Spider Lake in Lake County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Lake County in Montana is where Spider Lake sits. Height above sea level is 6,788 feet. Small at around 17 acres: two anglers spread out cover most of it. Ronan sits 12 miles from the bank. Further out sit Pablo (16 miles) and Polson (22 miles). Near neighbours include: Long Lake near enough 1.4 miles, Conko Lake 1.6 miles away, Moon Lake near enough 1.7 miles, Frog Lakes 1.9 miles away and Hemlock Lake near enough 2 miles. Rules here are straightforward: one county, one set of rules.

• Where to Fish on Spider Lake

  No published figure covers depth, so learn it as you fish. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Open biodiversity records for Lake County list rainbow trout, sockeye salmon, smallmouth bass, yellow perch and largemouth bass. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. Take Spider Lake a stretch at a time.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Seasonal averages run from 18°F in December up to 56°F in August. The season turns properly here, and fish follow it closely. Hard water holds through the cold months, breaking up near early May. In an average year the thaw lands around early May and the freeze near mid November. Spring is short and heavy here; autumn is longer and steadier. Expect Spider Lake to follow that timing.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public data does not answer the access question here. Mapping is blank for access, so scout the approach before committing the car. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. A landowner's word beats anything printed elsewhere. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. The nearest alternative is Long Lake, 1.4 miles out. None of that is settled for Spider Lake in what we hold.