Fishing Utah's Thousand Lake Mountain

Thousand Lake Mountain is essentially an extension of Boulder Mountain, with the same type of terrain and fragile alpine lakes. All of the lakes on the mountain are scenic, and most are productive lakes inhabited by brook trout, rainbows and a few cutthroats. Most are located along good gravel roads, or are just short hikes away from roads. They have the capacity to grow big fish, but receive considerable pressure so most fish caught will be small; we encourage catch-and-release here.

Good campsites are available at all lakes, but there are no facilities at the lakes.

Elkhorn Campground offers forest toilets, tables and level camping spots. There are water taps, but the water was shut off when we visited. No fee was charged at the campground.

The lakes up on the mountain are in a beautiful conifer and aspen forest. Those in Solomon Basin are in a transition zone between forest and desert. They are surrounded by pinion, juniper and various shrubs. The two areas are vastly different, yet each is beautiful in its own right. Many kinds of wildlife inhabits these areas, particularly in Solomon Basin.

Both areas offer spectacular views east into Capitol Reef National Park. The roads make wonderful snowmobile or cross-country ski courses. (This is a vast and rugged region and the lay of the land can be confusing when blanketed by snow. Don't snowmobile or ski off the roads unless you really know what you are doing.)

Get the 7.5 minute USGS topo maps for this area: Flat Mop and Geyser Peak. They are important because they show the land features, but roads and trails are not depicted accurately The Fish Lake National Forest map is the best map available, but it is poorly designed and very difficult to read.

Heart Lake - No fish. Serves as landmark.

Rock Lake - No fish.

Donut - Brookies and rainbows. Small.

Farrel Pond - Brookies and rainbows. Rough road to this small pond. Shallow and often mossy, but it has a good population of fish.

Floating Island - Brookies and rainbows. Short hike to lake.

Meeks Reservoir - Brookies and rainbows. Road ends on hill above lake; short hike to water. Fluctuates with irrigation demand. Someone (probably fishing illegally with live bait) introduced chubs and shiners, and they are becoming a problem. They will eventually take over the whole system.

Morrell Pond - Brookies and rainbows. You can drive to the water's edge. Great place for kids. Good from a tube or canoe.

Moss - Brookies and rainbows.

Rush - No fish.

Solomon - Shallow swamp; no fish.

Round Lake - Brookies, rainbows and cults. Accessible by high clearance vehicle over rough road.

Blind - Brookies. Small mountain lake.

Deep Creek Lake - Brook trout. Less than 1/2 mile hike from road, along marked trail. Very pretty mountain lake.

Wilt Horn Pond - Brook trout. Short hike. Trail is not marked.

Little Grassy - Brookies and cutthroats. Stable water level. Shallow and hard to fish. Always overwinters fish. Near Deep Creek Lake. Trail is not marked.

Neffs - Brookies. Pretty little mountain lake. Trail leaves road near Elkhorn Campground. About three mile hike.

Snow - Real shallow. No fish.