Parker Lake Depth Map & Fishing Spots (MT)

Hatch outlook

Grasshoppers (east-side summer)Active window

Typical here: Jul 1 – Oct 15 · until the hard frosts of mid-October; on the Missouri, August hoppers fish mid-river, not the banks

adultall day in high summer, best when afternoon wind knocks bugs onto the water

Pulls fish to the windward grassy banks and edges for months — fish the bank the wind blows ONTO.

The friendliest crossover of the summer: on lakes, drift the windward bank with a bubble-and-foam-hopper — the bubble's splash doesn't hurt a hopper presentation. On rivers, the same rig dead-drifted along the undercut grass banks, or small gold spinners under the banks between rises.

The event happens over grassy banks, undercut edges and windward shorelines

Spruce MothActive window

Typical here: Jul 20 – Aug 31 · a conifer-forest event — it needs fir and lodgepole on the banks, so it's a Rock Creek / Blackfoot / upper Bitterroot specialty

adultmorning through midday — moths don't enter the water willingly — landings are sporadic and near the conifer banks; fish the imitation LOW in the film with minimal floatant, even fully drowned, with a little movement

When the moths show, just about every run produces — large trout key on them so hard that one pattern carries the whole box for two weeks.

Honest limit: a small drowned-surface moth has no lure analog. The workable rig is a casting bubble with a drowned moth pattern along the timbered banks in the morning; otherwise fish spinners early and late and leave the moth window to the film.

2–3 weeks at best, and day-to-day — fish key on the moths when they show and vanish with them

The event happens over banks under conifers — the moths rarely reach mid-river

Recommendations come from depth structure and seasonal species behavior. Treat them as a starting point, not a guarantee. Contours here are interpolated from real agency depth surveys (state DNR / USACE). Never use for navigation. Always check local regulations.

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Recent catches at Parker Lake

Shared by DepthScout anglers. Exact spots stay private, always.

No shared catches here yet — be the first.Log a catch from the map above and share it to put Parker Lake on the board.

Fishing Parker Lake: what the data says

26-acre lake in Lewis and Clark County, Montana. The lake tops out around 4 ft. The depth chart is built from real state fisheries GPS surveys, so the humps, channels and drop-offs you see are measured, not guessed. What the data behind the map says about each species, season by season:

Traced from the shoreline, Parker Lake runs 29 acres with 1.5 miles of edge. The shoreline is moderately structured (index 1.9) — enough points and pockets to pattern. The whole water is littoral — nothing here runs deeper than ~15 ft, so it's all weed-and-bait territory. Tip to tip the water measures near 0.5 mi with a 0.2-mi widest point. The water lies in Lewis and Clark County. The nearest mapped water is Heart Lake (Lewis and Clark), 4 mi to the east.

Cutthroat Trout fishing at Parker Lake

When the water first warms, cutthroat trout slide up into 1 to 4 ft. There's no big seasonal slide here — summer means 1 to 4 ft, winter 1 to 4 ft. Start at Break off the point. It's a drop-off holding about 4 ft of water and rates prime come summer. The feeding windows run early morning and the evening. Keep a trolled spoon (small) or an inline spinner rigged through the warm months.

Season	Depth	Best window	Start at	Go-to baits
Spring	1 to 4 ft	dawn & dusk	Main-lake point (3 ft)	Inline spinner (silver/gold), Small spoon
Summer	1 to 4 ft	dawn & dusk	Break off the point (4 ft)	Trolled spoon (small), Inline spinner
Fall	1 to 4 ft	dawn & dusk	Main-lake point (3 ft)	Casting spoon, Inline spinner
Winter	1 to 4 ft	dawn	Break off the point (4 ft)	Small jigging spoon, Marabou jig

Notable structure

5 pieces of structure are mapped here — Deep basin, around 4 ft, is the deepest of them.

Deep basin: deep basin, around 4 ft
Break off the point: drop-off, around 4 ft
Main-lake point: point, around 3 ft
Secondary point: point, around 2 ft
Shallow bay flat: weed flat, around 2 ft

Parker Lake fishing regulations

Season dates, license requirements, and size and bag limits for Montana waters are set by the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks — and special regulations can apply to Parker Lake specifically, so confirm the current rules before you fish.

Check the official Montana fishing regulations →

Common questions

How deep is Parker Lake?

Parker Lake is about 4 ft (1 m) deep at its deepest point. The depth chart here comes from real state fisheries GPS surveys, so the contours reflect measured depths.

What fish are in Parker Lake?

Anglers target cutthroat trout on Parker Lake.

Where is the best fishing spot on Parker Lake?

Break off the point is the top-rated area: a drop-off in about 4 ft of water that rates prime for cutthroat trout in summer. The map above holds the full rated-spot list for every species and season.

When is the best time to fish Parker Lake?

For cutthroat trout, the summer bite is best in early morning and the evening. Each species page section below lists the seasonal windows, and the map shows a live NOW badge when you're inside one.

What are the fishing regulations for Parker Lake?

Fishing on Parker Lake is regulated by the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. Check the official Montana regulations for current license requirements, season dates, and size and bag limits — special regulations can apply to this specific water.

Nearby waters

Heart Lake (Lewis and Clark) 4 mi · Coopers Lake 10 mi · Canyon Lake (Lewis and Clark) 13 mi · Lake Otatsy 14 mi · Camp Lake (Lewis and Clark) 14 mi · Bean Lake 18 mi · Browns Lake 19 mi · Blackfoot River 23 mi · Upsata Lake 23 mi · Nevada Reservoir 25 mi · Cottonwood Lake, Middle 29 mi · Pyramid Lake 31 mi

See how Parker Lake stacks up: best cutthroat trout lakes in Montana

More water nearby: Lewis and Clark County fishing maps (9 charts). Browse all Montana fishing maps or see every water on DepthScout. Bathymetry credit: state fisheries survey programs. How we build these maps. Fish here with a sonar unit that logs? Send us your depth data and we'll improve this chart, credited to you. For fishing guidance only, never navigation.