Book: Southwest Montana's Mountain Lakes

The authoritative guidebook for fishing in the alpine.

Do you ever wonder if a certain, unfamiliar alpine lake holds any fish? Or perhaps you’re trying to get a specific species on the end of your line. It makes sense you wouldn’t want to haul your fishing rod all the way out to a remote corner of wilderness just to get skunked because there’s no fish. Well, odds are Joshua Bergan has already fished the lake you have in mind and even wrote about it in his detailed volume, Flyfisher’s Guide to Southwest Montana’s Mountain Lakes (Wilderness Adventures Press, $30).

Bergan’s guide tackles nearly 300 mountain lakes, covering every major (and minor) mountain range in a 6.5-million-acre region. With its detailed descriptions of trails and terrain, bugs and imitative patterns, as well as some hard-earned knowledge of trout behavior and fishing tactics, this is an indispensable tome for the backcountry trout-chaser. Much of the information in this guide is impossible to find in print anywhere else, including ice-in and ice-out timetables, range-specific planning considerations, stocking schedules, and advice for landing reticent species like grayling and golden trout.

Even since the first edition was published in 2018, there’s still nothing out there like it. While Joshua’s expertise has taken him on many other adventures in the West since, his collection of alpine advice holds true. It should be the go-to for any angler looking to hook into trout in Montana’s mountain lakes. Get your guidance for some of the more frequented and quintessential options in the area (and beyond) like Hyalite Reservoir, Fairly Lake, and Lava Lake. Or learn about a new secret spot like…well you’ll just have to read to find out.