Duck Lake in Park County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  You will find Duck Lake in Park County, Wyoming. Height above sea level is 9,416 feet. This is a pocket water of some 15 acres, and every part of it is reachable from the bank. 22 miles away sits Red Lodge, the nearest town. The big place round here is Billings, 77 miles distant. Near neighbours: Dollar Lake roughly 0.6 miles, Top Lake at 0.7 miles, Sawtooth Lake roughly 0.9 miles, Sparhawk Lake at 1.1 miles and Chain Lakes roughly 1.4 miles. No boundary runs near, so the county rules hold throughout.

• Where to Fish on Duck Lake

  There is no published depth for this one, so start shallow and work out. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Survey and observation records for Park County include brook trout, rainbow trout, brown trout and cutthroat trout. It is the county picture; the agency list is water-specific. At Duck Lake the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July runs about 53°F on average, January about 17°F. A hard winter is normal, and the thaw brings a strong few weeks. Count on hard cover from midwinter, and open water from mid May. Expect the water usable from around mid May until roughly mid November. Spring is short and heavy here; autumn is longer and steadier. Duck Lake runs to its own calendar within the local pattern.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing we hold confirms whether access is permitted. Nothing is mapped in the way of a ramp or car park within a short radius. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. Ask in the nearest town if you are unsure. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. For a change of water, Dollar Lake is 0.6 miles distant. Check the position at Duck Lake before loading the car.