Still Waters, July 20th, 2021

Aldous Lake

Aldous Lake is known mostly to area anglers, and it has enough advantages to be considered for a visit. A mile and a quarter walk up a well maintained trail to reach it keeps out many visitors. Cutthroat trout ranging to trophy size are it’s only salmonid inhabitants, and it is in a scenic setting. Submerged springs keep its water temperature at ideal levels for trout activity. Its only disadvantage is that its shoreline is almost totally timbered (excepting a small portion on its west side). Nevertheless for the fly fisher willing to pack a flotation device from which to fish, the reward for the next several weeks will be gulper activity as speckled dun mayflies emerge during morning and mid-day hours. Action on this rather small lake may not be as dramatic as that on encountering Hebgen Lake’s Madison Arm gulpers, but it certainly is more tranquil. Aldous Lake sits on a bench on the Idaho side of the Continental Divide. From Kilgore, Idaho head west briefly on Antelope Valley Road to East Camas Road. Follow it north to Cottonwood Creek Road, and from it take USFS Road 027 to the Aldous Lake Trailhead.