Jackson Lake fishing: Lake Trout, Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout
Target species: Lake Trout, Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout, Brook Trout
Boat: 2 ramps and launches on file for this water.
Start here: Launch at Colter Bay Marina.
The lake
Jackson Lake covers 26,981 acres in Wyoming, across Teton County. It is a lake: 93.1% of it is 425 feet deep or less; the deepest point measured is at least 430 feet (131.1 m). Our records hold 5 species for this water.
Depth and bottom
Deepest measured point: at least 430 ft (131.1 m). That is the deepest contour line: the bottom goes deeper. 93.1% of the water is 425 feet or shallower. We hold 52 depth contour lines for this water.
- 0–25 ft: 22.7% of the water
- 25–50 ft: 19.1% of the water
- 50–75 ft: 9.9% of the water
- 75–100 ft: 12.7% of the water
- 100–125 ft: 6% of the water
- 125–150 ft: 4.2% of the water
- 150–175 ft: 1.8% of the water
- 175–200 ft: 1.5% of the water
- 200–225 ft: 1.2% of the water
- 225–250 ft: 1.2% of the water
- 250–275 ft: 1.2% of the water
- 275–300 ft: 1.2% of the water
- 300–325 ft: 1.5% of the water
- 325–350 ft: 1.7% of the water
- 350–375 ft: 1.7% of the water
- 375–400 ft: 2.1% of the water
- 400–425 ft: 3.4% of the water
- 425–430 ft: 6.9% of the water
4 target fish, led by Lake Trout
- Lake Trout — Feeding water: 50–65°F.
- Brown Trout — Feeding water: 50–65°F.
- Rainbow Trout — Feeding water: 50–65°F.
- Brook Trout — Feeding water: 50–65°F.
Also recorded here: Arctic Grayling.
Water and conditions
Water clarity runs 5.7–28.1 feet on our readings, averaging 17.3 feet, from 42 readings. Our water temperature readings average 54°F; they do not cover the whole year, so this is not a yearly average. pH averages 7.7. These readings span 2017–2025.
2 ramps and launches on this water
On this water we hold 2 boat ramps.
- Colter Bay Marina — Grand Teton National Park. website gtlc.com/activities/marina-overview.aspx
- Spalding Bay — Grand Teton National Park.
Fee and opening hours are blank for all 2 places in this list: a blank means we hold no such field, not that it is free or always open, and this list may not be complete.
What is hard here
Wind is the limit, not the fish: 26,981 acres of open water build a short steep chop, and there is no shelter in the middle. Clarity swings from 5.7 to 28.1 feet between our readings — the water you meet is not the water someone photographed. Only 2 public ramps are on file, so the launch decides where you fish.
Where this data comes from
- Bertalot, S.K. & Blechinger, T. 2026, Jackson Lake and Glendo Reservoir bathymetry, University of Wyoming Dataverse, doi:10.15786/J0JELD (CC0) — Jackson Lake and Glendo Reservoir bathymetry: class A, a survey of the bottom.
- EPA NLA — EPA National Lakes Assessment: class B, a depth figure measured and published by an agency, without a bottom map.
