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Harpers Lake

Type
Lake or reservoir, Montana (West)
Designation
Among the state's most-fished waters (agency angler survey)
USGS gauges
None listed
Guides
8 nearby
Shops
2 nearby

Today on Harpers Lake

No live reading for this water
Why there is no reading

Nothing live is published for this water, so there is no reading or verdict today. The readings section below says what we checked.

Regulations & access Guides & shops

Harpers Lake is a lake or reservoir in Montana, listed as Among the state's most-fished waters (agency angler survey) by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks.

More about Harpers Lake

8 guides and 2 shops nearby are listed here; the nearest destination hub is Missoula.

Updated · Sources: Montana's most-fished waters (FWP statewide angling pressure estimates, 2023 license year, top 250 by state rank)

Representative photograph of similar water; not a photograph of this place.
Representative photograph, not this water.
Where it is

Harpers Lake is a lake or reservoir in Montana. Our destination hub Missoula is 31 mi away in a straight line.

No real-time gauge

No real-time gauge on this water. We found no active USGS gauge on Harpers Lake or on its stream system within about 25 miles, and no dam operator publishes data for it. A missing gauge says nothing about the water itself. Find the gauges nearest Harpers Lake

Check any river's flow

About these readings

Nothing live is published for this water; the note below says what we checked.

Where to fish

About this

Start from the agency's public access map. Nothing on this page grants or implies access: check the agency map, posted signs and landowner permission before you fish.

Nothing on this page grants or implies access.

Montana FWP fishing access sites

Harpers Lake on the map

About this

Shops and guides within 40 miles

Map of Harpers Lake: gauges, shops and guides

RestroomsAccess map

Map of Harpers Lake, and shops and guides with an exact address within 40 miles.

Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors · OpenFreeMap · © OpenMapTiles

Restrooms near Harpers Lake

Restrooms near Harpers Lake

Restrooms within 2 miles of Harpers Lake in a straight line, nearest first, with what anglers found when they went. The map says a restroom is there, not whether it is clean or open today.

No restroom mapped within 2 mi yet — add one you know.

Campgrounds, fishing access sites and boat ramps often have one that isn't on the map yet.

Restroom locations and map details: © OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database License, read Oct 24, 2026. Ratings, answers and photos are members' own; who shared them is never shown, and every photo is reviewed before it appears. Visits older than 18 months no longer count. Distances are straight-line miles, not driving. Nothing here grants access to private land. Community guidelines.

More water near Harpers Lake

  • The lower Blackfoot River running deep blue beneath a rocky bank and pine forestAmong the state's most-fished waters (agency angler survey)
    Photo credit

    The lower Blackfoot River east of Missoula. Photo: Bureau of Land Management, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

    Blackfoot River

    Montana · about 20 mi

    Rainbow, brown & brook trout

  • Rock Creek flowing over a cobble riffle through a forested valley in the Lolo National ForestAmong the state's most-fished waters (agency angler survey)
    Photo credit

    Rock Creek on the Missoula Ranger District, Lolo National Forest. Photo: USDA Forest Service, Northern Region, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

    Rock Creek

    Montana · about 25 mi

    Rainbow, brown & brook trout

  • Ennis Lake partly iced over in early spring, with the snow-covered Madison Range across the waterAmong the state's most-fished waters (agency angler survey)Representative photo · not Placid Lake
    Photo credit

    Ennis Lake, Montana, in March, with the Madison Range beyond. Photo: Gloria Cabada-Leman, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr Not Placid Lake.

    Placid Lake

    Montana · about 9 mi

  • The Clark Fork River in Missoula, with willow islands, a riffle and buildings on the far bankAmong the state's most-fished waters (agency angler survey)Representative photo · not Clearwater River
    Photo credit

    The Clark Fork in Missoula, Montana. Photo: w_lemay, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Clearwater River.

    Clearwater River

    Montana · about 12 mi

  • Marshy shallows at the edge of Henrys Lake, with the Henrys Lake Mountains behindAmong the state's most-fished waters (agency angler survey)Representative photo · not Seeley Lake
    Photo credit

    Henrys Lake from Henrys Lake State Park, Idaho. Photo: James Postema, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Seeley Lake.

    Seeley Lake

    Montana · about 13 mi

  • Lake Billy Chinook filling a basalt canyon, with layered rimrock cliffs along the waterAmong the state's most-fished waters (agency angler survey)Representative photo · not Lake Alva
    Photo credit

    Lake Billy Chinook, Oregon. Photo: icetsarina, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Lake Alva.

    Lake Alva

    Montana · about 22 mi

Regulations

About this

Seasons, limits, special regulations and closures for each reach are on the agency pages below. Read them before you go.

Official designation: Among the state's most-fished waters (agency angler survey)

Each comes from the agency's own published list; where the list names a reach it is quoted. A designation applies to the listed reach, not necessarily the whole water.

The water on the map

About this

Measured from the NHDPlus High Resolution (flowlines and waterbodies) (U.S. Geological Survey, read 2026-11-05) for this water’s own mapped feature. Rounded figures; they describe the channel, not today’s conditions.

