Jackson Lake stays open this October under Wyoming’s 2026 fishing rules

Jackson Lake is fishable this October. A Wyoming Game and Fish release posted Jan. 12, 2026, says the Chapter 46 updates that took effect Jan. 1 leave the lake open through the month. In the commission’s statement of reasons for those rules, the October closure comes off because it was a 75-year-old measure aimed at spawning lake trout, from a period when most anglers kept their fish and the department was still stocking to establish them. Lake trout are established now, the statement says, harvest is much smaller, and there is no longer a biological reason for the closure.

The 2026 regulation summary does not list Jackson Lake among the October shutdowns. The October closure that is still printed is a different water: the Green River from Fontenelle Dam downstream about a mile to the Weeping Rocks gauge, Oct. 1 through Dec. 31. That Fontenelle closure is already on this desk.

The same Jackson-region package changes a short piece of the Snake. From 150 feet below Jackson Lake Dam downstream to the gauging station 1,000 feet below the dam, the 2026 summary sets the trout creel at six fish a day or in possession, with no more than three cutthroat and no more than one cutthroat longer than 12 inches. Grand Teton’s other park rules still apply on the lake, including the ban on live baitfish. This is the October opening, not the heat-related voluntary closures Game and Fish already lifted.

This is a The Gillnet news desk summary, not a reprint.

Source: Wyoming Game and Fish — Fishing regulation changes taking effect for 2026 (Jan. 12, 2026). Closure rationale: Chapter 46 statement of reasons. Current summary: 2026 fishing regulations.