Fishing at Estelle Lake, Park County, Montana

• Overview

  You will find Estelle Lake in Park County, Montana. The surface lies 9,186 feet up. Surface area runs to about 13 acres — small enough to read in one session. Nearest place of any size is Red Lodge, 23 miles away. Billings sits 77 miles out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. Others within reach: Green Lake 0.6 miles away, Lake Elaine roughly 0.8 miles, Whitcomb Lake 0.9 miles away, Trail Lake roughly 1 mile and Spogen Lake 1.1 miles away. One jurisdiction covers this water end to end.

• Where to Fish on Estelle Lake

  Without a survey to go on, judge depth from how the bank falls away. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Fish documented in Park County include rainbow trout, brook trout and california golden trout. Take it as the county picture rather than a promise for this water. Treat Estelle Lake as a water to read rather than to cover.

• Seasonal Patterns

  August runs about 49°F on average, January about 14°F. Hard water is a season in its own right here. The lid usually sets by midwinter and gives way around early June. Break-up near early June, freeze-up near early November: that is the shape of an average year. May into June fishes hardest, and September gives a second good stretch before the lid returns. Time your trip to Estelle Lake by conditions rather than dates.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing on record says whether the bank is open or closed. Nothing in the way of made access shows up nearby: no ramp, no car park, no path. Light line and small metal for the trout; a fly rod earns its place on calm evenings. A landowner's word beats anything printed elsewhere. Where tickets apply, they are sold in the nearest town rather than on the bank. Failing this one, try Green Lake, 0.6 miles away. The position on Estelle Lake is worth confirming on the day.