French Lake Fishing Guide, Mineral County, Montana

• Overview

  French Lake is one of the Mineral County listings for Montana. The land about it is lake country bush. The water measures roughly 17 acres, so nothing here is far from anything else. Frenchtown is the closest town at 34 miles. It is 126 miles to Spokane, the nearest city. The nearest boundary is well away, so one set of rules covers the water.

• Where to Fish on French Lake

  Depth is not on record here, so the bank has to tell you. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Across Mineral County, recorded fish include rainbow trout, cutthroat trout and Arctic grayling. The county figures include rivers and lakes alike. The near bank of French Lake is often the one people ignore.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Between December at about 20°F and August at about 56°F, the water has a wide range to work through. A solid cap is the normal state through winter. Firm cover through the cold months, then open water from early May. The open-water window runs from around early May to about mid November in an average year. September and October fish steadily right up to the freeze. It sets the rhythm of the year at French Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether the bank is open is not something our records settle. Public data shows nothing built here, so treat the whole approach as informal. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. A phone call first saves an afternoon. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. Pearl Lake, 1.9 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Rules at French Lake are worth checking on the day.