Fishing at Hemler Reservoir, Crook County, Wyoming

• Overview

  Hemler Reservoir is one of the Crook County waters in Wyoming. Elevation runs to 5,128 feet. It is pond-in-a-field scale, with the far bank a short lob away. It is a small entry by Crook County standards. Start from Sundance, 8.3 miles down the road. North Spearfish is 23 miles and Spearfish 25 miles. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on Hemler Reservoir

  Depth is unmeasured here, so let the shoreline guide you. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Survey and observation records for Crook County include brown trout, common carp, white sucker, brook trout and walleye. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. Read Hemler Reservoir for ten minutes before the first cast goes out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Temperature averages peak at 66°F in July and bottom out at 22°F in January. Expect a real winter and a strong spring after it. After early April the shallows warm and the fish move up. Averages suggest open water from about early April through to roughly late November. The first weeks of open water and the last are the ones to plan for. That is the shape of the year on Hemler Reservoir.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is not recorded for this water. Public mapping marks it as seasonal water rather than permanent. Public data shows nothing built here, so treat the whole approach as informal. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. A landowner's word beats anything printed elsewhere. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. Should this one be busy, Cook Lake is 5 miles off. Check the current arrangement for Hemler Reservoir.