High Country Cutthroats

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With the sun high overhead, I grimaced under the weight of an overloaded pack and began the off-trail grind towards alpine fishing nirvana.

Hours later, I pushed through the last patches of stunted timber and broke into the open, right next to the edge of an emerald-green and ice-cold mountain lake, teeming with cutthroat trout. Sore feet and aching back were immediately forgotten at the sight of trout rising to the surface. Within minutes, my hastily strung flyline was zipping through polished eyelets and sailing through the air, sending an artificial insect in the direction of the ruckus just below the surface.

Although human error and a fickle wind resulted in less than perfect delivery, the fly barely begun to settle when a brilliantly colored cutthroat struck from below, shattering the mirrored finish of the otherwise serene lake. With rod bent and tight line peeling away, I took a deep breath, relaxed, and embraced the gift of the moment. While releasing the ambitious cutthroat back to waters he’d risen from, I wondered to myself, “Why don’t more people do this?”

Although I’d like to keep all of Montana’s mountain lakes to myself, the peaceful adventures to be earned in the high country are worth sharing (and I’ll never get to them all anyway). So here are a few things I’ve learned the hard way, which should make your time in the mountains enjoyable, and memorable.

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Where to go

Finding an alpine lake to fish can be as simple as looking at a map, selecting a circle of blue in an area you’d like to explore and getting after it. However, “winging it” in lieu of a carefully considered plan in the backcountry can result in an inordinate amount of preventable road rash.

Research need not be intimidating, and USGS topographical maps, online forums, backpacking shops, and hiking clubs are great places to start. Those who have discovered hidden lakes holding numbers of quality fish don’t often divulge their secrets freely though, so cross-check “facts” from multiple sources before burning boot leather.

Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks (FWP) continues to be a solid source of information on mountain lake fishing and a great place to begin a detailed investigation. Stats on fish stocking, survey information, and access tips are readily available and unbiased. This information is essential, as not all mountain lakes produce well. Some are even fishless due to winterkill or intentional poisoning by FWP. Avoid assumptions and research well ahead of time to ensure a quality experience.

After researching and drafting the skeleton plan, reach out to a representative of FWP or the National Forest Service in the region you plan to explore; explain what you’re up to, ask lots of questions, take good notes and you’ll walk away with actionable intelligence.

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When to go

Although the itch to fish mountain lakes begs to be scratched in early summer, snowpack, ice and avalanche conditions deny access to many high-country water bodies until late June or early July (and the timeframe could be extended this year due to a heavy snowpack in most of Montana). This again boils down to doing your own research; pick some country you’d like to explore and a lake to fish, then start making phone calls. Even experts who closely guard their high-country honey holes often divulge key information to humble but motivated alpine backpackers who share an insane willingness to do the work this country and its fish require.

I know this to be true, after learning the hard way on multiple harried excursions to mountain lakes in June, only to find them partially frozen or virtually inaccessible due to dangerous snowpack. A phone call to the National Forest Service a few years ago spared me a four-hour drive to a trailhead that was socked in with impassable snow in late June.

Unfortunately, the same caution exercised in the early season must also be utilized as the season winds down in early fall. September snow showers can render the same boulder-fields that you rock hopped across in August, impassable just a couple of weeks later. The weather is an unpredictable wildcard, to say the least, and lends to the luster that comes with high-country exploring in search of trout on the fly—because when you hit it right, the fishing can be the best you’ve ever seen, and the effort you’ve made to make it happen only makes the experience more rewarding.

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How to get there

By their very nature, most mountain lakes are remote, and accessing them can be difficult. A few outliers provide the exception to this rule (Park Lake, Wood Lake, etc.), but plan on hiking in over challenging terrain. Generally speaking, the more remote the water body and difficult the hike, the better the fishing and solitude, so don’t look past lakes perched high in the mountains with no established hiking trails to guide you. Plan adventures around your skill level and conditioning while intelligently pushing the envelope to access some incredible country. That way you’ll enjoy a trip tailored to your desires.

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Accessibility & Travel Restrictions

While many mountain lakes are open to hiking and horse traffic only, some “multi-use trail areas” exist that allow bikers, hikers, horseman and off-road motorcycle enthusiasts access on the same trail system. While sometimes creating congestion and conflict, multi-use areas provide people of varying recreational interest’s opportunity to access the high country. A current National Forest Service Travel Plan map delineates legal modes of transport throughout the mountains and is available through your local National Forest Service office.

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Camping

Camping opportunities run the gamut from established campgrounds with vault toilets and potable water to “pick your own patch of dirt” primitive areas requiring self-reliance and a modicum of backpacking camp skill. Plan on the latter, as even areas with significant trail traffic generally offer no commercial creature comforts once you get where you’re going.

Occasionally, areas with spectacular scenery and incredible fishing offer limited camping options because of steep boulder slides or dense tree cover right up to water’s edge. Topographical maps offer information that helps you forecast these issues and avoid the frustrations that accompany camping in a rock pile or being forced to pitch your tent far from the water.

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Fishing

Location, climate, and access limitations all contribute to tiny windows of opportunity to pursue hungry, uneducated fish in gin-clear mountain lakes. High-country trout rise readily and often aggressively strike seasonal dry flies. These fish aren’t the snobs you find on the Missouri River and elsewhere, fish that have seen every fly imaginable and have been landed and released many times. These fish must make their hay in a short timeframe when ice is off the surface and they act like their lives depend on eating . . . because their lives do depend on eating. Hoppers, ants, caddis and the like work well, as do nymphs and streamers when you’re ready to search the depths of the lake for the larger fish that are rumored to lurk there. Most of the trout in high-mountain lakes range between six and 14 inches, but there are plenty of lakes that pump out 16-inchers like clockwork, and some lakes routinely produce fish over 20 inches. Those lakes are guarded secrets; heavy research is your best bet to find one of these lakes quickly. Know that these lakes rarely are found near established trails; be ready to bushwhack for your best trout fishing experience.

Spin and bait fisherman can have excellent success as well with Kamlooper spoons and Panther Martin spinners, in myriad sizes and colors, both registering as top performers on cold-water lakes.

Montana’s mountain lakes offer unique opportunities for folks of all skill and experience levels. People who want to immerse themselves in the magic of the high country and take in sights that few others will have unlimited opportunity. This alone is worth the research, sore backs, and blistered feet it sometimes takes to get there. And that is exactly what keeps lovers of the high country returning year after year.

By Shane Klippenes