Fishing Fox Lake in Park County, Montana

• Overview

  Look for Fox Lake in the Park County part of Montana. Around the bank it is rolling bush. It measures about 142 acres, which is a comfortable size for bank fishing. At about 3.2 miles of edge, most people work one arm at a time. Few waters listed in Park County are bigger. The town to know is Red Lodge, 29 miles out. Absarokee is 38 miles away, with Columbus at 50 miles. The nearest boundary is a fair way off.

• Where to Fish on Fox Lake

  The records we hold are silent on depth, so plan to find it yourself. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Records held for Park County cover rainbow trout, brook trout, california golden trout, brown trout and black-spotted cutthroat trout. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. On Fox Lake the quiet end is the one worth the extra effort.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warm month here averages 52°F; the cold one sits at 16°F. The year splits cleanly: hard water, then open water. Hard cover is dependable here; it goes around late May. Average temperatures cross freezing around late May in spring and again near early November in autumn. Right after break-up, and again as the nights sharpen, is when to go. That is the shape of the year on Fox Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Our records carry no access rule either way. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. Access is unmapped, which usually means a farm track and a walk. Light line and small metal for the trout; a fly rod earns its place on calm evenings. Where access is informal, keep it that way by behaving. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. For a change of water, Rock Island Lake is 0.9 miles distant. What applies at Fox Lake may have changed since it was mapped.