Game Lake Fishing Guide, Curry County, Oregon

• Overview

  In Oregon, Game Lake belongs to Curry County. It lies 3,983 feet above sea level. Small at around 4 acres: two anglers spread out cover most of it. The nearest place of any size is Gold Beach, 17 miles away. Beyond it, Harbor at 28 miles and Brookings at 28 miles. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it. There is room enough here for more than one party without crowding.

• Where to Fish on Game Lake

  No chart reached our records; the first cast is your sounding. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Curry County records list flathead grey mullet, rainbow trout and klamath smallscale sucker among the fish reported. Several of these carry legal protection or closed seasons; the rulebook comes before the rod. Game Lake responds to conditions more than to tactics.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect August to average close to 63°F, with December the cold end at about 42°F. The year never really closes; it just gets uncomfortable in summer. Spring and autumn carry the fishing; summer squeezes it into the edges of the day. The hot months push the fishing to dawn and dusk. That shapes the year on Game Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. There is a campsite 130 yards from the water. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. The nearest alternative is Little Silver Creek Lake, 14 miles out. Nothing here settles the position at Game Lake for certain.