Fishing Howard Lake in Lincoln County, Montana

• Overview

  Montana holds Howard Lake, in Lincoln County. It sits in rolling bush country. The water covers some 35 acres, so pick a bank rather than trying to cover it all. Around 0.9 miles of margin, front to back. Nearest town is Libby, 20 miles off. It is 93 miles to Spokane, the nearest city. The nearest boundary is well away, so one set of rules covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Howard 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. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Records held for Lincoln County cover rainbow trout, sockeye salmon and brook trout. At least one recorded species is protected in parts of its range; read the local rules before targeting anything. At Howard Lake the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Seasonal averages run from 22°F in January up to 60°F in August. A full turn of seasons, with the strongest sport on either side of summer. Count on hard cover from midwinter, and open water from early April. Break-up sits around early April on average, with the water closing again about late November. The strong weeks are the first after break-up and the last before the freeze. On Howard Lake that shapes the whole year.

• Tackle & Baits

  There is no clear statement anywhere on who can fish it. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. Public data has parking about half a mile from the shore. There is camping recorded roughly half a mile off. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. The nearest alternative is Bramlet Lake, 4.9 miles out. Nothing here settles the position at Howard Lake for certain.