Thompson Lake

Thompson Lake is the adventure-fisherman's lake. Nothing like climbing a mountain pass, negotiating a mile of boulders, dodging spiders, sliding through snow fields, and trying to outrun a sudden afternoon thunderstorm! All this for some pretty fat and hungry fish, if you are lucky. No direct driving access. Take the Four Lakes Basin Trail and get yourself to the east side of Daynes Lake. Meander through the trees, along the small inlet stream, heading towards the low saddle on the ridge which is Cyclone Pass. The trail grows more distinct as it runs straight up the mountain. It is a steep but short hike to the top. The trail drops directly down the backside of the ridge. We've done this hike twice, and the second time two of us decided to stay high on the ridge and make our way down traversing diagonally. The idea was to avoid the elevation gain and loss in the boulder field and hopefully shave off a little distance, while having an easier time hiking. We were wrong. Take the trail unless you are really adventurous. The trail vanishes once it hits the boulder fields. Head north. The trick is to stay close to the mountain, but not too close. Low enough not to be on a slope, or fighting up and down the hills, but high enough that you don't lose elevation you will just have to regain later. After a few twisted ankles, and some good exercise, we made it to Thompson lake. It is not particularly attractive. The big draw is that it sees very few visitors and the fishing can be great. The first time I fished here, in 2006, we had success from pretty much shore. The fish were all over twelve inches and happy and fat. They were numerous and were biting dark woolly buggers, renegades, and royal wulffs. We had a blast. Our second trip was not so successful. It was colder, later in the year, and I couldn't see any fish scouting along the shores. I only caught one fish this time and it was way smaller than those I caught last time. Still ok sized for the Uintas. We all hiked light, as you've probably noticed from the pictures. We knew we'd have to refill our water bottles. The snowpack had melted quite a bit from our previous trip, but was perfect for the job. Head back the way you came. Try not to break an ankle.