Cross Lake, Wyoming: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  Wyoming holds Cross Lake, in Sublette County. Height above sea level is 10,085 feet. Roughly 80 acres: a morning covers one end, an afternoon the other. The edge runs 1.5 miles or so, easy to work in an afternoon. It ranks high for size among our Sublette County listings. Pinedale lies 24 miles from the water. Salt Lake City sits 193 miles out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. Rules here are straightforward: one county, one set of rules.

• Where to Fish on Cross Lake

  Depth is unknown to us, and the shoreline is the better guide. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Survey and observation records for Sublette County include brook trout, rainbow trout, brown trout, lake trout and white sucker. It is the county picture; the agency list is water-specific. The shape of Cross Lake decides where the fish sit.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Typical July readings run about 51°F; by January the average is down near 13°F. Winter closes the water for a while, and the reopening is worth catching. Count on hard cover from midwinter, and open water from early June. Average temperatures cross freezing around early June in spring and again near early November in autumn. The open run goes from the thaw to the freeze, and April through October covers most of it. The season on Cross Lake follows the weather closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  We hold no note on access for this one. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. No slipway, car park or made path shows up nearby in mapping, so treat access as rough. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Ask in the nearest town if you are unsure. Some water is controlled locally without a sign saying so. Warbonnet Lake, 1.1 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Confirm before you fish Cross Lake.