Where to Fish Harkness Lakes

Harkness Lakes


The Harkness Lakes are located in the Big Sheep Creek Drainage in the Beaverhead Mountains. The Harkness Lakes consist of Upper Harkness Lake, Middle Harkness Lake, and Lower Harkness Lake.

Size: 6.0547 acres
Elevation: 8180.32 ft
Directions: From I-15, take Big Sheep Creek Road to Forest Route 657. From Forest Route 657, turn right onto USFS Rd. 8274. Follow the road to the lakes.
Status of the Fishery: Middle and Lower Harkness Lakes was sampled in 2012 and found Westslope Cutthroat trout in various sizes. The trout averaged 10.5 inches with a few reaching 15 inches.
Township/Range/Section: 16S 11W 4
Latitude/Longitude: 44.47052 -112.94876
FWP Region: Region 3 
County: Beaverhead
Fishing District: Central
Owner: Forest Service
Type: MTNLAKE
Notes: There are multiple pot hole type lakes associated with the Harkness Lakes, none of them have enough depth to overwinter fish except for the bottom lake (Lower Harkness Lake) and the top lake .Upper Harkness Lake). However Upper Harkness Lake is inaccessible because it is entirely located on private property. Lower Harkness Lake is stocked with WCT and it has a good inlet which provides natural reproduction as well. Fisherman should expect to catch Westslope Cutthroat of all age classes. WCT sampled ranged in size from 6.5 inches to 14 inches long.
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Waterbody Section Field Form Type Date Purpose Species
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For Comparative analysis all Length Units are millimeters : all Weights are grams

Species Count Avg StdDev Min Max AvgWgt StdDevWgt MinWeight S/L Sects Surveys Waterbody
To see this data, first select one or more rows from the Collection Info tab.
For Comparative analysis all Length Units are millimeters : all Weights are grams

Waterbody Section Species Count AveLength StdDevLength MinLength MaxLength AveWeight StdDevWeight MinWeight MaxWeight
To see this data, first select one or more rows from the Collection Info tab.
For Comparative analysis all Length Units are millimeters : all Weights are grams

Waterbody Year Section Species Count AveLength StdDevLength MinLength MaxLength AveWeight StdDevWeight MinWeight MaxWeight
To see this data, first select one or more rows from the Collection Info tab.
This is a preview, all fields will be visible by selecting a download option. For Comparative analysis all Length Units are millimeters : all Weights are grams.

Year Species Abbrv Length Weight M/C Count Sex Mort Hook Scar Disease Scales Otolith Fin Clip Tag Comment Genetics Age Stomach Intercept Slope Gear Equipment Trip Date Pass/Run Water Section Lat/Down Lon/Down Lat/Up Lon/Up Agency Start Depth End Depth
Year Angler Days Std. Error
2015 433 433
View the latest Montana Fishing Regulations.