Fishing Hollow Top Lake in Madison County, Montana

• Overview

  Madison County, Montana, is where Hollow Top Lake sits. Land around it is rolling bush. It covers about 23 acres, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. It is among the larger waters listed here for Madison County. 19 miles away sits Whitehall, the nearest town. Then Three Forks, 29 miles, and Manhattan, 36 miles. No boundary runs near, so the county rules hold throughout.

• Where to Fish on Hollow Top Lake

  Our records hold no depth for this water. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Across Madison County, recorded fish include rainbow trout, brown trout, mountain whitefish and brook trout. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. The shape of Hollow Top Lake rewards a slow walk along one bank.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The seasonal spread runs 21°F to 55°F. Cold winters and warm summers give a wide working range. Break-up comes around mid May, and the run that follows is short and strong. Climate figures give an open season running mid May to mid November. From the thaw to midsummer the fishing improves week by week. Plan around that when you fish Hollow Top Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  The rules here are undocumented as far as public sources go. Mapping shows an empty shoreline: no ramp, no jetty, no marked entry. Light line and small metal for the trout; a fly rod earns its place on calm evenings. Bank access can be seasonal on ground like this. Where tickets apply, they are sold in the nearest town rather than on the bank. Deep Lake, 0.4 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. None of that is settled for Hollow Top Lake in what we hold.