Kelly Lake Fishing Guide, Deer Lodge County, Montana

• Overview

  Look for Kelly Lake in the Deer Lodge County part of Montana. Everything around it is rolling bush. This is a pocket water of some 6 acres, and every part of it is reachable from the bank. Anaconda sits 32 miles from here and is the nearest stop. For a city, Boise is 206 miles off. There is no boundary nearby to worry about. Nothing about it is complicated once you have walked it.

• Where to Fish on Kelly Lake

  No depth figure has reached our records, which makes a plummet useful. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Public occurrence data for Deer Lodge County names rainbow trout, brook trout, Arctic grayling and brown trout. The county figures include rivers and lakes alike. Read Kelly Lake for ten minutes before the first cast goes out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The year swings from about 18°F in December to roughly 53°F in July. The year runs cold to warm and back, with clear transitions. After mid May the shallows warm and the fish move up. Break-up sits around mid May on average, with the water closing again about early November. The strongest runs come at either end of the open season. Keep it in mind when planning a trip to Kelly Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public data does not answer the access question here. No made access is recorded, so a short walk in is the likely arrangement. Light line and small metal for the trout; a fly rod earns its place on calm evenings. A landowner's word beats anything printed elsewhere. Keep proof of licence with you rather than in the car. Ripple Lake at 0.6 miles is the sensible second choice. Where Kelly Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.