Farley Lake, Montana: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  Look for Farley Lake in Park County, Montana. The bank is 9,711 feet above sea level. It covers about 20 acres, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. By elevation it is in the upper part of our Montana listings. Red Lodge lies 25 miles from the water. It is 78 miles to Billings, the nearest city. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Farley Lake

  Our records carry no depth, so judge it from the bank. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Fish documented in Park County include rainbow trout, brook trout, california golden trout and brown trout. Read it as a county summary, not a water-by-water list. Farley Lake gives up its fish to patience rather than distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  August is the warm end of the year here, averaging about 49°F, while January sits near 14°F. Four clear seasons, with a proper winter at one end. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about early June. Climate figures give an open season running early June to early November. Just after the ice goes and just before it returns, the fishing lifts. On Farley Lake that shapes the whole year.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether the bank is open is not something our records settle. No made access appears within a short radius, so plan to park on a verge and walk. Light line and small metal for the trout; a fly rod earns its place on calm evenings. Season dates differ by species, so read the table. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. Hatchet Lake, 0.6 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Where Farley Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.