Dry Lake Fishing near Malta, Montana

• Overview

  Dry Lake falls in Phillips County, part of Montana. Everything around it is mixed forest. At about 235 acres, a day is enough to walk the shoreline properly. Around 2.5 miles of margin, front to back. By elevation it sits in the lower part of our Montana listings. Start from Malta, 55 miles down the road. The big place round here is Billings, 127 miles distant. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on Dry Lake

  There is no published depth for this one, so start shallow and work out. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Across Phillips County, recorded fish include black crappie, northern pike and rainbow trout. County records show the wider picture rather than this one place. Read Dry Lake before you fish it and the day goes better.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages move between 17°F in January and 71°F in July. A solid cap is the normal state through winter. Count on hard cover from midwinter, and open water from late March. Ice clears near late March and comes back about late November in a typical year. May into June fishes hardest, and September gives a second good stretch before the lid returns. Keep it in mind when planning a trip to Dry Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing on record says whether the bank is open or closed. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. This one is mapped as intermittent, so a wasted trip is a real risk in a dry year. Formal access is not mapped, so the last stretch is likely on foot. Take the rules with you rather than trusting memory. Some water is controlled locally without a sign saying so. Indian Lake at 12 miles is the sensible second choice. What applies at Dry Lake may have changed since it was mapped.