Fishing at Beartooth Lake, Park County, Wyoming

• Overview

  Beartooth Lake lies in Park County, Wyoming. Country round the bank runs to pine and birch. The water covers some 174 acres, so pick a bank rather than trying to cover it all. Around 2.4 miles of margin, front to back. Few waters listed in Park County are bigger. The town to know is Red Lodge, 24 miles out. Cody is 39 miles away, with Absarokee at 40 miles. The nearest boundary is well away, so one set of rules covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Beartooth Lake

  We hold no depth figure for this one. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Reported across Park County: brook trout, rainbow trout, brown trout and cutthroat trout. County records show the wider picture rather than this one place. Treat Beartooth Lake as a water to read rather than to cover.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warm month here averages 51°F; the cold one sits at 16°F. Seasons are distinct, and each one fishes differently. The lid usually goes in late May, which opens the strongest weeks of the year. Expect the water usable from around late May until roughly early November. Fishing peaks soon after break-up and again before the cold returns. At Beartooth Lake the season follows that pattern closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. A slipway is marked about half a mile from here. Overnight stays are possible half a mile away. A toilet block sits half a mile away. Local rules can differ across the county line, so check where you stand. Signs go up and come down, so check on the day. Crane Lake, 1.3 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Where Beartooth Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.