Fishing Report For Jackson Lake, WY

Current Report: Good To Very Good

Year round, fishing for lake trout in Jackson Lake is often quite good, and the fish are plentiful. These large Mackinaw trout can be caught year round. It is a monumental help to use fish finders, or other electronics to help locate these roaming schools. They feed on small fish, crayfish and crustaceans, so jigs rigged to imitate their prey often work well straight down under the boat. Trolling with numerous set-ups can also produce good catches. When the lake freezes over, ice fishing for big lake trout with spoons can deliver some great catches.

WINTER. Ice fishing for lakers was good last year with quite a few monster lake trout caught. Lakers weighing 10 to 15 pounds are already being caught, and the rest of the winter should be just as good as last year. Favoring water temperatures in the 40's, lake trout are now finding areas to their liking in 30 to 80 feet of water, often suspending 20 to 30 feet above deep structure. They will typically stay at these depths throughout the cold months. Sharp drop offs into even deeper are hot spots for lake trout. Learning these areas before the lake ices over, can help you identify the better areas for ice fishing. Patient anglers willing to work slowly with spoons, jigs and bait can catch some nice lake trout through the ice.

SPRING. After ice out, trolling with leaded line or downriggers, or vertical jigging with spoons and jigs, completes the cold-water season. Spring weather finds lake trout, along with their food supply, in 10 to 30 feet of water. Because they are shallow, Spring is an ideal time to catch big lakers. Inlets and in-flows of fresh water draw lakers to feed. They are caught in areas of the lake which have deep water, next to shallower, feeding spots. Shallow trolling, or fishing from the bank, is often good during Spring. Jigs and spoons catch the majority of these big lakers. Slow trolling with leaded line or downriggers allows small crankbaits and spinners to be worked in deeper water, which also produces some nice fish. Later in Spring they typically drop into deeper water, around 40 to 50 feet deep.

SUMMER. Summer heat drives lake trout to hold around the thermocline, generally in 60 to 100 feet deep. Early and late in the day, lakers may feed slightly shallower. Generally, they prefer to stay around the thermocline, throughout Summer. They look for depth variations like ditches, channels, humps, points and ledges in the main basin, but are often caught in the deeper water around this structure. Heavy spoons and jigs, as well as very slow trolling, with leaded line or downriggers, produce many of the lakers being caught during Summer. In late summer concentrate on channel edges, troughs, and main lake humps.

FALL. Lake trout will be returning to relatively shallow water, as Fall weather cools the shallows first. They spawn in the Fall, and for a few weeks can typically be found 10 to 40 feet deep on gravelly points, flats and humps that have a rocky bottom. To protect the lakers spawn, Jackson Lake fishing is closed October 1–31 for all species. Lake trout feed on small fish, so lures imitating baitfish, sunfish, perch or small trout are good choices. Cloudy days, early mornings and early evenings are the best time to catch big lakers. Later in Fall they return to 40 to 60 feet deep, or deeper. Spoons, jigged vertically within the target depth can entice bites along depth changes. Trolling at a quick pace with spoons, brightly-colored jerkbaits, and spinners, with a variety of rigging methods to get these lures to run deep. For big lakers, use larger baits.

Current Report: Good To Very Good

These hearty fighters migrate around the lake in search of food and comfortable water temperatures, preferably in the 50 to 62 degree range. Nightcrawlers are always a good bait for brown trout. In-line spinners, bait-colored crankbaits and small spoons are other options. Brown trout can be very aggressive, and put up a good battle. These browns are more aggressive than cutthroat, and will attack larger lures - especially jerkbaits.

WINTER. Winter has set in, and anglers have been catching a few browns prior to the lake freezing over. Currently, fishing for brown trout in Jackson Lake is delivering a few nice catches, but ice fishing for browns is not as good as other times of the year. Jigging spoons and jigs tipped with bait are catching most limits of brown trout, in 40 to 100 feet of water. Ice fishing is quite popular here, using the same baits. Popular areas include channel edges around long points in the middle of the south basin, and on shelves around the islands. Slower presentations improve catch rates as these trout have a low metabolism in the colder months.

