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 The
Thompson Lakes consist of three separate and distinct
lakes that lie just off Highway 2 mid-way between Kalispell
and Libby in northwest Montana. All the lakes offer very
good fishing and receive fairly heavy fishing pressure
from the locals. Both spin fishing and fly fishing work
well on the Thompson Lakes. The lakes are relatively
small, making these lakes ideal spots to fish from shore,
from a small
raft or canoe,
as well as from a float
tube.
All three of the
lakes (Upper, Middle and Lower) provide excellent fishing
for largemouth bass. As the lakes are small, they warm
quickly, allowing excellent top water fly fishing during
July-September. Additionally, large streamers skipped along
the bottom in shallow water and along the weed line also
work well for catching the larger bass. As the bass in
these lakes average 1-3 pounds, some fairly stout gear
and leaders are required, especially when fishing for largemouth
bass in the weeds.
 Middle
Thompson Lake is just a short hop from the other two lakes,
and receives the heaviest fishing pressure. A very nice
fishing access lines part of the shoreline right along
the highway. Unlike the other two Thompson Lakes, Middle
Thompson Lake has decent populations of rainbow and brown
trout, with populations of each planted each year. The
rainbow and brown trout are best fished around the various
creek inlets on the lake with small dry flies.
Overall, the three
Thompson Lakes are excellent spots for an angler who is
either in search of quality fly fishing for largemouth
bass or who is just tired of battling finicky trout and
want to try their luck against the aggressive nature of
a bass. Access is excellent on all three lakes and several
nice fishing access sites provide easy camping.
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