Fishing at Ivanhoe Lake, Deer Lodge County, Montana

• Overview

  Ivanhoe Lake is one of the Deer Lodge County waters in Montana. The water sits 7,776 feet up. Small at around 10 acres: two anglers spread out cover most of it. Supplies mean a trip to Anaconda, 31 miles off. The nearest city of size is Boise, 209 miles away. The nearest boundary is well away, so one set of rules covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Ivanhoe Lake

  No depth figure has reached our records, which makes a plummet useful. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Survey and observation records for Deer Lodge County include rainbow trout, brook trout, Arctic grayling, brown trout and california golden trout. County data is a starting point rather than a guarantee. On Ivanhoe Lake that means starting tight and working out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Seasonal averages run from 18°F in December up to 53°F in July. Fishing here follows the temperature more than the calendar. Once it clears, about mid May, the fishing comes on quickly. Break-up near mid May, freeze-up near early November: that is the shape of an average year. Look to early summer and the first cool weeks of autumn. Ivanhoe Lake fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing on record says whether the bank is open or closed. Mapping shows an empty shoreline: no ramp, no jetty, no marked entry. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Some banks are open only from a marked point. Fishing rules and camping rules are set separately here. Little Johnson Lake sits 2.2 miles off and takes the overflow. Treat Ivanhoe Lake as unsettled until someone local tells you otherwise.