Ashley Lake fishing

Fishing at Ashley Lake is on a reservoir, stocked with Cutbow. It is stocked about 0.5 times a year since 2011, most often in September.

Last stocked

September 14, 2023

Plants on record

7

Since 2011

Species recorded

1

Average size

1.8 in

Elevation

3,950.5 ft

Access and facts

Water type
reservoir

Formed in 1897 when Flathead Valley farmers built a diversion dam on Ashley Creek for irrigation; the Ashley Irrigation District was watering more than 1,600 acres by 1909, opening the west valley to dairy farming.

Sources: water_type , shore_notes

How Ashley Lake is stocked

The first plant of the year usually falls in the third week of September. In 2023 it was September 14, 2023, about when it usually is.

No plants recorded in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2020.

Loon Lake (1.2 mi), Little Bitterroot Lake (7.5 mi), Rogers Lake (9.6 mi), Bootjack Lake (11 mi), and Foy Lake (12.4 mi) were stocked more recently.

Fish at Ashley Lake

Fishing Ashley Lake is most likely to be for Cutbow. All 7 plants on record are Cutbow.

Around the dates Ashley Lake is stocked, Open-Meteo's 2016-2025 archive puts mean air temperature at 57.2°F in September. That is air temperature at these coordinates, not water temperature. Open-Meteo

Cutbow 7 plants
Plants
7 of 7
Last stocked
September 14, 2023
Average length
1.8 in

Seasons and rigs are on the Cutbow guide.

Fish stocked per year

  • 36,0002011
  • 38,3542017
  • 38,0002018
  • 38,0002019
  • 32,0002021
  • 37,6962022
  • 31,2062023

Stocking history

Source: Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks.
Date Species Quantity Avg. length Source
September 14, 2023 Cutbow 31,206 2.5 in report
September 27, 2022 Cutbow 37,696 1.65 in report
September 18, 2021 Cutbow 32,000 2.1 in report
September 10, 2019 Cutbow 38,000 1.53 in report
September 22, 2018 Cutbow 38,000 1.75 in report
September 5, 2017 Cutbow 38,354 1 in report
September 24, 2011 Cutbow 36,000 2 in report

Species stocked here

Depth-by-season, top lures, and bait notes for each species stocked here are on its own species guide, linked above.

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