Sand Ridge Lake in Nevada County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  You will find Sand Ridge Lake in Nevada County, California. It sits at 7,805 feet above sea level. At 3 acres it is the sort of place you fish for an evening rather than a day. It is one of the smaller waters we list in Nevada County. Start from Truckee, 11 miles down the road. The big place round here is Reno, 32 miles distant. The boundary is close enough to be worth checking before you fish.

• Where to Fish on Sand Ridge Lake

  Without a survey to go on, judge depth from how the bank falls away. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Public occurrence data for Nevada County names brook trout, rainbow trout, tahoe sucker and brown trout. Some of the species recorded here are protected or tightly regulated, so check what may be targeted before you fish. At Sand Ridge Lake light and wind decide more than tackle does.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 59°F at the top of summer and 27°F at the bottom of winter. Spring and autumn are the strongest, but nothing is truly closed. It is not guaranteed even in a cold spell, so check yourself. June to September is hot work, so the first and last hours are what count. That is the shape of the year on Sand Ridge Lake.

• 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. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Check locally before you travel, because a wasted drive is a long one. Access can change hands, so last year's answer may not hold. Buzzard Roost Lake, 1.1 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Check the position on Sand Ridge Lake before loading the car.