Placid Lake fishing: Largemouth Bass, Rainbow Trout, Cutthroat Trout

Target species: Largemouth Bass, Rainbow Trout, Cutthroat Trout, Pumpkinseed, Arctic Grayling

The lake

Placid Lake covers 1,240 acres in Montana, across Missoula County. It is a lake: 96.8% of it is 90 feet deep or less; the deepest point measured is at least 93 feet (28.3 m). Our records hold 7 species for this water.

Placid Lake (38741575822).jpg
Forest Service - Northern Region · Public domain

Depth and bottom

Deepest measured point: at least 93 ft (28.3 m). That is the deepest contour line: the bottom goes deeper. 96.8% of the water is 90 feet or shallower. We hold 37 depth contour lines for this water.

Hand Made Cedar Canoe, Placid Lake, Montana - panoramio.jpg
zak11527 · CC BY-SA 3.0
  • 0–5 ft: 6.3% of the water
  • 5–10 ft: 5% of the water
  • 10–15 ft: 4.5% of the water
  • 15–20 ft: 4% of the water
  • 20–25 ft: 4% of the water
  • 25–30 ft: 4.2% of the water
  • 30–35 ft: 4.7% of the water
  • 35–40 ft: 5.8% of the water
  • 40–45 ft: 4.6% of the water
  • 45–50 ft: 4.3% of the water
  • 50–55 ft: 4.2% of the water
  • 55–60 ft: 4.3% of the water
  • 60–65 ft: 4.7% of the water
  • 65–70 ft: 5.5% of the water
  • 70–75 ft: 6.7% of the water
  • 75–80 ft: 7.4% of the water
  • 80–85 ft: 9.4% of the water
  • 85–90 ft: 7.2% of the water
  • 90–93 ft: 3.5% of the water

5 target fish, led by Largemouth Bass

  • Largemouth Bass — Feeding water: 65–85°F.
  • Rainbow Trout — Feeding water: 50–65°F.
  • Cutthroat Trout — Feeding water: 50–65°F.
  • Pumpkinseed — Feeding water: 65–80°F.
  • Arctic Grayling — Feeding water: 50–65°F.

Also recorded here: Brook Trout, Yellow Perch.

Placid Lake.jpg
Henry Mulligan · CC BY-SA 4.0

Stocking: 5,859,455 fish, 1994–2025

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks records list 5,859,455 fish released into this water from 1994 to 2025.

  • Cutthroat Trout: 1,538,527 in 1937–1957
  • Rainbow Trout: 988,536 in 1964–1997
  • Arctic Grayling: 72,000 in 1938–1942
  • Largemouth Bass: 30,000 in 1928

3 more species on the stocking list.

Water and conditions

Our water temperature readings average 63°F; they do not cover the whole year, so this is not a yearly average. These readings span 2017–2019. The latest reading is from 2019, more than three years ago: read these numbers as history, not as the water today.

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.