Lake Frances fishing: Northern Pike, Rainbow Trout, Walleye

Target species: Northern Pike, Rainbow Trout, Walleye, Yellow Perch, White Sucker

The lake

Lake Frances covers 5,341 acres in Montana, across Pondera County. It is a lake: 94.5% of it is 39 feet deep or less; the deepest point measured is at least 43 feet (13.1 m). Our records hold 5 species for this water.

5 target fish, led by Northern Pike

  • Northern Pike — Feeding water: 50–75°F.
  • Rainbow Trout — Feeding water: 50–65°F.
  • Walleye — Feeding water: 50–75°F.
  • Yellow Perch — Feeding water: 45–75°F.
  • White Sucker — Feeding water: 50–70°F.

Stocking: 13,027,584 fish, 1966–2025

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks records list 13,027,584 fish released into this water from 1966 to 2025.

  • Walleye: 5,488,101 in 1974–2025
  • Rainbow Trout: 3,390,826 in 1944–1964
  • White Sucker: 3,433 in 1985

2 more species on the stocking list.

Depth and bottom

Deepest measured point: at least 43 ft (13.1 m). That is the deepest contour line: the bottom goes deeper. 94.5% of the water is 39 feet or shallower. We hold 51 depth contour lines for this water.

  • 0–3 ft: 8.2% of the water
  • 3–6 ft: 5.6% of the water
  • 6–9 ft: 5.8% of the water
  • 9–12 ft: 7% of the water
  • 12–15 ft: 7.5% of the water
  • 15–18 ft: 6.5% of the water
  • 18–21 ft: 7.2% of the water
  • 21–24 ft: 7.6% of the water
  • 24–27 ft: 6% of the water
  • 27–30 ft: 5.3% of the water
  • 30–33 ft: 6% of the water
  • 33–36 ft: 10% of the water
  • 36–39 ft: 11.8% of the water
  • 39–42 ft: 4.1% of the water
  • 42–43 ft: 1.6% of the water

What is hard here

Wind is the limit, not the fish: 5,341 acres of open water build a short steep chop, and there is no shelter in the middle.

Where this data comes from

  • Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks — Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks: depth contours: class A, a survey of the bottom.
  • Webster, K.E., McCullough, I.M., Soranno, P.A. LAGOS-US DEPTH v1.0, EDI, doi:10.6073/pasta/64ddc4d04661d9aef4bd702dc5d8984f (CC BY 4.0); Cheruvelil et al. LAGOS-US LOCUS v1.0 (EDI) — LAGOS-US DEPTH v1.0: Lake depth for 17,675 lakes in the conterminous U.S.: class B, a depth figure measured and published by an agency, without a bottom map.