Saint Mary Lake, Saint Mary River
Like
most large lakes, Saint Mary Lake is best fished from a boat. Typically, the
best fishing is at the inlet, which is a boggy and difficult bushwhack from
Going-to-the-Sun Road. The Saint Mary River above the lake contains mostly
whitefish. Below the lake, the river is home to a variety of trout species as
well as the voracious pike. A short section of the river at the lake's outlet
to the bridge is popular.
Red Eagle Lake
Although
Red Eagle Creek is generally considered to be bereft of fish due the scouring
effects of spring run-off, Red Eagle Lake has a reputation for both scenic
beauty and big trout. The trail is basically an easy hike, but the one-way trip
is 7.8 miles. Four campsites are offered at both the head and the foot of the
lake. You will locate the trailhead just south of the Saint Mary Lake Entrance.
Just before the Entrance Station, turn south (left) on a paved road. Follow
this road for about a half-mile, and then bear right to the parking area near
an old ranger station. The trail offers spectacular scenery of snow-capped
mountains and surrounding meadows with little elevation gain. Considered to be
one of the more prolific lakes for large trout, Red Eagle Lake provides fishing
for rainbows, cutthroats and hybrids. These trout are educated trout. Belly
boats increase an angler's chance to land one of these beauties.
Eastern Entrance: Two Medicine
Take
Two Medicine Road from Highway 49 to the entrance station. If you plan on
fishing Lower Two Medicine Lake in the lower reaches, be sure to acquire a
Blackfoot Indian Reservation fishing permit.
Glacier Park Boat Company offers boat excursions at
Many Glacier, Rising Sun, Two Medicine Lake and Lake McDonald
Two Medicine Lake
Two
Medicine Lake and its adjacent lake, Pray
Lake, are less than 10 miles from the entrance station. The Two
Medicine Trail follows the northern shoreline to No Name Lake or Upper Two
Medicine Lake, a distance of 4.4 miles. Two Medicine Lake and Pray Lake hold
good-sized brook trout and rainbow trout. Two Medicine Lake is a large lake,
and high winds should be a concern for those fishing from a car-top boat or a
belly boat. Both lakes hold good-sized brook trout for experienced lake
fishers.
Upper Two Medicine Lake
Follow
the trail 4.4 miles or cut your distance in half by taking the boat tour to the
upper boat landing on Two Medicine Lake. Glacier Park Boat Company offers
cruises at 9:00, 10:30, 1:00, 3:00 and 5:00, which provides plenty of time to
fish and meet an afternoon departure. Upper Two Medicine Lake offers fair
fishing for small brook trout. The trailhead starts in the campground. No
Name Lake Trail is an optional hike, when you depart off the boat. No
Name Lake is a small lake offering fair fishing for brook trout and rainbow
trout.
Oldman Lake
Oldman
Lake has a reputation for nurturing large Yellowstone cutthroat trout and bull
trout. (Bull trout must be released.) The trail from Two Medicine Campground to
the lake is nearly seven miles, which in my mind precludes listing it as a day
hike.
Eastern Entrance: Many Glacier
Resembling
the European Alps with its stunning vistas and four glaciers, Many Glacier
Valley attracted visitors via the Great Northern Railway when Many Glacier
Hotel opened in 1914, just four years after the formation of the Park.
Branching out from the hotel, hikers, then and now, have a network of trails to
choose from for their day's outing. The hotel offers trail rides, and tour boats
run between the hotel and the upper end of Lake Josephine. Just outside the
Park entrance, the town of Babb also offers visitor services and
accommodations.
The
Many Glacier Valley offers visitors the opportunity to view wildlife such as
the powerful grizzly bear and the agile mountain goat and bighorn sheep.
Fishing opportunities include the valley lakes as well as the backcountry
lakes. However, some of the lakes, such as Upper Grinnell Lake, Iceberg Lake,
Swiftcurrent Ridge Lake, Poia Lake and Cracker Lake, are barren or closed to
fishing.
A
short distance from Swiftcurrent Lake, at the end of the road, is the trailhead
to Red Rock Lake. The hike to Red Rock Lake is three miles. It provides fishing
for brook trout. A third trail from Many Glacier leads to Fishercap Lake,
Iceberg Lake and Ptarmigan Lake. Fishercap Lake is a five-mile hike from
Swiftcurrent Campground and provides fishing for brook trout and rainbows. Pass
up the barren Iceberg Lake and plan on a hard five-mile hike to fish Ptarmigan Lake.
Lake Sherrburne
Lake
Sherrburne is actually a reservoir and provides inconsistent fishing for pike
and the occasional brook trout.
Swiftcurrent Lake
Attracting
large numbers of people at both the hotel and the campground, Swiftcurrent Lake
receives the most fishing pressure of the area lakes. The lake is home to brook
trout and kokanee and the fishing is described as fair. Beginning a half-mile
west of the hotel at a picnic site, Swiftcurrent Lake Trail #167 provides a
self-guided nature trail that circles the lake. Crossing the foot-bridge over
Grinnel Creek, Trail #180 branches off to take the hiker to Trail #171, which
follows the southern shoreline of Lake Josephine.
Lake Josephine
Less
than a mile hike from Swiftcurrent Lake, Lake Josephine provides fair fishing
for brook trout and kokanee. Hikers may choose the South Shore Lake Josephine
Trail starting at the hotel or the footpath along the north side of
Swiftcurrent Lake to the upper Swiftcurrent boat dock and then westward to Lake
Josephine.
Grinnell Lake
Lying
above Lake Josephine, Grinnell Lake may be reached following the south shore of
Lake Josephine or the northern shore. However, the fishing is said to be poor
as a result of receding glacial flow from Grinnell Glacier.
Fishercap Lake
Just
past the parking lot for the Swiftcurrent Motor Inn, Fishercap Lake is easy to
reach but disappointing as a fishery, offering up small brook trout in a
shallow lake. The inlet stream and the outlet stream offer better opportunities
for faster action, albeit small fish. Fishercap Lake is the trailhead for Red
Rock Lake and Bullhead Lake.
Red Rock Lake
Because
of its two-mile hike from the parking lot of the Swiftcurrent Motor Inn, Red Rock
Lake gets pounded with hardware and bait. It is said to be fair fishing for
brook trout. The final lake in this chain of lakes is Bullhead Lake, which is only 3.3 miles from the parking lot.
Again, the lake is reported as fair fishing for brook trout.
