Fishing Spectacle Lake in Garfield County, Utah

• Overview

  Garfield County, Utah, is where Spectacle Lake sits. This is lake country bush ground. It runs to roughly 44 acres — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. Few waters listed in Garfield County are bigger. The closest town, Monroe, is 50 miles away. Provo is the closest city, 149 miles away. The nearest boundary is well away, so one set of rules covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Spectacle Lake

  There is no published depth for this one, so start shallow and work out. Levels move with the draw rather than the rain on water like this. Draw-down through summer strips the margins, so follow the water out. 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. At Spectacle Lake the water rewards a slow, careful approach.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate normals give 55°F for July and 20°F for January. Cold locks it up for a good stretch each year. The lid usually goes in mid May, which opens the strongest weeks of the year. Averages place the thaw at mid May and the freeze at mid November. The middle of summer slows a little, with dawn and dusk carrying it. That is the shape of the year on Spectacle Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. We find no slipway, car park or made path within a short radius, so treat access as rough. Light line and small metal for the trout; a fly rod earns its place on calm evenings. Where a permit is needed, the nearest town usually sells it. Access can change hands, so last year's answer may not hold. The nearest alternative is Rim Lake, 0.6 miles out. Where Spectacle Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.