Fishing Imelda Lake in Park County, Montana

• Overview

  Imelda Lake is set in Park County, Montana. Around the bank it is mixed forest. Around 35 acres of surface means several distinct areas to work. It is among the larger waters listed here for Park County. Head to Red Lodge, 32 miles away, for anything you forgot. Absarokee is 33 miles and Columbus 46 miles. The county line is nowhere near, so one local authority covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Imelda Lake

  Without a survey to go on, judge depth from how the bank falls away. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Fish documented in Park County include rainbow trout, brook trout, california golden trout, brown trout and black-spotted cutthroat trout. Read it as a county summary, not a water-by-water list. On Imelda Lake that means starting tight and working out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  August is the warm end of the year here, averaging about 48°F, while January sits near 13°F. Winter shuts the surface down for months. Winter fishing happens on the ice here, with open water back around mid June. The season between ice runs from about mid June to late October. Early summer and early autumn carry the open-water season. Anyone fishing Imelda Lake regularly works to that calendar.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing in our records says who may fish here. No slipway, car park or made path shows up nearby in mapping, so treat access as rough. Light line and small metal for the trout; a fly rod earns its place on calm evenings. Sort the permit out before you load the car. Access can change hands, so last year's answer may not hold. Wolf Voice Lake at 0.7 miles is the sensible second choice. Where Imelda Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.