Fishing at Lake Nelson, Sublette County, Wyoming

• Overview

  Lake Nelson is one of the Sublette County listings for Wyoming. This is pine and birch ground. This is a pocket water of some 17 acres, and every part of it is reachable from the bank. It is high ground by Wyoming standards. Pinedale at 17 miles is the nearest place to stop. The big place round here is Salt Lake City, 196 miles distant. No county line comes close, which keeps the paperwork simple.

• Where to Fish on Lake Nelson

  We hold no survey for this water; read the slope of the shoreline instead. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. Reported across Sublette County: brook trout, rainbow trout, brown trout and lake trout. It is the county picture; the agency list is water-specific. At Lake Nelson the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate records put July near 48°F and January near 13°F. The freeze arrives properly here and holds. The lid usually sets by midwinter and gives way around mid June. Open water usually runs from mid June until about late October. Reckon on open water from spring through to late autumn, with May and June the strongest. Lake Nelson runs to that rhythm year in and year out.

• Tackle & Baits

  We hold no note on access for this one. We find no slipway, car park or made path within a short radius, so treat access as rough. Light line and small metal for the trout; a fly rod earns its place on calm evenings. Check locally before you travel, because a wasted drive is a long one. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. The nearest alternative is Tommy Lake, 0.5 miles out. Nothing here settles the position at Lake Nelson for certain.