Cameron Park Lake, California: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  Cameron Park Lake lies in El Dorado County, California. Elevation runs to 1,240 feet. It runs to roughly 37 acres — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. Size puts it in the front rank of our El Dorado County list. Start from Cameron Park, 1.1 miles down the road. Shingle Springs is 3.9 miles away, with El Dorado Hills at 4.7 miles. This one sits near enough to a boundary to be worth checking.

• Where to Fish on Cameron Park Lake

  Without a survey to go on, judge depth from how the bank falls away. A reservoir gives you a hard edge, a shelf, and not much else. Inflow corners move water, and moving water gathers fish. Reported across El Dorado County: rainbow trout, sockeye salmon and brook trout. Some of the species recorded here are protected or tightly regulated, so check what may be targeted before you fish. Cameron Park Lake gives up more to patience than to distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  On the long-term average, July reads 76°F and January reads 45°F. Long warm spells define the calendar more than any cold. The cooler months are the comfortable ones to be out. The hot months push the fishing to dawn and dusk. It sets the rhythm of the year at Cameron Park Lake. Water temperature lags the air by a week or so.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. Parking within half a mile means no long carry with tackle. Mapping shows a jetty some 110 yards off. Facilities run to toilets half a mile from the water. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. The nearest alternative is Bass Lake, 1.7 miles out. Treat Cameron Park Lake as unsettled until someone local tells you otherwise.