Flotilla Lake Fishing in Flathead County, Montana

• Overview

  Flotilla Lake is a Flathead County water, in Montana. The surface lies 5,197 feet up. Surface area is around 147 acres, which gives you real water without needing a boat. The edge runs 2.2 miles or so, easy to work in an afternoon. On our Flathead County list it sits near the top for size. Some 32 miles away sits Bigfork, the nearest settlement. Lethbridge sits 116 miles out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. No boundary runs near, so the county rules hold throughout.

• Where to Fish on Flotilla Lake

  Depth is not on record here, which means reading the ground instead. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Reported across Flathead County: rainbow trout, sockeye salmon and largemouth bass. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. The shape of Flotilla Lake decides where the fish sit.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-term averages put August at about 58°F and January near 18°F. A full turn of seasons, with the strongest sport on either side of summer. Hard cover is dependable here; it goes around early May. Averages place the thaw at early May and the freeze at mid November. The weeks after the thaw and the ones before the freeze are the strongest. On Flotilla Lake that shapes the whole year.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. No launch point is recorded nearby, so this is a bank water unless you carry a boat in. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Some banks are open only from a marked point. Access can change hands, so last year's answer may not hold. The nearest alternative is Bradley Lake, 1.4 miles out. For Flotilla Lake in particular, ask before you travel.