Emerald Lake Fishing

Mammoth Lakes - Mono County

Emerald Lake is another beautiful lake just a short hike from the road's end at Mammoth Lakes in California's Eastern Sierra. Fishing is good for rainbows and brook trout. Emerald Lake is easy to reach from the Coldwater Campground at the south end of Lake Mary. A twenty-minute hike on a well-marked trail delivers you to the water's edge, ready for an early morning of fishing.

Emerald Lake are at an elevation of 9,500 feet. It makes a good destination for children because there are safe places along the shore for them to fish. Once again, you are likely to find few others around the lake.

Emerald Lake

Sidetrips

Several other good fishing lakes are nearby. From Emerald Lake you could continue on another mile to Skelton Lake and nearby Arrowhead Lake. Farther up the trail are Barney Lake and Duck Lake. All these lakes have rainbow and brook trout.

Nearby Featured Trips in Mammoth Lakes:

Crystal Lake - Enjoy scenic views of Mammoth as you hike to this pretty alpine lake.
T. J. Lake - a beautiful, secluded mountain lake
Sherwin Lakes - a series of lakes offering good fishing
Skelton Lake - a 2-mile hike brings you to the shores of a great mountain lake with plenty of room to explore the best fishing spots.
Middle Fork San Joaquin River - 9 miles of river at Devils Postpile

Lake Mary

In My Creel

South Bend Super Duper
Rooster Tail
Panther Martin
salmon eggs
Berkley Power Bait
Nightcrawlers

At Emerald Lake I decided to try my hand at spin casting and also do a little bait fishing. Both were successful.

Recommended Books for Fishing Emerald Lake

High Sierra Fishing, Basics to Advanced Tactics, Billy Van Loek. This is the book I go back to again and again to improve my fishing technique in the high Sierra.
Fly Fishing Eastern Sierra Streams Where to Go, What to Use, and How to Get There, Mike Brown. Great book detailing the best streams in the Eastern Sierra. Color Photographs.
California's Best Fly Fishing: Premier Streams and Rivers from Northern California to the Eastern Sierra, Chip O'Brien. An up-to-date guidebook, complete with maps, detailed descriptions of fishing locations, analysis of the seasonal differences which affect fishing, and fly patterns.

Lake George

Sierra Fishing Destinations

HOME

Getting to Emerald Lake

To get to Emerald Lake drive on Highway 395 which runs north and south along the foot of California's Eastern Sierra. Turn up Highway 203 and follow it through Mammoth Lakes, staying on what becomes Lake Mary Road, rather than turning right toward Devils Postpile.

Drive on the Lake Mary Loop Road to the south end of the lake and through Coldwater Campground to a parking lot at the trailhead at the far south end of the campground. Restrooms are available there. The hike to Emerald Lake is only 3/4 mile, so it makes a good early morning destination, allowing you to arrive while the fish are still rising for their sunrise feast.

You could also approach Emerald Lake along the same trail that leads to T.J. Lake, but it is 2 miles by that route. That trail swings around Barrett Lake (where you see the sign pointing to Emerald Lake, crosses a low ridge and then follows the contours over to Emerald Lake. The trail may not appear on every map. I recommend that you purchase the Mammoth Trails Hiking Trail Map available at Booky Joint, 437 Old Mammoth Road. The map shows all the lakes and streams and the key trails to reach them.

Accommodations and Supplies

Mammoth Lakes is crowded with accommodations, mostly condos and resorts. One of the nicest places to stay is Snowcreek Resort. Another comfortable resort is the Austria Hof Lodge which offers rooms and condos. Not to be overlooked are the Mammoth Creek Inn, the Sierra Nevada Lodge, and the Westin Monache Resort.

Campgrounds are everywhere, offering many comfortable campsites right along the lakes. Among the campgrounds are Coldwater Creek Campground, Lake George Campground, Pine City Campground, and Twin Lakes Campground. Reservations are possible at some of these campgrounds. See Mammoth Lakes Map for a map of the campground locations and information about fees and campground amenities.

California's Best Camping

For complete information about campgrounds at Mammoth Lakes, see

High Sierra Trails

Thousand Island Lake, John Muir Wilderness

Fishing supplies can be purchased locally at the following places:

The Trout Fly and Troutfitter, ShellMart Center, Hwy. 203
Performance Anglers, 26 Old Mammoth Rd., #L2
Kittredge Sports, 3218 Main Street, Mammoth Lakes
Vons, 481 Old Mammoth Road, Mammoth Lakes
Reds Meadow General Store, Reds Meadow