Otis Lake Fishing near Seeley Lake, Montana

• Overview

  This water sits in Missoula County, Montana. It stands 7,152 feet above sea level. It covers about 9 acres, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. It is one of the smaller waters we list in Missoula County. You are 11 miles from Seeley Lake. Beyond it, Ronan at 36 miles and Bonner-West Riverside at 39 miles. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Otis Lake

  No depth figure appears in our records, so the bank has to tell you. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. Open biodiversity records for Missoula County list rainbow trout, brook trout and cutthroat trout. Several of these carry legal protection or closed seasons; the rulebook comes before the rod. On Otis Lake that means starting tight and working out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  August is the warm end of the year here, averaging about 55°F, while December sits near 18°F. Hard water is a season in its own right here. Hard cover is dependable here; it goes around early May. On the long-run averages the water opens up around early May and starts locking again about mid November. The strongest runs come at either end of the open season. Otis Lake fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  We hold no note on access for this one. No slipway, car park or made path shows up nearby in mapping, so treat access as rough. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. A phone call first saves an afternoon. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. The nearest alternative is Crimson Lake, 3 miles out. Nothing here settles the position at Otis Lake for certain.