Scanlon Lake in Okanogan County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Scanlon Lake is set in Okanogan County, Washington. The ground round it is open valley. Surface area runs to about 15 acres — small enough to read in one session. Omak at 9.4 miles is the nearest place to stop. Kelowna sits 93 miles out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. Other water within reach: Tule Bill Lake at 0.5 miles, Poison Lake within 0.6 miles, Horseshoe Lake at 0.9 miles, Duckett Lake within 0.9 miles and Castor Lake at 0.9 miles. One jurisdiction covers this water end to end.

• Where to Fish on Scanlon Lake

  Depth here is unknown, so count the lead down before committing. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Across Okanogan County, recorded fish include rainbow trout, largemouth bass and sockeye salmon. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. Scanlon Lake repays a walk before the first cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warm month here averages 71°F; the cold one sits at 25°F. The freeze here is occasional rather than annual. Some winters give nothing at all, so plan for open water. June to September is hot work, so the first and last hours are what count. The season on Scanlon Lake follows the weather closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. Public data shows nothing built here, so treat the whole approach as informal. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. State or provincial rules still apply whatever the bank status. Night access is frequently treated as a separate matter. Tule Bill Lake, 0.5 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Check the current arrangement for Scanlon Lake.