Fishing at Timber Lake, Lincoln County, Montana

• Overview

  Set in Lincoln County, Timber Lake is a Montana water. The bank is 2,995 feet above sea level. The water covers some 30 acres, so pick a bank rather than trying to cover it all. By elevation it sits in the lower part of our Montana listings. Supplies mean a trip to Eureka, 5.1 miles off. Libby follows at 39 miles, then Whitefish at 41 miles. No boundary runs near, so the county rules hold throughout.

• Where to Fish on Timber Lake

  We hold no survey for this water; read the slope of the shoreline instead. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Lincoln County records list rainbow trout, sockeye salmon, brook trout and northern pike among the fish reported. At least one recorded species is protected in parts of its range; read the local rules before targeting anything. Fish Timber Lake to its features, not to its size.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 62°F at the top of summer and 20°F at the bottom of winter. Expect a real winter and a strong spring after it. Ice-out usually falls in early April, and the weeks after it fish hardest. Ice clears near early April and comes back about late November in a typical year. Spring is short and heavy here; autumn is longer and steadier. The season on Timber Lake rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  We hold no note on access for this one. No built facilities appear in mapping around this water. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. A landowner's word beats anything printed elsewhere. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. Should this one be busy, Rock Lake is 0.9 miles off. Signs at Timber Lake carry more weight than any list.