Ambition Lake, California: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  Ambition Lake lies in Fresno County, California. It sits at 10,856 feet above sea level. Surface area is around 43 acres, which gives you real water without needing a boat. Few waters listed in Fresno County are bigger. Nearest place of any size is West Bishop, 26 miles away. Big Pine is 26 miles away, with Bishop at 28 miles. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on Ambition Lake

  Depth is not on record here, which means reading the ground instead. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. County-wide records name brown trout, brook trout and rainbow trout. The county list is broader than any single water. Treat Ambition Lake as a water to read rather than to cover.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate records put August near 54°F and February near 23°F. Hard water is a season in its own right here. After late May the shallows warm and the fish move up. Break-up near late May, freeze-up near late November: that is the shape of an average year. May into June fishes hardest, and September gives a second good stretch before the lid returns. That is the shape of the year on Ambition Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is not recorded for this water. Nothing formal is recorded here: no ramp, no car park, no marked path. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Read any posted signs at the access point rather than assuming. Some water is controlled locally without a sign saying so. For a change of water, Valor Lake is 0.5 miles distant. Nothing here settles the position at Ambition Lake for certain.