Lena Lake Fishing in Missoula County, Montana

• Overview

  Lena Lake is set in Missoula County, Montana. Elevation runs to 6,749 feet. The water covers some 83 acres, so pick a bank rather than trying to cover it all. Shoreline comes to about 1.5 miles, small enough to learn in a day. On our Missoula County list it sits near the top for size. The town to know is Seeley Lake, 20 miles out. It is 157 miles to Lethbridge, the nearest city. The nearest boundary is well away, so one set of rules covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Lena Lake

  Depth went unrecorded, which puts the reading back on you. 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. Missoula County records list rainbow trout, brook trout, cutthroat trout and northern pike among the fish reported. At least one recorded species is protected in parts of its range; read the local rules before targeting anything. On Lena Lake the obvious spot is not always the productive one.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 56°F at the top of summer and 18°F at the bottom of winter. Winter shuts things down for a spell, then spring reopens them fast. Expect a solid lid for months and a thaw around early May. In an average year the thaw lands around early May and the freeze near mid November. Look to early summer and the first cool weeks of autumn. The season on Lena Lake rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing in our records says who may fish here. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. No made access is recorded, so a short walk in is the likely arrangement. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. A phone call first saves an afternoon. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. For a change of water, Upper Holland Lake is 2.8 miles distant. Confirm access to Lena Lake locally before you travel.