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Since this was the first Friday after Thanksgiving, a good crowd of fishermen/women fished the area "Winter-Only" lakes. The weather was ideal (41 deg. F., high overcast, little to no wind, no rain, no ice, no snow on the ground). I arrived at the parking lot at 4:40 AM, and there were already 4 vehicles there. I started fishing at 5:35 AM at the "First Narrows" along the eastern shoreline, and some fellow had a small fire going. It was warm enough that a hat and gloves were not necessary. Nobody caught anything until about 6:35, when the campfire guy and some buddies caught a few nice 16"+ Rainbow Trout on Power Bait.

I was using a silver, 1/4-oz. Acme Kastmaster slab-jig lure, and letting it sink about 10 seconds before starting an irregular retrieve. After sunrise, the fishing got HOT for about an hour when lots of people started catching fish from 7:15 AM to 8:15 AM. There were about 7 ea. Pontoon Fisherman (using flies) that were doing well just north of the First Narrows. People were remarking how FAT and some of the fish were (approaching 20 inches in some cases).

I stopped fishing at 9:15 AM, and caught+released 7 ea. Rainbow Trout (3 ea. nice 16" ones, 2 ea. 12" ones, and 2 ea. 10" ones). Two other small ones were hooked but got off before I could see them. On this morning, using an Artificial Lure (whether a Kastmaster or a Fly) seemed to out-produce bait, but bait worked too. The people on the eastern shoreline definitely did better than those on the western shoreline.

When I left the parking lot at 9:50 AM, the parking lot was full with ~60 vehicles, and a few more folks were arriving. Since the weather is supposed to stay mild for a while, I don't foresee any ice forming on the lake to interfere with boat launching or shore fishing.

What a great fishery Fourth of July Lake is!

dluders

11/27/2021 8:48:22 AM

Some things I forgot to mention in my original report above:
1. The water level is very low (due to this years' drought), thus making boat launching difficult. You will have to carry your boat quite a ways southwards (past the tall water weeds) to get to deeper water.
2. A pontoon fisherman anchored about 75 yards away from me noted that the "Hot" fishing period (from 7:15 to 8:15 AM) was when there was a slight chop on the water. Nobody caught much when the water was dead calm.
3. The rocks along the shoreline are very slick, so bring good footwear.
4. The "Public Fishing" sign that used to be along the highway is gone, so measure out ~1.8 miles from the Viking Restaurant and gas station in Sprague to the gravel driveway turnoff to Fourth of July Lake. There is a brown "Public Access" just past the gate. The gravel driveway and parking lot are in great shape.
5. If you get there before sunrise, you get the best fishing spots.

rwl

12/1/2021 3:41:25 PM

rwl

12/1/2021 3:42:27 PM

Only about 8 cars is the parking lot today at noon, caught 7, mostly 10 inchers on a bouyant spoon

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