Stillwater · Mixed · US, US

Antelope Lake

Antelope Lake venue image

Antelope Lake sits up in the Plumas County high country, a reservoir ringed by pine and meadow where the rainbows and browns put on weight through the short mountain summer.

Fair · Rainbow
Balanced Leech · 8-12
Fairlive now
Reasonable autumn fishing likely at Antelope Lake
Useful ripple, fishable wave. Worth a session if the wind holds.
56% confidence

Antelope Lake is often best in spring through autumn.

What moved it
  • WindSW 26 km/hModerate breeze
Today's fly
Balanced Leech
Balanced Leech8-12
Proven pattern for this period
Conditions on the water
Estimate
Wind
Moderate breeze
SW 26 km/h
N
SW
from the south-west
Wave40 cm chop
Water temp15.6°C
Air temp19°C
CloudOvercast
Pressure1012 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm

No gauge on this water — readings are regional estimates from weather, not a live gauge.

Head to
Wind driftSW wind
North-eastern end

A south-westerly has held for 6 hours, running warmer than the water (19°C air against 16°C water). Expect fish at the north-eastern end — the bank it is blowing into — where the drift piles food, colour and warmth together. This reads the upper water, though — a bottom bait at range feels it far less than a floater or a fish in the margins. Treat it as a tiebreaker between good swims rather than an override — features and angling pressure usually count for more.

How to fish it · for Rainbow
When
Conditions are not ideal but fishable at Antelope Lake.
Where
Start with Balanced Leech (8-12) on a As per local method. Rainbows respond to more active retrieves — try short strips between pauses. If that does not produce, switch depth or speed before changing the pattern entirely.
The plan
Plan A

Start with Balanced Leech (8-12) on a As per local method. Rainbows respond to more active retrieves — try short strips between pauses. If that does not produce, switch depth or speed before changing the pattern entirely.

Plan B

A fry-imitating pattern stripped through the margins can save a blank in autumn.

Watch for

Keep an eye on changing conditions — wind shifts and cloud breaks can trigger short feeding spells.

Bank

Bank-only venue. Fish from accessible margins, points, weed edges, and inflows.

Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

Top nymph shown — see all 3 guilds with Pro.

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey(1)

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 3 with Pro.

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Through the year
0–3 scale · September highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Gray DrakeHatch
2
2
CallibaetisHatch
2
3
3
3
2
Hexagenia (Western)Hatch
2
2
Black MidgeHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2

Numbers are intensity 0 (none) to 3 (peak) — a guide, not a guarantee.

Ranked for today
Rainbow fly box
CH
Chironomid
12-16 · Pattern
Proven pattern for this period
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Condition match
45%
Cloud50%
Wind30%
Temp60%

Conditions are away from Antelope Lake's sweet spot — it usually fishes best in ripple wind with cloud skies.

Other water nearby · 5
Gallery · 1
  1. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

Antelope Lake sits up in the Plumas County high country, a reservoir ringed by pine and meadow where the rainbows and browns put on weight through the short mountain summer. It's stillwater fishing of the patient kind — you read the wind before you read anything else, watch where the chop lays a foam line, and trust that the trout are working the drop-offs and weed margins even when the surface tells you nothing. There are some properly good browns in here for the angler willing to wait them out. The lake fishes best in the cool shoulders of the season; high summer can warm the shallows and push fish deep and sulky. Damsels, chironomids and the odd Callibaetis hatch carry the food chain, and a slow figure-of-eight over the right shelf earns more than frantic stripping.

  • Reservoir
  • Mixed
Why this score
  • Wind conditions (windy) are not ideal for this water.
  • Terrestrials are in their seasonal window, boosting the chance of targeted feeding.
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