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

• Overview

  The Sublette County end of Wyoming holds Noel Lake. Around the bank it is lake country bush. Roughly 56 acres: a morning covers one end, an afternoon the other. The bank runs about 1.1 miles all the way round, so one visit can cover most of it. By elevation it is in the upper part of our Wyoming listings. Head to Pinedale, 26 miles away, for anything you forgot. For a city, Billings is 187 miles off. There is no boundary nearby to worry about.

• Where to Fish on Noel Lake

  Depth is unmeasured here, so let the shoreline guide you. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Records held for Sublette County cover brook trout, rainbow trout, brown trout and lake trout. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. Fish Noel Lake to its features, not to its size.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The year swings from about 14°F in February to roughly 44°F in July. Hard water is a season in its own right here. Ice-out usually falls in late June, and the weeks after it fish hardest. On the long-run averages the water opens up around late June and starts locking again about mid October. Early summer and early autumn carry the open-water season. Noel Lake runs to that rhythm year in and year out.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. Access points are not mapped for this water, which suits people who like quiet. 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. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. The nearest alternative is Don Lake, 2.8 miles out. Ask locally about Noel Lake if anything is unclear.