook trout and brown trout. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. Deerhead Lake gives up more to patience than to distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages move between 21°F in January and 56°F in July. The year splits cleanly: hard water, then open water. Winter locks it down, and early May brings it back. Average temperatures cross freezing around early May in spring and again near mid November in autumn. The shoulder weeks of the open season are the productive ones. That shapes the year on Deerhead Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  The rules here are undocumented as far as public sources go. Expect a half a mile walk in from where the car goes. You can camp about half a mile away, going by the mapping. There is a toilet block some half a mile out. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. Season dates differ by species, so read the table. Night access is frequently treated as a separate matter. Bond Lake, 2 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Check the position on Deerhead Lake before loading the car.