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Hensley is the second largest reservoir in Madera county in southern California. It has an area of 1500 acres following the largest lake of county 1593 acres. Hensley lake is located in the center of county near Fresno and Madera city in its west and south. Fishing in Hensley is a popular activity in the area and more than half of visitors come to the lake for fishing.
The city of Madera is just 17 miles from it which takes less than 25 minutes to reach there. And it takes nearly 45 minutes to get to Hensley from Fresno, its about 38 miles in the north.
You can involve in many of fun activities such as fishing, hiking, skiing, camping. Since it is an attractive multipurpose recreation area it gets more and more visitors each year. A lot of people enjoy fishing from the shoreline of the Hensley and cast lines for different species of fish in the lake.
This was a little introduction of fishing in Hensley lake California. And in this article we will share with you more detail fishing guide for Hensley lake.
Fishing in Hensley lake
There is a large recreational area around the reservoir named Hensley lake recreational area. It is a perfect place to go an outing with family and have some great quality time in a recreational area near a waterbody. There are many great things to do in the area, such as camping. Many people will consider water skiing and others will swim in the crystal clear water. Hiking is also an option in the park, in short the place is full of fun.
Despite being a place offering so many things, still fishing in Hensley lake is outstanding. The water has channel catfish, largemouth bass, bluegill and rainbow trout. It also has to common carp, crappies and Spoted bass to some extent.
Anglers at the lake can use many tricks to lure fish out of their safe places and get them on lure. But it varies for all the species that are living in the water. Your fishing location can also impact your chance to catch a fish largely. But we will provide the full information about each species fishing spot and time to target.
Largemouth bass
You will find no lake in California that does not have largemouth bass. It is the most liked and the most widely available game and fish species in the state and entire US. As a medium depth waterbody the Hensley lake has a great potential of growing bass in its waters. If you like largemouth bass you will find no better place in California than this lake.
Largemouth likes to be in shallow water, not too deep also not on the surface. The special thing about Hensley lake is that it has so many arms and narrow parts of the actual waterbody. They become less deeper and matches the habitat of largemouth bass and becomes an ideal place for it to live in.
Fishing largemouth bass in Henley lake anglers enjoy it the most. Catching it is the most easy among all the species but the size of fish highly vary during different seasons. The best season to fish largemouth bass in Hensley is the mild weather. No matter if that is fall or spring fishermen will see pretty good fish at the lake specially near the arms of lake.
Spring summer is also preferable and chances are great to have good fish on your hook. But winter is the hardest time when it comes to bass fishing but as the weather in California is warm. You may also find some of them in winter too, but it will be much hard to locate them and actually catch them.
As the lake is full of fish you should have no hard time to find them and catch them. Except the winter season you will have great time fishing largemouth bass in Henley lake in any season.
Channel catfish fishing at Henley lake
A good number of Channel catfish is also available in reservoir for anglers to fish. The size of cats in the waterbody is impressive and its a lot more easier compared to other smaller fish types. You will get lucky if you hook to a bluegill before targeting catfish.
If you use bluegill as live bait at your hook to cast for large cats you will see amazing response. The waiting duration will decrease significantly if you use bait replacing lure. You will have to know the fishing regulations at Hensley lake, and be aware of all the regulations in the area. Here are some bait recipes if you like to make bait at home.
This is the type of fish that you can catch all year round. There might be a little slower momentum during months of winter but it is still a good fish to catch in even the coolest weather. It stays deeper in winter but it has the same presence as it was available in spring, summer and fall months. In this case a sinker will make the situation a lot more easier whether you are using bait or lure. Here is an other incredibly amazing catfish spot in California that you can visit.
You will often need a boat or kayak and stay in the deepest area of the lake and try to sink your hook. Earlier than sunset and just after sunrise are the times fishermen will see more action for the type of fish.
Rainbow trout
During winter in the off season the government stocks the rainbows in large number in the reservoir. They grow their size significantly till summer and the season to catch them. They like to feed from the surface and stay as near as possible. So fly fishing techniques are the most successful here. You might sometimes catch a giant carp or other fish if you are fly fishing.
Early in the morning from sunrise till 12 am they are feeding from surface. And that is the ideal time to fly fish for it, during the day even though the lake is full of trout. Fly fishing becomes harder, then you will have to go deeper and find them in the depths of water.
As the reservoir is not very deep it becomes easier to find the any time of the day.
Common carp
Common carp is also a famous species in the lake having giant size and good quality. You can catch them all year round but spring to summer is the ideal time you can ever have. They have good population, you may come up with a carp even fishing trout.
All the fly fishing techniques are perfectly fine for it the time go for them may vary.
Bluegill & other species fishing in Hensley lake
Bluegills and two types of crappie also live in Hensley lake. Black crappie has a little larger population while white crappy has small population but found in the lake. Here are some tips if you want to target for crappie in the lake.
Bluegills also have small presence and some times anglers find its hub and enjoy fishing in Hensley lake. Here you can read about California’s best bluegill fishing spot. There is also a small population of Spoted bass in the reservoir that stay deep in the bottom of the lake.
