Cliff Lake Fishing in Fresno County, California

• Overview

  Cliff Lake sits in Fresno County, out in California. This is farm and woodlot country. With some 27 acres of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. Auberry at 25 miles is the nearest place to stop. Clovis sits 42 miles out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. No boundary runs near, so the county rules hold throughout.

• Where to Fish on Cliff Lake

  Our records carry no depth, so judge it from the bank. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Across Fresno County, recorded fish include brown trout, brook trout, rainbow trout, green sunfish and Sacramento sucker. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. Fish Cliff Lake to its features, not to its size.

• Seasonal Patterns

  In an average year August sits at 56°F and February at 26°F. Spring and autumn are the strongest, but nothing is truly closed. In milder years the edges alone go, and the middle never sets. March through May is the strongest run, with October and November a second stretch. Cliff Lake runs to its own calendar within the local pattern.

• Tackle & Baits

  The access position is unclear from public sources. Nothing built is recorded close to the bank here. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Read any posted signs at the access point rather than assuming. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. Failing this one, try Bullfrog Lake, 0.4 miles away. Nothing here settles the position at Cliff Lake for certain.