Burney Lake Fishing Guide, Siskiyou County, California

• Overview

  Burney Lake lies in Siskiyou County, California. The bank is 5,676 feet above sea level. The water measures roughly 13 acres, so nothing here is far from anything else. Supplies mean a trip to Happy Camp, 17 miles off. It is 148 miles to Chico, the nearest city. Nearby alternatives: Blue Granite Lake within 1 mile, Toms Lake 1.4 miles off, Spirit Lake within 1.4 miles, Gold Granite Lake 1.7 miles off and Green Granite Lake within 1.9 miles. One jurisdiction covers this water end to end.

• Where to Fish on Burney Lake

  We hold no depth figure for this one. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Public occurrence data for Siskiyou County names rainbow trout, brook trout, Chinook salmon and klamath smallscale sucker. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. On Burney Lake the quiet end is the one worth the extra effort.

• Seasonal Patterns

  On the long-term average, August reads 60°F and December reads 35°F. Conditions shift steadily rather than sharply. It should never be assumed safe, whatever the month says. April and May are the settled weeks, with October close behind. The season on Burney Lake follows the weather closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  The rules here are undocumented as far as public sources go. No made access is recorded, so a short walk in is the likely arrangement. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. State or provincial rules still apply whatever the bank status. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. Failing this one, try Blue Granite Lake, 1 mile away. Where Burney Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.