Fishing at Virgin Lake, Fremont County, Wyoming

• Overview

  In Wyoming, Virgin Lake falls inside Fremont County. The land about it is mixed forest. This is a pocket water of some 2 acres, and every part of it is reachable from the bank. Our Fremont County list holds plenty of bigger water. Nearest town is Jackson, 57 miles off. Billings is the closest city, 154 miles away. No border sits close enough to matter.

• Where to Fish on Virgin Lake

  No figure exists for depth, so let the water show you. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Across Fremont County, recorded fish include brown trout, rainbow trout, white sucker, brook trout and common carp. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. Fish Virgin Lake where the bottom changes rather than where it looks deep.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July runs about 50°F on average, December about 19°F. Winter shuts the surface down for months. The lid arrives early and lasts until roughly late May. In an average year the thaw lands around late May and the freeze near mid November. The weeks after the thaw and the ones before the freeze are the strongest. It sets the rhythm of the year at Virgin Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. There is no mapped parking or launch close by, which usually means walking in. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Gates get locked out of season on water like this. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. The nearest alternative is Rainbow Lake, 0.2 miles out. Nothing here settles the position at Virgin Lake for certain.