Little Porcupine Tank

Little Porcupine Tank is a reservoir in Modoc County, California and covers about 0.3 acres, reaches about 8.7 feet at its deepest point and holds roughly 1.1 acre-feet.

Little Porcupine Tank is small water, so a careful lap around the bank can show most of the useful cover. With little deep water in Little Porcupine Tank, weeds, wind, and water color can matter more than depth alone.

Fish and Baits

The fish mix here is not confirmed, so check fresh local information before choosing a target or keeping a catch; follow the old channel through the lake, then make one pass close to bottom.

Begin with one slow bottom presentation and one moving bait, then let bites show whether fish are holding close to cover or roaming open water; check a protected pocket after sunrise, then keep the presentation close to useful cover.

How to Read the Water

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; search one cove before changing areas, then save the heaviest tackle for deep cover.

Season by Season

Early in the year, protected water and the first warm afternoon can be the best clues; as the water heats up, check deeper edges without assuming every fish is on the bottom; cooling fall water often makes points and firm banks useful again; start with the cover closest to deep water, then write down the depth that works.

A Simple Tackle Plan

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; check rock and weeds as separate patterns, then separate open water from cover.

Record the wind, water color, depth that produced twice, 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; use a light bait when the water is clear, then compare shallow and deeper water.