Fishing Lilly Lake in Wasatch County, Utah

• Overview

  Set in Wasatch County, Lilly Lake is a Utah water. The surface lies 9,925 feet up. At 6 acres it is the sort of place you fish for an evening rather than a day. Start from Kamas, 18 miles down the road. Then Francis, 19 miles, and Oakley, 19 miles. Water in the same corner: Lost Lake Number Two 0.3 miles off, Diamond Lake a touch under 0.4 miles, Lost Lake 0.4 miles off, Star Lake a touch under 0.8 miles and Trial Lake 0.9 miles off. No county line comes close, which keeps the paperwork simple.

• Where to Fish on Lilly Lake

  Depth is not on record here, which means reading the ground instead. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. Wasatch County records list brown trout, rainbow trout, brook trout, black-spotted cutthroat trout and Utah sucker among the fish reported. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. Lilly Lake repays a walk before the first cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July runs about 55°F on average, December about 19°F. A hard winter is normal, and the thaw brings a strong few weeks. Expect a solid lid for months and a thaw around late May. Ice usually gives way near late May, and forms again about mid November. June through September is the settled part of the year, with the shoulders busier for fish. Lilly Lake runs to its own calendar within the local pattern.

• Tackle & Baits

  We hold no note on access for this one. There is somewhere to leave the car, half a mile off. Overnight stays are possible about 160 yards out, where camping is mapped. Public toilets are recorded roughly half a mile off. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. A phone call first saves an afternoon. Fishing rules and camping rules are set separately here. For a change of water, Lost Lake Number Two is 0.3 miles distant. Where Lilly Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.