Soap Lake, California: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  The Plumas County end of California holds Soap Lake. The ground around here is mixed woodland. It covers about 10 acres, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. The closest town, Chester, is 19 miles distant. Westwood is 26 miles and Shingletown 27 miles. The county line is nowhere near, so one local authority covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Soap Lake

  This is salt or soda water, not a conventional fishery: do not expect the usual freshwater species here. If you are set on fishing this area, look to the rivers and fresh waters nearby instead. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Read Soap Lake before you fish it and the day goes better.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 59°F at the top of summer and 29°F at the bottom of winter. The year gives four workable seasons without severe ends. It is not guaranteed from one year to the next. March through May is the strongest run, with October and November a second stretch. Soap Lake fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. Nothing is mapped in the way of a ramp or car park within a short radius. Sort the permit out before you load the car. Where tickets apply, they are sold in the nearest town rather than on the bank. Emigrant Lake, 0.5 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Where Soap Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.