Zimmer Lake Fishing Guide, Park County, Montana

• Overview

  You will find Zimmer Lake in Park County, Montana. The bank is 10,089 feet above sea level. The water measures roughly 24 acres, so nothing here is far from anything else. On our Park County list it sits near the top for size. The closest town, Red Lodge, is 31 miles away. Billings sits 81 miles out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. This one is safely inside the county line.

• Where to Fish on Zimmer Lake

  Depth figures are not published for this one. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Public occurrence data for Park County names rainbow trout, brook trout, california golden trout, brown trout and black-spotted cutthroat trout. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. Zimmer Lake gives up its fish to patience rather than distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  In an average year August sits at 48°F and January at 13°F. Four clear seasons, with a proper winter at one end. The lid usually goes in mid June, which opens the strongest weeks of the year. Break-up near mid June, freeze-up near late October: that is the shape of an average year. The first weeks of open water and the last are the ones to plan for. Plan around that when you fish Zimmer Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public sources are silent on who controls the bank. Access is unmapped, which usually means a farm track and a walk. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. Some banks are open only from a marked point. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. If the gate is shut, Little Goose Lake at 1.2 miles is the nearest alternative. What applies at Zimmer Lake may have changed since it was mapped.