Fishing Report For Jenny Lake, WY

Current Report: Good To Very Good

Jenny Lake is designated as a "flies and lures only" fishery.

FALL. Cooling water temperatures drew cutthroat trout shallower, now they are moving deeper again. Anglers are catching them 14 to 20 feet deep on points, rocky structure, humps, and anywhere baitfish are gathering. The Cascade Creek inflow, and the South Jenny Lake shoreline around the visitor center are good choices. Now that they had a full summer to grow, there are some bragging size cutthroat being caught. Small spinners, spoons, miniature crankbaits and swimbaits are catching cutthroat.

WINTER. When Winter sets in, and the lake freezes over, ice fishing is not permitted here. Before and after ice, trout are caught in the main basin, in 15 to 40 feet of water. Early risers are having the best success just after sunrise. Jigging spoons and jigs are catching limits of cutthroat.

SPRING. As water begins to warm in early Spring, cutthroat trout move from their winter holding areas into shallow, warmer water - 2 to 12 feet deep. They seek our incoming water from 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. A wide variety of small spinners and spoons are catching most of the fish.

SUMMER. Once Summer is here to stay, the warmer water drives cutthroat deeper, 15 to 30 feet deep, and deeper. They seek out deep holes near shallow water feeding areas. Fishing is best from dusk, throughout the night, and early in the morning. Trolling, using downriggers or leaded line, and drift fishing with bait, are currently producing the better catches.

Current Report: Good

The Wyoming Game and Fish Dept is attempting to remove lake trout from Jenny Lake. There are still plenty here to catch, but there is a "catch and kill" restriction in place. Keep what you catch and enjoy some delicious fish dinners. Flashy spoons can be fished at any depth, either jigging, trolling or cast and retrieve.

FALL. Lake trout are returning to relatively shallow water, as Fall weather has cooled off the lake. They spawn in the Fall, and for a few weeks can typically be found 20 to 80 feet deep on points, flats and humps that have a rocky bottom. 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 60 to 100 feet deep, or deeper. Lakers feed around steep basin ledges, channel shoulders, and the deep edges of the central basin. Spoons, jigged vertically within the target depth can entice bites. Trolling 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.

WINTER. Favoring water temperatures in the 40's, lake trout find areas to their liking in 40 to 150 feet of water, and tend to stay there throughout the cold months. Learning these areas before the lake ices over can get you into some of the better area for ice fishing. Patient anglers willing to work slowly are catching some nice lake limits through the ice. After ice out, trolling with leaded line or downriggers, or vertical jigging with spoons and jigs, completes the cold-water season in 80 to 100 feet of water, or deeper.

SPRING. Prime laker fishing season is during Spring. Spring weather finds lake trout, along with baitfish, into 15 to 60 feet of water. Early Spring is a prime time to catch big lakers. Lakers are caught in areas of the lake which have deep water next to shallower, feeding spots. Jigs and heavy spoons are catching 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 30 to 100 feet of water.

SUMMER. Summer heat drives lake trout deeper, generally below the thermocline in 30 to 150 feet deep. Early and late in the day, lakers may feed shallow. Generally, lake trout prefer to stay deep, below the thermocline, throughout Summer. They look for depth variations like ditches, channels, humps and ledges, but are being 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.