Rainbow Lake Fishing near Pinedale, Wyoming

• Overview

  Out in Sublette County, Wyoming, sits Rainbow Lake. It sits at 10,207 feet above sea level. At 9 acres it is the sort of place you fish for an evening rather than a day. On size it sits at the modest end of our Sublette County list. Supplies mean a trip to Pinedale, 17 miles off. After that come Marbleton at 41 miles and Hoback at 48 miles. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Rainbow Lake

  Depth figures are not published for this one. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. Reported across Sublette County: brook trout, rainbow trout, brown trout, lake trout and white sucker. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. On Rainbow Lake that means starting tight and working out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Average temperature peaks around 52°F in July and bottoms out near 16°F in December. Four clear seasons, with a proper winter at one end. Count the season from break-up, usually late May. Average temperatures cross freezing around late May in spring and again near early November in autumn. From the thaw to midsummer the fishing improves week by week. Rainbow Lake fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. There is no recorded infrastructure here; expect to find your own way in. Light line and small metal for the trout; a fly rod earns its place on calm evenings. Rules for this water may differ from the county norm. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. Cliff Lake sits 1.4 miles off and takes the overflow. Treat Rainbow Lake as unsettled until someone local tells you otherwise.