Spring Lakes Fishing in Lincoln County, Montana

• Overview

  Spring Lakes sits within Lincoln County in Montana. The setting is mixed forest on every side. At roughly 5 acres, the whole thing is within casting reach of a single walk. It is one of the smaller waters we list in Lincoln County. Eureka lies 23 miles from the water. Lethbridge sits 111 miles out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. Being near a boundary, it pays to know which side you are fishing.

• Where to Fish on Spring Lakes

  There is no recorded depth, so work from what you can see. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Fish documented in Lincoln County include rainbow trout, sockeye salmon, brook trout, northern pike and largemouth bass. Several of these carry legal protection or closed seasons; the rulebook comes before the rod. Spring Lakes repays a walk before the first cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Seasonal averages run from 19°F in January up to 61°F in August. Fishing here follows the temperature more than the calendar. After early April the shallows warm and the fish move up. Climate figures give an open season running early April to late November. From the thaw to midsummer the fishing improves week by week. Spring Lakes fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  No access rule appears in what we hold. There is no mapped parking or launch close by, which usually means walking in. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Bank access can be seasonal on ground like this. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. Should this one be busy, Fish Lake is 2.1 miles off. Where Spring Lakes is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.