Getting There

To reach Feely Lake in Nevada County, drive to the Carr Lake trailhead by taking Highway 20 from Highway 80 at Yuba Pass. Take Highway 20 west until you can turn right on Bowman Lake Road. From Bowman Lake Road, follow the signs to the turnoff for Carr Lake Road. Carr Lake Road is an unimproved dirt road that is very rough but still manageable in a 2-wheel drive vehicle with modest clearance. The parking can be sparse due to the trailhead being very popular.

The Hike

The hike to Feely Lake is very short. From the parking areas at either Carr Lake or down the road at the overflow, the hike could not be more than 5-10 minutes with no appreciable ascents. For this reason, many hikers choose to take their children along this trail, as I did this trip, due to it's easy climbs and abundant lakes.

The Fishing

REPORT - June 6, 2018

We hit Feely Lake on our way out of the Island Lake area after fishing Big Island and Crooked Lakes the day before. We set up three poles near the trail on the southeast side and saw no action at all. I was surprised that we didn't get any bites as I usually have good action at Feely Lake. After re-casting more than 8 times and fanning out over hundreds of feet out in the water, we concluded that the fish must be hanging out somewhere else.

So we moved westward down the south shoreline and set up a spot closer to the dam. We fished this area again with three poles and couldn't get one bite. I started to think that maybe Feely got fished out. We usually don't see anyone fishing this trailside lake despite it's close proximity to the Carr Lake trailhead (about .5 miles). Only once, in 2016, did I see a handful of anglers fishing from the dam, which may be productive if you zero in on the creek bed which is the deepest point. After getting skunked at this spot we packed up and hit the trail back to the truck. Two weeks later, after staying at Crooked Lake, we passed by Feely and spotted an angler holding a nice 12 or 13 inch Brookie. So I guess they just weren't biting when we were there.

Two fun facts about Feely Lake:
• Feely Lake is perfect for hauling in a floatation device (raft, float tube) as the trailhead is very close to the lake.
• According to DFW records, finglerings (Rainbow) were air dropped in August, 2017 so expect better fishing in 2 years.

The Fishing

REPORT - June 20, 2015

Feely Lake is a put-and-take fishery that is planted with Brook and Rainbow Trout. The fishing at Feely Lake is great for Brookies and Chunky Rainbows in the 10-14 inch range. Feely Lake fishing rivals that of nearby Penner Lake but receives less pressure due to it's close proximity to the trailhead which I think makes many hikers overlook it along their way to more popular destinations.

My four year old daughter and I started fishing Feely Lake first before heading over to Island Lake down the trail. We landed our first Brookie on some orange Powerbait and had lots of action on inflated crawlers. I hooked into a large fish that eventually got off the hook but left me wondering how big it actually was all day. After having many bites, but landing only one fish, we chose to take our Brook Trout with us and vowed to return the next day to try and get that big fella I know is still in there.

The next day we fished Feely Lake in the morning and I managed to bring in a husky Rainbow that was close to three pounds. I released him back into Feely Lake.