Best kokanee lakes in Wyoming
11 Wyoming waters list kokanee (official records or labelled estimates), 1 mapped with survey or official-chart depth data. Ranked below by size and depth-data quality, leading with the waters in our reviewed search catalog — open any water to see exactly where to fish it: depth contours, scored spots with plain-English reasons, seasonal windows and bait picks. Landlocked sockeye. A plankton-eating school fish glued to its preferred temperature band — find the school, catch a limit.
- Flaming Gorge Reservoir — 436 ft max · Smallmouth Bass, Channel Catfish, Rainbow Trout, Common CarpWhy #1: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · 5 public access sites
- Palisades Reservoir — 235 ft max · real survey depth contours · Rainbow Trout, Lake Trout, Brown Trout, KokaneeWhy #2: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 3 public access sites
- Fremont Lake — 608 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Lake Trout, Brown Trout, Brook TroutWhy #3: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · 1 public access site
- Desmet Lake — 120 ft max · Walleye, Rainbow Trout, Yellow Perch, Lake TroutWhy #4: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · 4 public access sites
- Willow Lake — 279 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Lake Trout, Brook Trout, KokaneeWhy #5: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · 1 public access site
- Lake Hattie — 74 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Yellow Perch, Brown Trout, KokaneeWhy #6: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · 1 public access site
- Boulder Lake — 249 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Lake Trout, Brown Trout, Brook TroutWhy #7: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · 1 public access site
- New Fork Lake, Upper — 203 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Lake Trout, Brook Trout, KokaneeWhy #8: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · 1 public access site
…plus 3 more Wyoming waters holding kokanee.
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How to use this ranking
The order is a map-planning ranking, not a claim about today's fish population. It favors larger mapped waters and gives survey-backed contours a three-times data-quality boost. Agency population surveys, current regulations, access and recent conditions should make the final decision.
Compare maximum depth across 37,233 lake records · See Wyoming waters with public access data
When to fish kokanee in Wyoming
- Spring 10–30 ft — Schools roam the upper column over open water while it's cool — short leaders, slow trolls.
- Summer 30–70 ft — Kokanee compress into the 50-55°F band at the thermocline over the deepest basins — precise depth is everything.
- Fall 5–40 ft — Spawners turn crimson and gang up off tributary mouths and gravel shorelines; remaining fish scatter with turnover.
- Winter 20–80 ft — Deep suspended schools — an electronics game through the ice.
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Kokanee elsewhere: British Columbia · Montana · Washington · California · Utah · Colorado · New Mexico · Idaho