Black Lake Depth Map & Fishing Spots (Thurston County, WA)

Hatch outlook

Callibaetis (Speckled Dun)Active window

Typical here: Aug 15 – Sep 15 · the smaller fall brood

nymphthe hours before the midday emergence — nymphs rise off the weed tops in a vertical zigzag that can take hours — sources split between slow 2–4 inch strips with long pauses and a quicker steady retrieve; carry both speeds
dunmidday, roughly 11am into early afternoon
spinnermid-to-late-morning falls

Trout browse the weed-bed edges knocking nymphs loose, then cruise the flats sipping duns at midday — the marquee western lake mayfly.

The midday emergence puts cruisers over weed flats in under 20 ft: a casting bubble with a #14 Callibaetis nymph retrieved dead-slow with pauses is the honest match. Between hatch hours, small spoons and #1 inline spinners along the weed edges and drop-offs pick off the same fish.

The event happens over weed flats and weed-bed edges in 20 ft of water or less

Chironomids (stillwater midges)Active window

Typical here: May 1 – Oct 31

nymphearly morning, start of the day — fish the bloodworm ON the bottom — 4–6 inches off the mud before the emergence starts
pupathe cool morning hours are prime — as the emergence builds, slide the pupa up to 12–15 inches off bottom under the indicator; a little wind chop does the jigging

Concentrates by DEPTH BAND and mud type, not a fixed spot: roughly 20–25 ft in spring, deeper midsummer, in against the feeder creeks in summer heat, 5–25 ft in fall. Match the band.

This one translates almost perfectly: a slip float with a 1/64–1/100 oz midge-pattern jig set 4–15 inches off bottom over a mud flat, dead-sticked with the chop doing the work. Depth control is everything — no moving lure imitates a hanging pupa; the float rig IS the technique.

The event happens over open mud flats alongside weedlines, channels and basin edges; feeder-creek mouths in summer heat

Water boatman fall flightsActive window

Typical here: Aug 25 – Oct 10 · peaks on crisp, bright fall days after the first cold snap

adultmiddday-ish on calm, sunny fall days — the fishable moment is the splashdown: boatmen dive in headfirst trailing an air bubble and make repeated trips back to the surface — a fly or lure that dives nose-first on the drop imitates exactly this

Takes are seldom subtle — trout ravage boatmen as they hit the water and during their subsurface runs.

Tailor-made for hardware: a small 1/16 oz silver-bellied spoon or jig cast AT the rings of a splashdown sinks headfirst exactly like the natural — twitch-pause it back through the top few feet. On flight days fan-cast the shallow weed margins.

The event happens over near-shore shallows, weed beds and shoal margins on calm sunny fall afternoons

Grasshoppers (east-side summer)Active window

Typical here: Jun 15 – Sep 30

adultall day in high summer, best when afternoon wind knocks bugs onto the water

Pulls fish to the windward grassy banks and edges for months — fish the bank the wind blows ONTO.

The friendliest crossover of the summer: on lakes, drift the windward bank with a bubble-and-foam-hopper — the bubble's splash doesn't hurt a hopper presentation. On rivers, the same rig dead-drifted along the undercut grass banks, or small gold spinners under the banks between rises.

The event happens over grassy banks, undercut edges and windward shorelines

Next on this water

Damselfly migration · forageMay 15 – Jul 31 · in ~9 months

Recommendations come from depth structure and seasonal species behavior. Treat them as a starting point, not a guarantee. Contours here are interpolated from real agency depth surveys (state DNR / USACE). Never use for navigation. Always check local regulations.

Loading depth chart…

Recent catches at Black Lake

Shared by DepthScout anglers. Exact spots stay private, always.

No shared catches here yet — be the first.Log a catch from the map above and share it to put Black Lake on the board.

Fishing Black Lake: what the data says

570-acre lake near Tumwater. The lake tops out around 28 ft. The depth chart is built from real state fisheries GPS surveys, so the humps, channels and drop-offs you see are measured, not guessed. The rest of this page walks each species through its year, using the map's own scoring.

