Kelley Reservoir Fishing Guide, Modoc County, California

• Overview

  Kelley Reservoir sits in Modoc County, out in California. It stands 5,049 feet above sea level. About 312 acres, so local knowledge or a boat saves a lot of walking. Few waters listed in Modoc County are bigger. Alturas sits 8.1 miles from the bank. Further out sit Lakeview (49 miles) and Burney (67 miles). No county line comes close, which keeps the paperwork simple.

• Where to Fish on Kelley Reservoir

  Depth went unrecorded, which puts the reading back on you. Held water runs deepest at the wall and shallows back to the inflow. The old creek line under the surface is the feature worth finding. Records held for Modoc County cover Sacramento sucker, modoc sucker, rainbow trout, green sunfish and brook trout. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. The near bank of Kelley Reservoir is often the one people ignore.

• Seasonal Patterns

  In an average year August sits at 66°F and January at 29°F. The freeze here is occasional rather than annual. Cover comes and goes, so treat it with suspicion rather than trust. June to September is hot work, so the first and last hours are what count. The season on Kelley Reservoir follows the weather closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  No public source sets out the position on this bank. This one is mapped as intermittent, so a wasted trip is a real risk in a dry year. Nothing is mapped in the way of a ramp or car park within a short radius. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. Rules for this water may differ from the county norm. Night access is frequently treated as a separate matter. Should this one be busy, Lower Cummings Reservoir is 2.4 miles off. Nothing on Kelley Reservoir should be assumed from this page alone.