Fishing at Native Lake, Carbon County, Montana

• Overview

  Within Carbon County, Montana, you have Native Lake. The surface lies 9,793 feet up. It covers about 6 acres, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. It is a small entry by Carbon County standards. Some 23 miles away sits Red Lodge, the nearest settlement. Absarokee lies 38 miles off, Cody another 42 miles. The nearest boundary is well away, so one set of rules covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Native Lake

  No chart reached our records; the first cast is your sounding. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Carbon County records list rainbow trout, brook trout, sauger, walleye and channel catfish among the fish reported. The county figures include rivers and lakes alike. Native Lake repays a walk before the first cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The seasonal spread runs 16°F to 51°F. Winter puts a hard lid on this one. Look for the thaw near late May; the fishing lifts straight after. In an average year the thaw lands around late May and the freeze near early November. The weeks after the thaw and the ones before the freeze are the strongest. It sets the rhythm of the year at Native Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  There is no clear statement anywhere on who can fish it. No slipway, car park or made path shows up nearby in mapping, so treat access as rough. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Local rules can differ across the county line, so check where you stand. Some water is controlled locally without a sign saying so. T Lake sits 0.6 miles off and takes the overflow. What applies at Native Lake may have changed since it was mapped.