Raft Lake in Wayne County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Raft Lake lies within the bounds of Wayne County, Utah. Height above sea level is 11,073 feet. This is a pocket water of some 16 acres, and every part of it is reachable from the bank. Few waters listed in Wayne County are bigger. You are 47 miles from Monroe. Richfield follows at 53 miles, then Panguitch at 56 miles. No county line comes close, which keeps the paperwork simple.

• Where to Fish on Raft Lake

  There is no published depth for this one, so start shallow and work out. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Survey and observation records for Wayne County include Arctic grayling, bluehead sucker, flannelmouth sucker and brook trout. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. Raft Lake repays a walk before the first cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July runs about 54°F on average, January about 17°F. A hard winter is normal, and the thaw brings a strong few weeks. Break-up comes around late May, and the run that follows is short and strong. Break-up near late May, freeze-up near mid November: that is the shape of an average year. The shoulder weeks of the open season are the productive ones. The season on Raft Lake rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. The map shows no ramp or car park nearby, so this is a walk-in water. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. Bank access can be seasonal on ground like this. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. Failing this one, try Dead Horse Lake, 0.4 miles away. None of that is settled for Raft Lake in what we hold.