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Best crappie lakes in Montana

114 Montana waters hold crappie, 113 mapped with real state-agency depth surveys. Ranked below by size and depth-data quality — open any water to see exactly where to fish it: depth contours, scored spots with plain-English reasons, seasonal windows and bait picks. Schooling panfish that suspends around timber, brush and creek channels.

1. Bighorn Lake — 447 ft max · Walleye, Sauger, Crappie, Channel Catfish
2. Red Rock Lake, Upper — 5 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Crappie
3. Bull Lake (Lincoln) — 60 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Crappie
4. Thompson Lake, Middle — 160 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Crappie
5. Echo Lake (Flathead) — 70 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Crappie
6. Elk Lake (Beaverhead) — 62 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Crappie
7. Thompson Lake, Upper — 100 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Crappie
8. Dickey Lake (Lincoln) — 70 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Crappie
9. Mission Reservoir, In Part — 70 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Crappie
10. Frank Lake — 40 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Crappie
11. Thompson Lake, Lower — 140 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Crappie
12. Lake Five (Flathead) — 60 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Crappie
13. Blanchard Lake — 30 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Northern Pike, Crappie, Yellow Perch
14. Fossil Lake (Carbon) — 140 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Crappie
15. Aero Lake, Upper — 175 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Crappie
16. Horseshoe Lake (Lincoln) — 130 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Crappie
17. Island Lake — 50 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Northern Pike, Crappie, Yellow Perch
18. Lower Stillwater Lake — 50 ft max · survey depth data · Northern Pike, Crappie, Rainbow Trout, Yellow Perch
19. Aero Lake, Lower — 180 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Crappie
20. Hidden Lake (Madison) — 72 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Crappie
21. Crystal Lake (Lincoln) — 140 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Crappie
22. Rainbow Lake (Sanders) — 30 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Crappie
23. Peterson Lake — 39 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike, Crappie
24. Lake Agnes — 59 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Crappie
25. Black Canyon Lake — 180 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Crappie

…plus 89 more Montana waters holding crappie.

When to fish crappie in Montana

• Spring 2–8 ft — The famous spring bite: brush, timber and docks in protected shallow pockets.
• Summer 10–25 ft — Find suspended schools over channel-edge brush piles and deep timber.
• Fall 8–20 ft — Schools follow shad into creeks; fish channel bends with cover.
• Winter 15–35 ft — Tight schools in deep holes and channel bends; slow presentations.

Also in Montana: best largemouth bass lakes · best smallmouth bass lakes · best walleye lakes · best sauger lakes · best northern pike lakes · best bluegill lakes · best channel catfish lakes · best rainbow trout lakes · best muskellunge lakes · best yellow perch lakes · best common carp lakes · best lake trout lakes · best brown trout lakes · best brook trout lakes · best kokanee lakes · best lake whitefish lakes · best burbot lakes · best arctic grayling lakes · best cutthroat trout lakes · best pumpkinseed lakes

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