Silver Lake in Carbon County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Silver Lake belongs to Carbon County, Wyoming. The bank is 10,344 feet above sea level. Surface area runs to about 15 acres — small enough to read in one session. Saratoga sits 25 miles from here and is the nearest stop. Beyond it, Laramie at 40 miles and Rawlins at 56 miles. Rules here are straightforward: one county, one set of rules.

• Where to Fish on Silver Lake

  No chart reached our records; the first cast is your sounding. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Records held for Carbon County cover brown trout, brook trout, rainbow trout, white sucker and walleye. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. On Silver Lake that means starting tight and working out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages move between 18°F in January and 53°F in July. Fishing here follows the temperature more than the calendar. After late May the shallows warm and the fish move up. Ice clears near late May and comes back about early November in a typical year. Look to early summer and the first cool weeks of autumn. Plan any trip to Silver Lake around it.

• Tackle & Baits

  No public source sets out the position on this bank. Public data has parking about half a mile from the shore. Overnight stays are possible half a mile away. Facilities run to toilets half a mile from the water. Sort the permit out before you load the car. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. If the gate is shut, Sucker Lakes Reservoir at 1.6 miles is the nearest alternative. Treat Silver Lake as unsettled until someone local tells you otherwise.