Surface area
14.8 acres
Watershed
Blackfoot

Public land along it

About this

Areas the Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), public access (U.S. Geological Survey, Gap Analysis Project, read 2026-11-05) lists as owned or held in easement and open to the public, crossed by the mapped shoreline. Boundaries are mapped, not surveyed. Nothing on this page grants or implies access: check the agency map, posted signs and landowner permission before you fish.

0.6 of 0.6 mi of shoreline on public land

  • Harpers Lake Fishing Access SiteState Fish and Wildlife · 0.6 mi

Nothing on this page grants or implies access.

Stocking records

About this

From the agency’s own records (Fish Stocking Records (FWP fishViewer), Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, read 2026-11-05), listed as Harpers Lake (agency stocking point). Check the agency for this season.

Past stockings, not a schedule

  • 2026: Rainbow Trout, Westslope Cutthroat Trout in Mar, Apr, Jun (9 stockings, 3,384 fish).

  • 2025: Rainbow Trout, Westslope Cutthroat Trout in Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Oct, Nov, Dec (27 stockings, 5,857 fish).

  • 2024: Rainbow Trout, Westslope Cutthroat Trout in Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec (20 stockings, 3,019 fish).

Agency records

Guides and shops near Harpers Lake

About this

Listings marked Unclaimed are built from open map records and the business's own website: confirm licensing, rates, dates and hours directly.

Guides

All Montana guides

2 shops nearby

All Montana shops

How these are chosen

Guides whose own website names this water come first, nearest first. After them, fly-focused guides within 40 miles whose website does not name it. Distances are straight-line.

Shops: fly shops first. A distance is shown when the shop’s website gives its location (within 60 miles); otherwise the shop is in one of the towns within 25 miles of the water.

Guide and shop listings come from the Legendary directories.

Species and hatches

About this

What 8 nearby guide websites mention: what guides advertise, not a survey or a promise of what you will catch.

Named on 8 nearby guide websites

  • Trout4
  • Cutthroat trout3
  • Brook trout2
  • Rainbow trout2
  • Brown trout1
  • Northern pike1

When the bugs come off

Regional hatch months: Northern Rockies
About this chart

5 hatches charted for the region, not measured on this water. From Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks.

  1. January: no charted hatch
  2. February: no charted hatch
  3. March: no charted hatch
  4. April: no charted hatch
  5. May: 3 charted hatches
  6. June: 2 charted hatches
  7. July: 2 charted hatches
  8. August: 1 charted hatch
  9. September: 1 charted hatch
  10. October: no charted hatch
  11. November: no charted hatch
  12. December: no charted hatch

Mother's Day caddis (Grannom) (May) · Salmonfly (May to June) · Salmonfly (May to July) · Salmonfly (July) · Trico (August to September)

How we put this together

Named by guides nearby (within 40 miles), counted from the species each guide lists on its own site. No agency page we hold lists species for this water.

Missoula

About this

Missoula sits where the Clark Fork, Bitterroot and Blackfoot rivers meet in western Montana, with Rock Creek to the east.

Destination hub · 31 mi away in a straight line

Open the hubPlan a trip here

Gear checklist

About this

A stillwater fly-fishing checklist for lakes and ponds: a 9–10 ft 5–6 weight rod, floating and intermediate lines, chironomids and leeches, and float-tube options, with estimated prices and where to buy.

An angler stands knee-deep in a calm lake with the rod bent, playing a trout

Lakes & stillwater

9′–10′ rod, 5–6 weight, floating + intermediate lines · Rainbow, brook and brown trout in lakes

Open the checklist
Videos for this water (3)

Watch: stillwater trout basics

About this

Chironomids, leeches and where fish hold in a lake.

Public YouTube videos from established channels, chosen by us to support this page. Not sponsored; the creators are not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear.

  • Catch More Trout in Lakes Using Indicators – Stillwater Fly Fishing TipsEmbedded from YouTube · Fly Fish Food · not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear. Watch on YouTube
  • Stillwater Fly Fishing Is Simpler Than You Think! | Introduction to Stillwater Fly FishingEmbedded from YouTube · Fly Fish Food · not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear. Watch on YouTube
  • Why is this Chironomid Fly Pattern So Versatile? | Two-Toner BC Chironomid | Fly Tying TutorialEmbedded from YouTube · Fly Fish Food · not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear. Watch on YouTube

Not sponsored All videos on stillwater

Fish Tales

About this

Trip stories anglers chose to share publicly and tagged with Harpers Lake.

No stories from here yet.

Write the first story Share your day

Sources for this page

Not a statement of access, fish presence or conditions.

Something wrong?

All 8 sources and dates

A water page organises discovery. It does not assert public access, legal access, current fish presence, guide availability or fishing conditions.

Flows, gauge statistics and flood stages come from USGS and the National Weather Service when the page is shown. Regulations, stocking, species and season statements link to the agency that publishes them; this page copies only the species names and the quoted sentences. Guide and shop listings come from the Legendary directories. Position: the point for “Harpers Lake” (lake) in the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Water type is our own classification.