Fishing at Little Jo Lake, Fresno County, California

• Overview

  Look for Little Jo Lake in Fresno County, California. Everything around it is rolling bush. At 9 acres it is the sort of place you fish for an evening rather than a day. By elevation it is in the upper part of our California listings. West Bishop is the closest place, 26 miles off. For a city, Clovis is 54 miles off. The county line is nowhere near, so one local authority covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Little Jo Lake

  Open data we checked carries no depth for this water. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. County-wide records name brown trout, brook trout, rainbow trout, green sunfish and Sacramento sucker. Take it as the county picture rather than a promise for this water. Fish Little Jo Lake where the bottom changes rather than where it looks deep.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Temperature averages peak at 52°F in August and bottom out at 21°F in February. Winter shuts things down for a spell, then spring reopens them fast. Count the season from break-up, usually early June. Average temperatures cross freezing around early June in spring and again near late November in autumn. Just after the ice goes and just before it returns, the fishing lifts. The season on Little Jo Lake rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  We have no record of the rules that apply on this bank. No launch point is recorded nearby, so this is a bank water unless you carry a boat in. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Parking is often the real limit rather than the bank itself. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. Failing this one, try Filly Lake, 0.5 miles away. Confirm access to Little Jo Lake locally before you travel.