Summit Lake Fishing near Seeley Lake, Montana

• Overview

  Summit Lake is listed under Missoula County, Montana. The surface lies 4,180 feet up. With some 28 acres of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. Seeley Lake lies 15 miles from the water. Lethbridge is the closest city, 165 miles away. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications. The bank is open in stretches and thick in others.

• Where to Fish on Summit Lake

  Depth is unknown to us, and the shoreline is the better guide. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Survey and observation records for Missoula County include rainbow trout, brook trout, cutthroat trout and northern pike. Some of the species recorded here are protected or tightly regulated, so check what may be targeted before you fish. Fish Summit Lake to its features, not to its size.

• Seasonal Patterns

  August runs about 61°F on average, January about 21°F. The year splits cleanly: hard water, then open water. Hard water holds through the cold months, breaking up near mid April. Average temperatures cross freezing around mid April in spring and again near late November in autumn. May into June fishes hardest, and September gives a second good stretch before the lid returns. Summit Lake fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. There is somewhere to leave the car, half a mile off. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Check locally before you travel, because a wasted drive is a long one. Close seasons apply to some species and not others. If the gate is shut, Pierce Lake at 1.2 miles is the nearest alternative. Nothing here settles the position at Summit Lake for certain.