Fishing Rainbow Lake in Johnson County, Wyoming

• Overview

  Within Johnson County, Wyoming, you have Rainbow Lake. The country round it is mixed forest from end to end. It covers about 14 acres, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. Compared with other Wyoming water on our list, it sits high. Buffalo at 27 miles is the nearest place to stop. Then Sheridan, 29 miles, and Basin, 40 miles. No county line comes close, which keeps the paperwork simple.

• Where to Fish on Rainbow Lake

  Our records carry no depth, so judge it from the bank. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Records held for Johnson County cover brown trout, rainbow trout, brook trout and white sucker. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. Rainbow Lake gives up more to patience than to distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The year swings from about 13°F in January to roughly 49°F in July. Winter shuts things down for a spell, then spring reopens them fast. The freeze runs deep into the year, with break-up near mid June. Open water usually runs from mid June until about late October. Early summer and early autumn carry the open-water season. Rainbow Lake fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public data does not answer the access question here. Access points are not mapped for this water, which suits people who like quiet. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Take the rules with you rather than trusting memory. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. The nearest alternative is Lake Eunice, 0.6 miles out. None of that is settled for Rainbow Lake in what we hold.