Fishing at Little Elk Lake, Wasatch County, Utah

• Overview

  Utah holds Little Elk Lake, in Wasatch County. The country here is mixed forest. Surface area runs to about 11 acres — small enough to read in one session. Kamas lies 11 miles from the water. The nearest city of size is Provo, 43 miles away. It lies deep inside the county rather than near an edge. The country round the bank is quiet, with little traffic on the road in.

• Where to Fish on Little Elk Lake

  No depth figure has reached our records, which makes a plummet useful. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Reported across Wasatch County: brown trout, rainbow trout and brook trout. At least one recorded species is protected in parts of its range; read the local rules before targeting anything. At Little Elk Lake light and wind decide more than tackle does.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate records put July near 58°F and December near 20°F. The year splits cleanly: hard water, then open water. Firm cover through the cold months, then open water from early May. In an average year the thaw lands around early May and the freeze near mid November. From the thaw to midsummer the fishing improves week by week. It holds true on Little Elk Lake more years than not.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public data does not answer the access question here. There is somewhere to leave the car, half a mile off. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Check locally before you travel, because a wasted drive is a long one. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. Hourglass Lake, 0.4 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. None of that is settled for Little Elk Lake in what we hold.