The outline encloses 566 acres, worked by 6 miles of shoreline. A middling shoreline index (1.8) gives it some bays to work without being a maze. Littoral water — the productive band under ~15 ft — makes up 40% of this chart. The basin spans about 2.5 mi end to end and 0.6 mi across at its widest. It sits in Thurston County. Ward Lake sits 5 mi east — the closest neighbouring chart.

Largemouth Bass fishing at Black Lake

Spring largemouth bass on Black Lake hold shallow, usually 2 to 10 ft. They move out to 8 to 20 ft in summer and finish the year down in 8 to 28 ft. Put Shallow bay flat first on the milk run — a weed flat near 4 ft that grades prime for spring. The feeding windows run early morning and the evening. The summer box starts with a texas-rigged 10" worm or a deep-diving crankbait.

Season	Depth	Best window	Start at	Go-to baits
Spring	2 to 10 ft	dawn & dusk	Shallow bay flat (4 ft)	Spinnerbait, Chatterbait
Summer	8 to 20 ft	dawn & dusk	Break off the point (10 ft)	Texas-rigged 10" worm, Deep-diving crankbait
Fall	4 to 15 ft	midday & dawn	Main-lake point (5 ft)	Squarebill crankbait (shad), Spinnerbait
Winter	8 to 28 ft	midday	Break off the point (10 ft)	Blade bait, Jigging spoon

Crappie fishing at Black Lake

Early season crappie use the shallows, holding in 2 to 8 ft. Summer is a 10 to 25 ft game here, winter an 8 to 28 ft one. The chart's best answer is Deep basin — deep basin, 28 ft, prime for winter. Best bite is early morning and the evening. Tie on a jig trolled/spider-rigged or a small crankbait (trolled) and you're in the game.

Season	Depth	Best window	Start at	Go-to baits
Spring	2 to 8 ft	midday & dawn	Shallow bay flat (4 ft)	1/16 oz jig + tube, Curly-tail grub
Summer	10 to 25 ft	dawn & dusk	Break off the point (10 ft)	Jig trolled/spider-rigged, Small crankbait (trolled)
Fall	8 to 20 ft	dawn	Break off the point (10 ft)	Jig + minnow combo, Small swimbait (1.5-2")
Winter	8 to 28 ft	midday	Deep basin (28 ft)	Tungsten jig + soft plastic, Tiny jigging spoon

Bluegill fishing at Black Lake

Early season bluegill use the shallows, holding in 1 to 6 ft. Expect a summer slide to 4 to 15 ft, then a winter hold in 10 to 25 ft. Put Shallow bay flat first on the milk run — a weed flat near 4 ft that grades prime for spring. In summer the feeding windows fall in early morning and the evening. Tie on a small sponge spider (fly) or a micro tube jig and you're in the game.

Season	Depth	Best window	Start at	Go-to baits
Spring	1 to 6 ft	midday & dusk	Shallow bay flat (4 ft)	1/32 oz jig + micro plastic, Tiny popper (evenings)
Summer	4 to 15 ft	dawn & dusk	Shallow bay flat (4 ft)	Small sponge spider (fly), Micro tube jig
Fall	6 to 18 ft	midday	Break off the point (10 ft)	Micro jig + waxworm, Small spoon tipped
Winter	10 to 25 ft	midday	Deep basin (28 ft)	Tungsten ice jig + plastic, Tiny spoon

Yellow Perch fishing at Black Lake

In spring, yellow perch run shallow here, mostly 3 to 12 ft. Midsummer fish sit out in 8 to 28 ft before dropping to 8 to 28 ft for winter. Spring yellow perch concentrate at Shallow bay flat, a prime-rated weed flat around 4 ft. Fish it in early morning and you'll meet the bite. You won't need more than a drop-shot micro plastics or a small spoon tipped with worm most summer days.

