Ice Fishing on Browns Lake, Montana

February 19, 2026

As we drove along the Blackfoot River in the early morning, with a few inches of fresh snow on the ground, I wasn’t sure what the day would bring. I had never been ice fishing before and was hosting two fishing journalists eager to land fish in the dead of winter. It’s been unusually warm this winter in Montana, so the 10 degree morning was a welcoming surprise. We turned onto the dirt road covered in snow, and the guide’s advice on having a vehicle with a high clearance was right. The ruts in the road were frozen solid, and I drove quickly up the road toward the lake. The sun had just come up, and as we neared the lake the snow glimmered like small shiny diamonds.

I felt nervous walking out to the ice hut in the middle of the lake, like I shouldn’t be there. It also felt spiritual suspended above the water in this untouched snowy frozen landscape. The Bob Marshall Mountains were perfectly white in the distance, and I stood in amazement for a while.

We started in the hut, warm and green, thanks to the reflection of the lake bottom. Our guide Matt had a camera showing us potential fish below the ice. We jigged small green tube baits and sat in peace. Because it was sunny, we moved outside, and Sage hooked the first trout of the day, a massive rainbow trout that had to be four pounds and 20 inches long. We hooted and hollered. It felt surreal to have a fish appear out of the ice in such a small space.

I struggled to sit still and jig in my hole, but eventually it made me feel calm and happy.