Fishing Jacks Lake in Lassen County, California

• Overview

  Lassen County, California, is where Jacks Lake sits. It sits at 5,577 feet above sea level. The nearest place of any size is Susanville, 33 miles away. Further out sit Burney (34 miles) and Westwood (35 miles). Near neighbours: Long Lake roughly 2 miles, Big Jack Lake a touch under 2.2 miles, Schoonamaker Lake roughly 2.2 miles, Straylor Lake a touch under 3 miles and Twin Lakes roughly 3.8 miles. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on Jacks Lake

  Without a survey to go on, judge depth from how the bank falls away. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. County-wide records name rainbow trout, tahoe sucker and Sacramento sucker. The county list is broader than any single water. Read Jacks Lake before you fish it and the day goes better.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July is the warm end of the year here, averaging about 62°F, while January sits near 30°F. A lid forms in a hard winter only. In a normal year the cover is thin and short-lived. Late winter often fishes better here than midsummer does. Jacks Lake runs to that rhythm year in and year out.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access status is simply unknown for this water. It is recorded as intermittent, which means the basin empties in dry spells. 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. A landowner's word beats anything printed elsewhere. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. The nearest alternative is Long Lake, 2 miles out. What applies at Jacks Lake may have changed since it was mapped.