Season	Depth	Best window	Start at	Go-to baits
Spring	3 to 12 ft	midday & dawn	Shallow bay flat (4 ft)	Small jig + curly tail, Perch-pattern micro crank
Summer	8 to 28 ft	dawn	Deep basin (28 ft)	Drop-shot micro plastics, Small spoon tipped with worm
Fall	8 to 28 ft	midday	Deep basin (28 ft)	Jigging spoon (small), Perch rig / spreader
Winter	8 to 28 ft	midday & dawn	Deep basin (28 ft)	Tungsten jig + spikes, Rattle spoon (small)

Rainbow Trout fishing at Black Lake

When the water first warms, rainbow trout slide up into 5 to 20 ft. By summer they slide out to 7 to 28 ft, and by winter most fish are in 6 to 28 ft. If you only fish one area, make it Break off the point: a drop-off around 10 ft that scores prime in winter. In summer the feeding windows fall in early morning and the evening. Keep a dodger + spoon (deep troll) or a flutter spoon rigged through the warm months.

Season	Depth	Best window	Start at	Go-to baits
Spring	5 to 20 ft	dawn & dusk	Main-lake point (5 ft)	Inline spinner (silver), Small spoon
Summer	7 to 28 ft	dawn & dusk	Break off the point (10 ft)	Dodger + spoon (deep troll), Flutter spoon
Fall	8 to 28 ft	dawn & dusk	Secondary point (12 ft)	Casting spoon, Jerkbait over shoals
Winter	6 to 28 ft	dawn	Break off the point (10 ft)	Jigging spoon, Tube jig (white)

Notable structure

The chart marks 10 structure features on Black Lake; the deepest is Deep basin at about 28 ft.

Deep basin: deep basin, around 28 ft
Secondary point: point, around 12 ft
Break off the point: drop-off, around 10 ft
Dock / pier line: dock line, around 9 ft
Dock / pier line: dock line, around 8 ft
Dock / pier line: dock line, around 8 ft
Dock / pier line: dock line, around 6 ft
Main-lake point: point, around 5 ft
Shallow bay flat: weed flat, around 4 ft
Back-bay flat: weed flat, around 4 ft

Public access & boat ramps

Black Lake — ramp (concrete)

Access data: Washington WDFW — Water Access Sites. Confirm conditions and fees locally before you launch.

Black Lake fishing regulations

Season dates, license requirements, and size and bag limits for Washington waters are set by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife — and special regulations can apply to Black Lake specifically, so confirm the current rules before you fish.

Check the official Washington fishing regulations →

Common questions

How deep is Black Lake?

Black Lake is about 28 ft (9 m) deep at its deepest point. The depth chart here comes from real state fisheries GPS surveys, so the contours reflect measured depths.

What fish are in Black Lake?

Anglers target largemouth bass, crappie, bluegill, yellow perch, rainbow trout on Black Lake.

Where is the best fishing spot on Black Lake?

Shallow bay flat is the top-rated area: a weed flat in about 4 ft of water that rates prime for largemouth bass in spring. Every other rated spot, per species and season, is on the map above.

When is the best time to fish Black Lake?

For largemouth bass, the summer bite is best in early morning and the evening. Each species page section below lists the seasonal windows, and the map shows a live NOW badge when you're inside one.

What are the fishing regulations for Black Lake?

Fishing on Black Lake is regulated by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Check the official Washington regulations for current license requirements, season dates, and size and bag limits — special regulations can apply to this specific water.

Nearby waters

Ward Lake 5 mi · Deep Lake 7 mi · Chambers Lake 7 mi · Summit Lake 7 mi · Hicks Lake 9 mi · Offutt Lake 9 mi · Pattison Lake 9 mi · Long Lake 10 mi · Lake Saint Clair 12 mi · McIntosh Lake 13 mi · Forbes Lake 14 mi · Isabella Lake 14 mi

See how Black Lake stacks up: best largemouth bass lakes in Washington · best crappie lakes in Washington · best bluegill lakes in Washington · best rainbow trout lakes in Washington

More water nearby: Thurston County fishing maps (14 charts). Browse all Washington fishing maps or see every water on DepthScout. Bathymetry credit: state fisheries survey programs. How we build these maps. Fish here with a sonar unit that logs? Send us your depth data and we'll improve this chart, credited to you. For fishing guidance only, never navigation.