Fishing Feather Woman Lake in Flathead County, Montana

• Overview

  In Montana, Feather Woman Lake falls inside Flathead County. Beyond the shoreline you have lake country bush. At 9 acres it is the sort of place you fish for an evening rather than a day. On size it sits at the modest end of our Flathead County list. Columbia Falls is the closest town at 25 miles. The nearest city of size is Lethbridge, 86 miles away. The nearest boundary is a fair way off.

• Where to Fish on Feather Woman Lake

  No figure exists for depth, so let the water show you. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Fish documented in Flathead County include rainbow trout, sockeye salmon, largemouth bass and brook trout. Several of these carry legal protection or closed seasons; the rulebook comes before the rod. At Feather Woman Lake the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The year swings from about 16°F in January to roughly 56°F in August. Fishing here follows the temperature more than the calendar. Winter fishing happens on the ice here, with open water back around early May. Open water usually runs from early May until about mid November. The weeks after the thaw and the ones before the freeze are the strongest. That shapes the year on Feather Woman Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  The rules here are undocumented as far as public sources go. There is no mapped parking or launch close by, which usually means walking in. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. Keep proof of licence with you rather than in the car. Akaiyan Lake sits 0.1 miles off and takes the overflow. Confirm access to Feather Woman Lake locally before you travel.