Lake of the Clouds in Park County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Within Park County, Montana, you have Lake of the Clouds. Everything around it is rolling bush. It runs to roughly 27 acres — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. On our Park County list it sits near the top for size. The closest town, Red Lodge, is 27 miles away. Further out sit Absarokee (35 miles) and Columbus (47 miles). It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on Lake of the Clouds

  No chart reached our records; the first cast is your sounding. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Species logged across Park County include rainbow trout, brook trout, california golden trout, brown trout and black-spotted cutthroat trout. The county figures include rivers and lakes alike. On Lake of the Clouds the first feature you find is usually worth a session.

• Seasonal Patterns

  In an average year July sits at 52°F and January at 16°F. Cold winters and warm summers give a wide working range. Count on hard cover from midwinter, and open water from late May. The lid tends to go about late May and return around early November. Fishing peaks soon after break-up and again before the cold returns. Lake of the Clouds runs to its own calendar within the local pattern.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing on record says whether the bank is open or closed. Formal access is not mapped, so the last stretch is likely on foot. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. Check whether bait restrictions apply before you buy any. Ouzel Lake, 0.4 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Nothing here settles the position at Lake of the Clouds for certain.