Fishing Panguitch Lake in Garfield County, Utah

• Overview

  Panguitch Lake lies in Garfield County, Utah. The land about it is rolling bush. This is sizeable water at about 1,052 acres, and a boat opens up most of it. At about 6.0 miles of edge, most people work one arm at a time. It is the biggest water on our Garfield County list. Parowan lies 13 miles from the water. Sunrise Manor sits 170 miles out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. There is no boundary nearby to worry about.

• Where to Fish on Panguitch Lake

  There is no published depth for this one, so start shallow and work out. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. County-wide records name brown trout, rainbow trout, brook trout, Arctic grayling and black-spotted cutthroat trout. County records show what lives in the area; the local agency holds the water-by-water list. Treat Panguitch Lake as a water to read rather than to cover.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warmest month averages 61°F, the coldest about 23°F. The year runs cold to warm and back, with clear transitions. Ice-out usually falls in mid April, and the weeks after it fish hardest. The lid tends to go about mid April and return around late November. The strong weeks are the first after break-up and the last before the freeze. Anyone fishing Panguitch Lake regularly works to that calendar.

• Tackle & Baits

  No public source sets out the position on this bank. A boat ramp sits half a mile away, so trailered boats can get on. The nearest mapped parking is half a mile away, so the last stretch is on foot. Mapping shows a campsite some half a mile from the water. There are picnic tables half a mile away. State or provincial rules still apply whatever the bank status. Rules for boats are stricter than rules for the bank in many places. Should this one be busy, Yankee Meadows Reservoir is 7.6 miles off. Check the current arrangement for Panguitch Lake.