Buck Lakes Fishing

Emigrant Wilderness

Buck Lakes are tucked away deep in the Emigrant Wilderness, with 20 other lakes within a three mile radius. Sure, some of those other lakes require a lot of up-and-down and round-about hiking, but Buck Lakes will provide enough great fishing to keep you busy for a long weekend in the back country. If you should seek other waters, nearby Emigrant Lake should be just what you were looking for.

Sidetrips:

Sidetrips from Buck Lakes are almost anywhere you look. Among the most popular fishing destinations are Huckleberry Lake, Wood Lake, Emigrant Lake, and Deer Lake.

Upper Buck Lake

Nearby Featured Trips in Tuolumne County

Relief Creek and Reservoir - good fishing and camping, hike out of Kennedy Meadows and fish along the river the entire way
Sharon Lake - a tough climb to this remote lake, but rewards of good fishing and wonderful vistas of the Kennedy Lake area
Camp Lake - a nice early season trip out of Crabtree Camp, rewarding fly fishing
South Fork Stanislaus River - Fraser Flat to Strawberry
South Fork Stanislaus River - Strawberry to Pinecrest

Wmigrant Lake, Emigrant Wilderness, California

Emigrant Lake

In My Creel

#16 Black Gnat
#16 Red Quill
#14 Adams
Panther Martin Gold
Rooster Tail Rainbow
Acme Kastmaster

Since I planned to fish Summit Creek along the way as well as giant Emigrant Lake, I brought along a lot of different flies and lures that I thought might work out well. As it turned out, on my most recent trip in late August, mosquitoes were swarming at the highest lakes because of the late spring and my black gnats did well, as did anything that resembled a little mosquito. Panther Martins were the best lures I tried.

Recommended Books, Lures, and Flies for Fishing Buck Lakes

High Sierra Fly Fishing : Basics to Advanced Tactics A great book for fishing Sierra lakes and streams. Covers everything from beginning to advanced tactics.
Panther Martin Best of the Best Trout Lures Kit. Three of their most popular colors in two of our most popular sizes. Razor sharp treble red hooks mimic wounded fish.
Mepps Plain Lure Assortment Trouter Kit Spinner blades are silver or gold plated, copper, or polished brass .
FISHINGSIR Fly Fishing Flies Kit - 64/100/110/120pcs Handmade Fly Fishing Lures - Dry/Wet Flies,Streamer, Nymph, Emerger with Waterproof Fly Box - Large selection of flies includes trusted patterns (such as Adams, Woolly Bugger, Elk Hair Caddis, Griffith's Gnat, Stimulator, Egg Fly, etc.) used by anglers around the world.

Lower Buck Lake

Fishing Supplies

Fishing supplies can be purchased locally at the following places:

Strawberry Store, Strawberry
Rich and Sal's Sport Shop, Pinecrest
The Sportsman, 90 S. Washington, Sonora
Mountain Liquors, 18711 Tiffeni Dr., Twain Harte
Dardanelle Store, Dardanelle
Ken's Sporting Goods, Bridgeport

Sierra Fishing Destinations

HOME

Two Approaches to Buck Lakes

The Gianelli Cabin Trailhead

You can approach Buck Lakes from several different directions. Probably the most direct route is to hike the 13-mile trail to Buck Lakes from Gianelli's Cabin near Burst Rock. To reach Gianelli's Cabin trailhead, leave Highway 108 on the Crabtree Road just a short distance east of Cold Springs. The last part of the road is gravel and makes for slow travel.

Numerous side trails and the lack of high peaks to serve as guides make path finding a little difficult. Good maps and a GPS are advised. Follow the trail over Burst Rock and out to Whitesides Meadow, about 6½ miles. Then make Deer Lake your destination, staying on that trail for another 5½ miles. From Deer Lake it is only another 1½ miles over a ridge and down to Buck Lakes. It is also possible to find a similar route with about the same mileage from the Crabtree Trailhead.

The Kennedy Meadows Trailhead

An alternate route to Buck Lakes begins at the Kennedy Meadows trailhead high on Sonora Pass. Although the trail is 5 miles longer (18 miles altogether), it takes you up beautiful Lunch Meadow and past magnificent Emigrant Lake along the way. This was the route I used on my most recent trip to Buck Lakes.

Except for super-hikers, it is a two-day backpack trip. You can find good campsites along the way at Sheep Camp, Lunch Meadow, and Emigrant Lake, among others. The total climb is about 3,000 feet. A great alternative is to be packed in from Kennedy Meadows by the Kennedy Meadows Pack Station.

Upper and Lower Buck Lakes

The upper and lower Buck Lakes are completely different in character. The upper lake is more of a meadow lake with shallows and swampy areas near its upper end, while the lower lakes are deeper and ringed with glacier-polished granite that offers great places from which to cast. Because other well-known lakes are closer to the trailheads, the string of Buck Lakes doesn't see as many anglers such as the more popular Emigrant Lake. You'll find lots of coves and inlets around the shores and plenty of good places from which to cast.

Lodging and Camping

Good backpacking campsites are plentiful around Buck Lakes, especially in the area between the two main lakes. A few places are marked for site restoration.

If you are seeking campgrounds to spend the night before your trip, you can camp at either trailhead before setting out. Otherwise there are numerous Forest Service campgrounds around Kennedy Meadows and Pinecrest Lake. For lodging, consider the Pinecrest Resort, the Strawberry Inn, Dardanelle Resort (when it re-opens), or Kennedy Meadows Resort.

California's Best Camping

For complete information about campgrounds along the Highway 108 corridor, see