SPRING. After ice out, trolling, drift fishing and jigging spoons all work well. As water begins to warm in early Spring, brown trout move from their deep winter holding areas to shallower, warmer water. They are found early in the season around 15 to 30 feet deep. Annually, after ice-out, weekend anglers are catching brown trout on spinners, small jerkbaits, nightcrawlers and a variety of other prepared offerings. They congregate around inlets, shallow flats and rip rap near Leeks Marina, Spalding Bay, Colter Bay and the southern end of Elk Island. Some of the most productive fishing happens from mid morning to late afternoon, on mid-depth humps. Later in Spring, browns prefer water 20 to 35 feet deep.

SUMMER. Once Summer is here to stay, the warmer water drives brown trout deeper, 30 to 60 feet deep, and deeper. Early in the morning and at dusk, they are being caught shallower during these low-light conditions, usually on windy points in 15 to 25 feet of water. Trolling around river channel ledges and structure, using downriggers or leaded line, or drift fishing with bait, are typically the most productive methods. Anglers fishing from the bank are using fairly heavy weights, on a Carolina rig to get baits into deeper water.

FALL. Cooling water temperatures again draw browns shallower. They tend to spawn shallow in October or November, in tributaries flowing into the lake. The Snake River inflow area is a popular spawning ground. Some of the best catches of the year are reported during this time frame. Jerkbaits, miniature crankbaits, swimbaits and spinners are all popular. Before and after the spawn, successful anglers catch them early in the season 15 to 30 feet deep on points, rocky structure, humps, and mouths of bays where baitfish are gathering. Early in the morning and at dusk, they are being caught even shallower. Once they have had a full summer to grow, it's a good time to catch a trophy. Jackson Lake fishing is closed October 1–31 for all species. When they move out to structure in deep water, spoons, jigs and bait are catching browns.

Current Report: Fair To Good

This year, fishing for cutthroat trout in Jackson Lake is again delivering great results, year round. While the ideal setting for cutthroats is in a river or stream, they are also stocked in reservoirs, like Jackson Lake. For those who enjoy fly fishing, the key is to match the hatch. Like all fish, cutthroat like to have some sort of cover. They will hang out in boulders, fallen trees, along drop-offs and ledges. Catching cutthroat trout here with lures or bait is also productive. Presented properly, cutthroat trout can be caught on small spinners and spoons. Fly fishing is not covered in this website, but cutthroat trout are being caught on plenty of other lures and bait. The diet of these cutthroat trout consists of insects, small fishes and crustaceans.

WINTER. Now that Winter has set in, and parts of the lake are freezing over, ice fishing is quite good for lake trout. Most anglers pass on ice fishing for browns. For those who pursue browns under the ice, early risers are having the best success just after sunrise. Jigging spoons and jigs tipped with bait are catching a few cutthroat, out of 10 to 30 feet of water. Occasionally these cutthroats will drop to around 35 feet deep, or deeper.

SPRING. As water begins to warm in early Spring, cutthroat trout move from their winter holding areas into shallow, warmer water - 10 to 25 feet deep. They seek out incoming water from rivers, streams and snow-melt runoff. Generally, cutthroats will be drawn to these areas to spawn in clear, shallow water. Most cutthroat will be caught early in the morning or late afternoon. The spawn usually occurs in April or May. Popular areas in Spring include Spalding Bay, Colter Bay, and the area around Leeks Marina. A wide variety of small spinners and spoons typically catch most of the fish. Later in Spring, these trout are caught 20 to 30 feet deep.

SUMMER. Once Summer is here to stay, the warmer water drives cutthroat deeper, 15 to 35 feet deep. They seek out deep holes near shallow-water feeding areas. Fishing is best from dusk, throughout the night, and early in the morning, in 10 to 20 feet of water. Popular areas include flats, points and small bays in Spalding Bay, Colter Bay and Bearpaw Bay. Trolling, using downriggers or leaded line, and drift fishing with bait, produce the majority of bites.

FALL. Cooling water temperatures again draw rainbow trout shallower. Anglers are catching them 10 to 30 feet deep on points, ledges, rocky structure, humps, and anywhere baitfish are gathering. Now that they had a full summer to grow, there are some bragging size cutthroat catches fairly often. Small spinners, spoons, miniature crankbaits and swimbaits are catching cutthroat, as are salmon eggs and prepared baits. Jackson Lake fishing is closed October 1–31 for all species.