Fishing Jollys Lake in Douglas County, Washington

• Overview

  Jollys Lake sits in Douglas County, out in Washington. The surface lies 2,310 feet up. It covers about 15 acres, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. Electric City at 21 miles is the nearest place to stop. For a city, Spokane is 90 miles off. Round about: Tule Lake 0.5 miles away, Jollys Pond out at 1.1 miles, Sullivan Lake 1.3 miles away, Heinlen Lake out at 1.8 miles and Durk Lake 2.3 miles away. Local rules may differ a few miles either side of here.

• Where to Fish on Jollys Lake

  Depth remains unrecorded, so treat the first session as a survey. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Public occurrence data for Douglas County names largemouth bass, sockeye salmon, black crappie, bluegill and smallmouth bass. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. Jollys Lake gives up its fish to patience rather than distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July runs about 69°F on average, January about 24°F. The year splits cleanly: hard water, then open water. After mid March the shallows warm and the fish move up. Ice usually gives way near mid March, and forms again about early December. Spring is short and heavy here; autumn is longer and steadier. Keep it in mind when planning a trip to Jollys Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. No slipway, car park or made path shows up nearby in mapping, so treat access as rough. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Access can change hands, so last year's answer may not hold. Failing this one, try Tule Lake, 0.5 miles away. For Jollys Lake, the notice at the access point is the final word.