Fire Lake Fishing Guide, Park County, Montana

• Overview

  You will find Fire Lake in Park County, Montana. The ground around here is pine and birch. Surface area runs to about 8 acres — small enough to read in one session. Compared with other Montana water on our list, it sits high. Livingston is the closest place, 20 miles off. Bozeman follows at 33 miles, then Four Corners at 38 miles. No county line comes close, which keeps the paperwork simple.

• Where to Fish on Fire Lake

  No figure exists for depth, so let the water show you. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Survey and observation records for Park County include rainbow trout, brook trout and california golden trout. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. At Fire Lake the water rewards a slow, careful approach.

• Seasonal Patterns

  In an average year July sits at 55°F and January at 19°F. Cold locks it up for a good stretch each year. Hard water holds through the cold months, breaking up near mid May. The season between ice runs from about mid May to mid November. Just after the ice goes and just before it returns, the fishing lifts. Time your trip to Fire Lake by conditions rather than dates.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. No launch point is recorded nearby, so this is a bank water unless you carry a boat in. 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. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. Should this one be busy, Elbow Lake is 1.3 miles off. Confirm access to Fire Lake locally before you travel.