Fishing fro Whitefish to Eureka Overview Below Map
Regional Fly Fishing Shops and Guide Service
Highway
93
Talley Lake, Beaver Lakes, Martin Lake, Upper Whitefish Lake, Red Meadow Lake, Lagoni Lake, Bull Lake and Stryker Lake (Fish Lake), Dickey Lake, Murphy Lake, Ten Lakes Scenic Area
MM = Highway Mileage Marker Signs
From Whitefish to the Canadian Border, the Stillwater River is just that
- still. The mid-section often abuts Highway 93, and access points are found at
bridge crossings, pullouts and dirt roads. Slow water and willow-lined stream
banks provide good populations of brook trout, rainbows and cutthroats. Some
sections are floatable.
MM 129: Whitefish Lake State Park: 1.1 miles from Highway
93 in the town of Whitefish. Shaded and beautiful, the campground is close to a
golf course as well!
MM 132: Tally Lake See MM 139.
MM 135: Beaver Lake, Little Beaver Lake, Murray
Lake, Rainbow Lake, Woods Lake, Dollar. Beaver Lake is a beautiful lake
with just a small turn-around provided by the state. The lake is bordered by
private property. The access site has one picnic site. Canoeists will have to
slide their canoes down an embankment to the lake. Beaver Lake is a popular
lake for fishing rainbows. Coming into the area, you will find a sign showing the
location of all of the little lakes. The roads are bumpy and narrow, and some
of them, like the road to Little Beaver Lake, definitely need the high
clearance of a truck. Little Beaver Lake has one public access spot to launch a
boat, but you will probably need a 4X4 vehicle, especially in the early summer.
I personally would pass up Little Beaver Lake, as the last two-tenths of a mile
is on a rutted, boggy road, and when I pulled up to the lake there were already
two families camped in a one-family site.
I walked down to Dollar Lake and met a teenage boy and his
friend who said the lake has always fished well for them, but some of the lakes
have been over-populated with Flathead minnows and as such are scheduled for
rehabilitation. I would stick with Beaver Lake if you have a car-topper boat, a
canoe or a belly boat.
MM 139: Tally Lake Campground, Sheppard Creek, Sylvia Lake
Campground
Take the Star Meadow road about 10 miles to the turn-off to Tally
Lake. Tally Lake is a large 1,300-acre lake, and it is the deepest lake in
Montana at 492 feet. Tally Lake is a recreation lake and popular with water
skiers. The campground is on the north shore and has 39 campsites, water,
toilets, and boat launch as well as an RV dump station and a swimming area. Fee
area. If you continue to Star Meadows, consult the Flathead National Forest
Visitor's Map for mileage.
Sheppard Lake and Sylvia Lake: On the way to Sylvia Lake,
you will pass Sheppard Creek, a brushy little creek holding typical creek-size
trout. Sylvia Lake is a 20-acre lake, and it is stocked with grayling.
MM 144.2: Good Creek, Martin Lake, access to the
Stillwater River. The road to Good Creek is an easy drive to a good creek. At
four-tenths of a mile, you will cross a bridge over the Stillwater River, which
provides fishing access. At 3.2 miles there is a turn-off road to Martin Lake,
which is a fair fishing lake for smaller rainbows. The pavement ends at 6.1
miles, and there is a turn-off to Star Meadows at 15 miles and Sylvia Lake at
23 miles. At 8.6 miles Good Creek is not visible, but the distance to the creek
is less than a mile. At mile 9.3 you will have your first sighting of the
creek. Further up the road the creek meanders through thick willow and tag
alder. The creek holds lots of small brook trout and cutthroats.
MM 145.6: Upper Whitefish Lake and Red Meadow Lake. Both
lakes can be driven to on a fairly good dirt road. The first lake, Upper
Whitefish Lake, is 13.5 miles. Upper Whitefish Lake is in the Stillwater State
Forest and offers a campground and fishing for small cutthroats. Red Meadow
Lake is about six miles further and offers camping on a picturesque 19-acre
lake, which provides fair fishing for cutthroats and grayling.
MM 151.5: Upper Stillwater Lake and Lagoni Lake: Upper
Stillwater Lake is unseen from the highway, but it is only 1.3 miles away. This
630-acre lake offers a campground and fair fishing for brook trout, pike, perch
and the occasional cutthroat. Above Upper Stillwater Lake is Lagoni Lake, a
small 20-acre lake offering the same type of fishing.
MM 158.8: Bull Lake and Stryker Lake: (Fish Lake) Both
lakes lie side-by-side just a few miles from the community of Stryker and offer
good fishing for cutthroat and brook trout. These are native trout, but be sure
you have a Montana State Land Permit before you fish!
MM 159.8: Picnic spot on South Dickey Lake Day use only.
MM 161: Dickey Lake is a summer recreation
lake with a potpourri of species offerings, none of which get very big. MM
163.3: Dickey Lake Campground 25 campsites, 50-foot trailer spaces, toilets,
water, boat launch, fee area.
MM 165.1: Murphy Lake Ranger Station
MM 165.8: Murphy Lake is a popular 163-acre,
warm-water fishery for largemouth bass, perch and pike. Murphy Lake also offers
camping.
Eureka Area
MM 170.2: Grave Creek and Campground, Blue Sky Creek,
Weasel Lake, Therriault Lakes (Little and Big) and the Ten Lakes Scenic Area.
For fishermen and campers in the Eureka area, this is your
access! Grave Creek has the largest volume of water of any creek in the area.
Just a few miles from the highway, Grave Creek Campground offers a number of
campsites right on the creek, but the campground is not practical for larger
RVs or trailers. In fact, I found only three sites suitable for smaller
trailers. The short access road into the campground makes a tight turn, and the
road is bumpy. Grave Creek, a tributary of the Tobacco River, is a good fishing
creek for 10- to 12-inch rainbows and cutthroats. The bottom section is
private, and there is a small area of private land near the campground, but
above the campground is National Forest land with a number of miles of creek to
fish.
Above Grave Creek is Blue Sky Creek, a tributary of Grave Creek. The
creek is small and the small fish are plentiful, but in the past the creek has
been closed to protect spawning runs of cutthroats and bulls. Before you reach
Therriault Lakes, the road goes by Weasel Lake.
Weasel Lake is a pretty little lake with small fish.
Therriault Lakes are about 28 miles from the highway. Both lakes offer camping
and good fishing for 10- to 12-inch cutthroats. The big lake is 55 acres, and
the smaller lake 26 acres. Little Therriault Lake is the trailhead for the Ten
Lakes Scenic Area. Plan on a full
day hike to these high-elevation lakes, where you can expect great beauty and
feisty 10- to 12-inch native trout. Some of the lakes are barren, so you might
want to check in with the forest service to plan your hike.
MM 174: Glen Lake is surrounded by residences,
and the fishing is fair to poor.
