Disappointment Lake Fishing Guide, Adams County, Idaho

• Overview

  In Idaho, Disappointment Lake falls inside Adams County. Height above sea level is 6,870 feet. It covers about 15 acres, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. For a base, McCall sits 20 miles out. After that come Joseph at 51 miles and Grangeville at 52 miles. Close neighbours run: Lake Serene out at 1 mile, Coffee Cup Lake at about 1 mile, Frog Lake out at 1.7 miles, Morgan Lake at about 1.9 miles and Lloyds Lake out at 2.2 miles. No border sits close enough to matter.

• Where to Fish on Disappointment Lake

  We hold no depth figure for this one. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Survey and observation records for Adams County include rainbow trout, cutthroat trout, Coho salmon, yellow perch and sockeye salmon. At least one recorded species is protected in parts of its range; read the local rules before targeting anything. Disappointment Lake fishes better once you know its edges.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The seasonal spread runs 20°F to 54°F. Hard water is a season in its own right here. Hard water holds through the cold months, breaking up near early May. On the long-run averages the water opens up around early May and starts locking again about mid November. Reckon on open water from spring through to late autumn, with May and June the strongest. Anyone fishing Disappointment Lake regularly works to that calendar.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing on record says whether the bank is open or closed. Access points are not mapped for this water, which suits people who like quiet. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. Failing this one, try Lake Serene, 1 mile away. What applies at Disappointment Lake may have changed since it was mapped.