Tule Lake is a reservoir in California, near Merced County.
Tule Lake in Merced County is a reservoir in California and covers about 7.8 acres, reaches about 21.2 feet at its deepest point and holds roughly 71.3 acre-feet.
Tule Lake is small water, so a careful lap around the bank can show most of the useful cover.
Fish listed for Tule Lake include Bluegill, Channel Catfish, Common Carp, Green Sunfish, Largemouth Bass, Sacramento Sucker, and Rainbow Trout.
When bluegill are the target on Tule Lake, use a small jig, worm, or tiny plastic around green weeds and protected pockets.
A useful largemouth bass plan on Tule Lake is to work a soft plastic, jig, or spinnerbait around weeds and protected cover.
A useful channel catfish plan on Tule Lake is to fish cut bait or a nightcrawler on the bottom along a channel edge or warm flat.
The first rainbow trout pass on Tule Lake should cast a small spoon, inline spinner, light jig, or fly through cool water.
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; look for a clean edge beside cover, then keep the presentation close to useful cover.
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; use a small lure when bites are scarce, then change lure speed before moving.
Spring runoff can add color and pull fish toward fresh water; green weeds and the first drop become stronger summer targets; in fall, follow bait toward points and shallow flats, while winter rewards a slower search; use a slow bait after the search lure, then check the first shelf outside shallow cover.
A light spinning rod, thin line, a few small spoons, inline spinners, and jigs cover the listed trout; carry one slightly heavier setup when other fish or windy water call for more control; keep the bait above soft bottom; change lure speed before moving.
Record the wind, water color, depth of the repeat bite, 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; work a creek turn before a flat bank, then follow bait before changing areas.
Explore nearby waters, including local Featured destinations. Check each page for access and fishing restrictions.
Distances are straight-line estimates between mapped water locations.