Brewster Lake in Teton County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Look for Brewster Lake in the Teton County part of Wyoming. What surrounds it is mixed forest. The water covers some 58 acres, so pick a bank rather than trying to cover it all. The bank runs about 1.2 miles all the way round, so one visit can cover most of it. You are 25 miles from Jackson. South Park lies 26 miles off, Hoback another 26 miles. The nearest edge is a long way off, so local rules apply throughout.

• Where to Fish on Brewster Lake

  There is no published depth for this one, so start shallow and work out. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. County-wide records name mountain whitefish, lake trout, Utah sucker, brown trout and brook trout. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. Fish Brewster Lake where the bottom changes rather than where it looks deep.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Between December at about 14°F and July at about 49°F, the water has a wide range to work through. The year runs cold to warm and back, with clear transitions. Count on hard cover from midwinter, and open water from early June. On average, early June opens the water and early November closes it again. Just after the ice goes and just before it returns, the fishing lifts. That is the shape of the year on Brewster Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public sources are silent on who controls the bank. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. There is no mapped parking or launch nearby, which keeps numbers down. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. Close seasons apply to some species and not others. Should this one be busy, Lunch Lake is 2.4 miles off. None of that is settled for Brewster Lake in what we hold.