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

• Overview

  In Wyoming, Hidden Lake falls inside Teton County. The water sits 7,244 feet up. Surface area runs to about 17 acres — small enough to read in one session. The town to know is Driggs, 21 miles out. For a city, Billings is 171 miles off. Within a short drive: Moose Lake 6.2 miles off, Bergman Reservoir out at 6.2 miles, Indian Lake 6.8 miles off, Camp Lake out at 6.9 miles and McRenolds Reservoir 7 miles off. The nearest boundary is a fair way off.

• Where to Fish on Hidden Lake

  Nothing we hold settles how deep this runs. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Across Teton County, recorded fish include mountain whitefish, lake trout, Utah sucker, brown trout and brook trout. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. Anyone new to Hidden Lake should walk it once before setting up.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Average temperature peaks around 58°F in July and bottoms out near 17°F in December. The freeze arrives properly here and holds. Ice-out usually falls in early May, and the weeks after it fish hardest. Average temperatures cross freezing around early May in spring and again near mid November in autumn. Look to early summer and the first cool weeks of autumn. Hidden Lake fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. Nothing is listed nearby for parking or launching a boat. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. For a change of water, Moose Lake is 6.2 miles distant. Where Hidden Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.