Jess Lakes is a reservoir in California, near San Bernardino County.
Jess Lakes is a reservoir in San Bernardino County, California and covers about 19.2 acres, reaches about 27 feet at its deepest point and holds roughly 222.4 acre-feet.
Jess Lakes is small water, so a careful lap around the bank can show most of the useful cover.
Fish listed for Jess Lakes include Black Crappie, Bluegill, Channel Catfish, Common Carp, Green Sunfish, and Largemouth Bass.
While looking for black crappie on Jess Lakes, fish a small jig or minnow around wood, weeds, and sharp little drops.
For bluegill on Jess Lakes, use a small jig, worm, or tiny plastic around green weeds and protected pockets.
When largemouth bass are the target on Jess Lakes, work a soft plastic, jig, or spinnerbait around weeds and protected cover.
To begin with channel catfish on Jess Lakes, fish cut bait or a nightcrawler on the bottom along a channel edge or warm flat.
Other targets listed here include Common Carp; give each one its own bait and depth instead of trying to catch everything with the same rig; check the clean side of wind, then let a light jig fall beside the break.
Use wind as a clue; a light push can carry food toward a bank, but hard wind may muddy it, so look for a clean edge near a point or protected pocket; try the first deep shelf after the bank, then use a moving lure to search.
Shallow water is worth a careful look in spring and again during fall; bright summer days favor shade, weeds, or deeper breaks; under ice, a small depth change can be more useful than a long move; use a slow bait after the search lure, then slow the bait when a good edge appears.
A medium spinning rod, 8-pound line, a small box of jigs, a few crankbaits, and a simple bottom rig cover most situations; change depth or speed before changing every piece of tackle; fish the first useful drop, then return to productive water when light changes.
Record the wind, water color, depth beside the useful cover, and cover after a bite; those four notes are more useful on the next trip than a long list of spots that did not produce; keep a bottom rig ready for low light, then give shaded water a separate pass.
Explore nearby waters, including local Featured destinations. Check each page for access and fishing restrictions.
Distances are straight-line estimates between mapped water locations.