Fishing at Beaver Lake, Summit County, Utah

• Overview

  Beaver Lake is one of the Summit County waters in Utah. Around the bank it is rolling bush. Small at around 11 acres: two anglers spread out cover most of it. 20 miles away sits Oakley, the nearest town. After that come Kamas at 22 miles and Francis at 23 miles. Nearest other option: Whitney Reservoir (0.8 miles), Bourbon Lake the better part of 3.7 miles, Round Lake (4 miles), Sand Lake the better part of 4.2 miles and Fish Lake (4.7 miles). It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Beaver Lake

  No depth figure has reached our records, which makes a plummet useful. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Species logged across Summit County include brown trout, rainbow trout, cutthroat trout, brook trout and Utah sucker. County records show the wider picture rather than this one place. The shape of Beaver Lake rewards a slow walk along one bank.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect July to average close to 57°F, with December the cold end at about 20°F. Winter shuts things down for a spell, then spring reopens them fast. The lid usually sets by midwinter and gives way around mid May. Break-up near mid May, freeze-up near mid November: that is the shape of an average year. The strongest runs come at either end of the open season. It holds true on Beaver Lake more years than not.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. You can camp about half a mile away, going by the mapping. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. Parking space is the usual limit rather than the bank itself. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. Whitney Reservoir, 0.8 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Treat access at Beaver Lake as something to verify.