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

• Overview

  Summit Lake is set in Lake County, Montana. It lies 6,834 feet above sea level. The whole thing is a single swim; walk it in a minute. Our Lake County list holds plenty of bigger water. For supplies, Seeley Lake is 16 miles out. Then Ronan, 23 miles, and Pablo, 27 miles. Close by you have: Lost Sheep Lake out at 0.5 miles, Buck Lake within 0.8 miles, Whelp Lake out at 1.1 miles, Sunset Lake within 1.3 miles and Gray Wolf Lake out at 2.1 miles. No border sits close enough to matter.

• Where to Fish on Summit Lake

  Depth is unknown to us, and the shoreline is the better guide. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. County-wide records name rainbow trout, sockeye salmon, smallmouth bass and yellow perch. At least one recorded species is protected in parts of its range; read the local rules before targeting anything. Summit Lake gives up its fish to patience rather than distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warm month here averages 57°F; the cold one sits at 18°F. Winter puts a hard lid on this one. Ice-out usually falls in early May, and the weeks after it fish hardest. Open water usually runs from early May until about mid November. The open run goes from the thaw to the freeze, and April through October covers most of it. Plan around that when you fish Summit Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is not recorded for this water. We find no slipway, car park or made path within a short radius, so treat access as rough. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Gates get locked out of season on water like this. Fishing rules and camping rules are set separately here. Should this one be busy, Lost Sheep Lake is 0.5 miles off. Nothing here settles the position at Summit Lake for certain.