Cliff Lake in Sublette County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  You will find Cliff Lake in Sublette County, Wyoming. Elevation runs to 10,528 feet. Small at around 6 acres: two anglers spread out cover most of it. It is one of the smaller waters we list in Sublette County. 17 miles away sits Pinedale, the nearest town. Salt Lake City sits 194 miles out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. No boundary runs near, so the county rules hold throughout.

• Where to Fish on Cliff Lake

  There is no recorded depth, so work from what you can see. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Open biodiversity records for Sublette County list brook trout, rainbow trout, brown trout, lake trout and white sucker. The county list is broader than any single water. At Cliff Lake the water rewards a slow, careful approach.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warmest month averages 49°F, the coldest about 15°F. A full turn of seasons, with the strongest sport on either side of summer. After early June the shallows warm and the fish move up. Ice usually gives way near early June, and forms again about early November. The middle of summer slows a little, with dawn and dusk carrying it. Cliff Lake runs to that rhythm year in and year out.

• Tackle & Baits

  The access position is unclear from public sources. Mapping is blank for access, so scout the approach before committing the car. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Gates get locked out of season on water like this. Access can change hands, so last year's answer may not hold. Should this one be busy, Lost Camp Lake is 0.9 miles off. Nothing here settles the position at Cliff Lake for certain.