Fort Peck Reservoir

Located in the northwest corner of Missoula County, Lindbergh Lake is a rather narrow, long, summer resort lake. A county road 16 miles north of the town of Seeley Lake on Montana Highway 83 provides easy access. Lindbergh Lake, located near the divide between the Swan and Clearwater drainages, is an excellent jumping-off point for nearby high mountain lakes. Crystal, Turquoise, and Glacier Lakes are all within an easy day's hike from Lindbergh Lake.

Because of limited spawning areas and low basic productivity due to low temperatures and lack of food sources, this is not an outstanding angling location, but it is still a very scenic and remote spot. FWP annually plants the lake with 30,000 4- to 6-inch cutthroat trout and about 100,000 kokanee salmon, but there just isn't enough food to sustain a large fish population, and the lake is too remote for more intensive management.

All that aside, the lake does provide good summer fishing for 12-inch cutthroat trout. In addition, kokanee salmon provide plenty of challenge to any angler. Thomas Cyclones and Mepps spinners do well, along with other artificial lures, when trolled about 8 to 20 feet deep. There is virtually no winter fishery here because of the lake's severely low temperatures and remoteness. FWP says that the lake is holding its own as a fishery. The department will continue its present stocking rate and schedule.

Lindbergh Lake is remote enough that your chances of seeing some big game and other species of wildlife are good. Moose, mule deer, white-tailed deer, elk, and black bears frequent the area and usually can be seen early in the morning and late in the evening. There is a Forest Service campground at the north end of the lake, and anglers report waking in the morning and watching a moose gently wade along the shallower edges. And, of course, the late evening lullaby of the loon has put many a weary camper to sleep.

Stop in at the Condon Forest Service Ranger Station, located on Montana Highway 83, for backcountry maps and information on fishing conditions at the lake.