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Ashley
Lake lies not far from Kalispell up a bumpy, thirteen-mile
gravel road. Despite lying in a national forest, many summer
homes are found around the lake, although it is far from
being a typical summer hideaway lake. It is a popular lake
both for pleasure boating as well as for fly fishing, as
some very large rainbow trout can be pulled out of this lake.
Ashley Lake is
quite large, more than a mile in width and 5 miles in length,
and is very deep in spots. The whole area around Ashley
Lake is heavily forested (and logged). Numerous scars from
clear cuts mar the otherwise scenic setting Ashley Lake
lies in.
Rainbow trout
and cutthroat trout are the primary fish species found
in Ashley Lake. Some of the rainbows, particularly the
hybrid rainbows that are planted in this lake, can get
huge. Fish exceeding five pounds are fairly common and
it is not unheard of taking rainbow trout exceeding ten
pounds.
The
best fly fishing on Ashley Lake for these trout will be
along the shoreline, particularly in the morning and evening
hours, as well as near the inlets of the various feeder
creeks and streams.
Ashley Lake receives
quite a bit of use, particularly during the summer and
especially on weekends. Lots of fishermen make their way
to Ashley Lake to chase the large trout that are found
here. Due to the lakes large size and private property
that is scattered along the lake, a boat is really need
to successfully fish it. Canoes,
motorboats, pontoon
boats and even float
tubes all will work fine for Ashley Lake, as it is
generally not horribly windy on this lake. A boat ramp
is on the lake to make launching motorboats easier. A campground
is also on Ashley Lake.
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