Johanna Lake in Deer Lodge County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Look for Johanna Lake in the Deer Lodge County part of Montana. It lies 8,127 feet above sea level. Small at around 4 acres: two anglers spread out cover most of it. It is one of the smaller waters we list in Deer Lodge County. Supplies mean a trip to Anaconda, 28 miles off. The nearest city of size is Boise, 211 miles away. There is no boundary nearby to worry about.

• Where to Fish on Johanna Lake

  Open data we checked carries no depth for this water. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Records held for Deer Lodge County cover rainbow trout, brook trout, Arctic grayling, brown trout and california golden trout. It is the county picture; the agency list is water-specific. Johanna Lake responds to conditions more than to tactics.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Typical July readings run about 53°F; by December the average is down near 19°F. A solid cap is the normal state through winter. The lid usually goes in mid May, which opens the strongest weeks of the year. Ice usually gives way near mid May, and forms again about mid November. Reckon on open water from spring through to late autumn, with May and June the strongest. Johanna Lake fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  We hold no note on access for this one. No launch point is recorded nearby, so this is a bank water unless you carry a boat in. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. Ferguson Lake sits 3 miles off and takes the overflow. Treat Johanna Lake as unsettled until someone local tells you otherwise.