Fishing Lake Ranch Reservoir

Lake Ranch Reservoir is a peaceful forested pond, hidden deep in the woods of Sanborn County Park. You’ll be surrounded the sounds of frogs, woodpeckers and the cool breeze, making it a lovely place to spend an afternoon. Getting there requires a short walk via John Nicholas Trail - the easiest access can be found via a flat 1.5 mile hike starting here off Black Road, where you can park for free.

About the Lake

Lake Ranch Reservoir is a lake of two halves. The eastern half is easily accessed via John Nicholas Trail - however, the water is shallow and the shoreline not well shaded, making for heavy weed growth and fishing-induced sunburns. These can make this side a bit hard to fish, but it also makes for decent fish habitat - a nightcrawler dropped right in the gaps in the plants can entice a nice bluegill or small bass. The western half is much harder to access - depending on the season, you typically need to do a bit of bush wacking to be able to get close to the water, and the shoreline is steep and overgrown at points. However, the water on this side is somewhat deeper, brushier and more shaded, giving a potentially better option for hot summer days.

This lake has a reasonable population of small-ish bass, although not as many as I would expect for a hike-in lake. I typically try to fish weedless setups here to give myself a fighting chance against the weeds and brush - I’ve done ok with a Senko. The water is usually fairly muddy here, so a noisy hard bait or topwater can also work well as long as you are willing to trade a few lures with the snags. There also seems to be a very “visible” carp population here - because the lake is so shallow, you can often see the shadows of large carp cruising the shoreline. I haven’t tried fishing for them myself, but I imagine the classic canned corn or bread could work well.

Notes

Aside from fishermen, John Nicholas Trail is primarily used by mountain bikers - so be wary as you hike.

Getting access to the western half of the lake is tough. Before you could saunter through a grassy field to get access via the dam, but unfortunately that route is now overgrown with brush. The easiest way is now from the southern head of the lake, but make sure to wear long pants and long sleeves as this is not a maintained path.

For whatever reason, in the inverse of a typical reservoir, the dam area at Lake Ranch seems to be shallower than the rest of the lake.

Recommended Gear

For the bass:

Yamamoto Senko

A must-have soft plastic for bassing on the West Coast. I usually fish these wacky-rigged - basically just sticking the point through the thickest part of the worm without any weight. Cast it out and repeatedly jig it, letting the Senko flutter back to the bottom. It seems to work quite well on the heavily pressured lakes in the Bay Area. Green pumpkin is traditionally considered the best color.

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Strike King Spinnerbait

Spinnerbaits are my favorite lures for covering water when bass fishing, as not only do they provide a lot of action and noise, but they also are relatively weedless compared to other hard baits. Honestly the brand doesn't matter too much here - I've linked the brand-name Strike King lure here. Like other lures, stop-and-go retrieves are the way to go.

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Hula Popper

Poppers are my favorite topwater baits - there's just something so appealing about the way they chug and spit water on the surface, and the way bass attack them so aggressively and visibly. Brand doesn't matter too much here again - I linked the classic Hula Popper. Keep your rod tip low to the water, and repeatedly jerk the lure. You can also "walk-the-dog" on good poppers by repeatedly wiggling the lure in a particular direction, once again with your rod tip close to the water. Your popper will start darting side-to-side, creating action that no bass can resist.

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