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Jackson Lake Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Jackson Lake: Grand Teton National Park's largest lake, a natural lake raised by a dam on the Snake River, fished under Wyoming licences and park limits for cutthroat and lake trout.

One boat ramp open. The National Park Service lists only the Signal Mountain ramp as open, at your own risk; the Colter Bay and Leeks ramps and both marinas are closed (conditions page, 30 September 2026). Source, read October 8, 2026.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Lake level
6734.29 ft
Air / High
42 / 47 F
Wind
S 16 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 13010500, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
23
October 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

3/5Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Jackson Lake feels the season turning: shorter days, grouping fish. The gauge reads 6734.29 ft, up 0.13 over the week. Today brings cloud cover, wind S around 16 mph, rising pressure near 1011 hPa and a high of 47. Water sits around 55 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 10:00 AM-12:00 PM and 10:30 PM-12:30 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Lake troutGood

Spring and fall bring lakers into 10 to 30 feet of water (Michigan DNR), within reach of casters and shallow trollers; fall is also spawning time over rocky shoals.

Tomorrow: Similar at 46 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

Before you go

Wyoming requires a fishing licence from age 14, from $48.50 for residents. What a Wyoming licence costs and where to buy it β†’

Chasing lake trout here? Check the size and bag limits with WGFD before you keep anything. The season dates for Wyoming, read off the agency, are on the Wyoming seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings from Jackson Lake near Moran, WY.

Water level, last 30 days

USGS gauge 13010500.

6733.766734.016734.256734.29 ft09/2310/0810/1610/23

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp42 F
High / Low47 / 34 F
WindS 16-24 mph
Pressure1011.1 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain100% cloud, 70%
Sunrise / Sunset07:47 / 18:25
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~55 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Which day to fish Jackson Lake this week

Today is the pick of the week on Jackson Lake, at 3 out of 5.

Best day this week: today, Oct 23 β€” fair at 3/5, rising pressure behind a front, typically the slowest.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
10:00 AM-12:00 PM and 10:30 PM-12:30 AM
Minor period
4:25 AM-5:25 AM
Sun
07:47 to 18:25
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Rain, 18 mph
Rain chance
70%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

The species that matter on Jackson Lake: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Lake trout illustration

Lake trout

Spring and fall in shallow water, deep in summer, and through the ice in winter

Lake trout are slow-growing chars of large, deep, cold lakes, native from Alaska and northern Canada to New England and the Great Lakes, and introduced in many western lakes. Spring and fall bring lakers into 10 to 30 feet of water (Michigan DNR), within reach of casters and shallow trollers; fall is also spawning time over rocky shoals.

When to come: the Jackson Lake calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Lake trout
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 55 F (estimated, not a reading).

304050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~55 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Jackson Lake today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Lake trout led the card at good. High of 58 F, wind to 7 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Lake trout led the card at good. High of 60 F, wind to 8 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Lake trout led the card at good. High of 59 F, wind to 7 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used if we need to ask you about your report. No mailing list, no spam.

Before you go

License

Wyoming requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Wyoming fishing license. Park limits for lakes: 6 trout a day or in possession, no more than 3 of them cutthroat and no more than 1 cutthroat over 12 inches (the trout count excludes lake and brook trout); lake trout 6 in possession, no more than 1 over 24 inches. NPS points to Wyoming Game and Fish mercury advisories for cutthroat, brown and lake trout taken from Jackson Lake and the Snake River.

Access

Every craft needs a Grand Teton boat permit ($75 motorized, $25 non-motorized) and a Wyoming AIS decal, and must stop for an aquatic invasive species inspection. Personal watercraft are prohibited, and floating within 1,000 feet of Jackson Lake Dam is not allowed. Trailers may stay up to 72 hours at Signal Mountain, Colter Bay and Leeks Marina; Spalding Bay needs a parking permit.

About this water

Natural lake raised by Jackson Lake Dam on the Snake River, Grand Teton National Park, Teton County, Wyoming. Lake level on this page comes from USGS gauge 13010500, Jackson Lake near Moran.

Fishing Jackson Lake: the full guide

A raised natural lake

The National Park Service describes Jackson Lake as the park's largest lake, a natural lake raised by a 39-foot man-made dam. It is the only lake in the park open to motorized boats of any size, and the only one where water skiing is allowed.

Park fishing rules

Fishing follows Wyoming law and needs a Wyoming fishing license, sold in the park at Flagg Ranch, Colter Bay Marina and Signal Mountain Lodge as well as online. Lakes in the park are open to fishing year-round. Two rods may be used with the angler in attendance, each with no more than three hooks, flies or lures, and on lakes only listed dead non-game baitfish may be used as bait.

Low water in fall 2026

Jackson Lake's level depends on snowpack, downstream demand and dam maintenance. The park's conditions page, updated Sept. 30, 2026, listed the Signal Mountain boat ramp open with launching at your own risk on loose cobbles below the ramp edge, and the Colter Bay ramp, Leeks ramp and both marinas closed.

Common questions

Is Jackson Lake closed to fishing in October?

No. The park's current fishing page says lakes in Grand Teton National Park are open to fishing year-round; the seasonal closures it lists apply to streams and parts of the Snake River.

How many lake trout can I keep at Jackson Lake?

Six in possession, with no more than one over 24 inches, under the park's limits.

Which boat ramps are open?

On the park's Sept. 30, 2026 update only Signal Mountain was open, at your own risk; Colter Bay and Leeks ramps were closed by low water.

Is fishing good at Jackson Lake right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Nearby waters

Snake River10 miSnake River (South Fork)47 miHenrys Lake63 miHenrys Fork66 miHebgen Lake71 miFremont Lake78 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 13010500 β€” Jackson Lake near Moran, WY
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 18:45 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 43.9000, -110.6500 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
Pages checked
The facts in the written guide were checked against these pages, from the agencies and operators that manage the water, on October 8, 2026. Anything we could not verify was taken out.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written text was drafted with AI assistance from the official pages listed above, and its facts were checked against those pages by automated verification on October 8, 2026; anything that could not be verified was taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.