Chain Lakes, California: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  Chain Lakes lies in Madera County, California. The bank is 9,114 feet above sea level. For supplies, Yosemite Valley is 15 miles out. The big place round here is Clovis, 54 miles distant. Close by you also have: Breeze Lake the better part of 0.9 miles, Spotted Lakes a shade over 1.2 miles, Blackie Lake the better part of 1.7 miles, Shirley Lake a shade over 1.8 miles and Ruth Lake the better part of 2 miles. The county line is nowhere near, so one local authority covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Chain Lakes

  Depth is unmeasured here, so let the shoreline guide you. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Species logged across Madera County include brown trout, rainbow trout, smallmouth bass and bluegill. County records show the wider picture rather than this one place. The shape of Chain Lakes decides where the fish sit.

• Seasonal Patterns

  August runs about 58°F on average, February about 27°F. Neither winter nor summer shuts things down for long. In milder years the edges alone go, and the middle never sets. The cooler months are the comfortable ones to fish here. The season on Chain Lakes rarely departs from it. Conditions on the day matter more than the month on the calendar.

• Tackle & Baits

  Our records carry no access rule either way. Mapping is blank for access, so scout the approach before committing the car. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Parking is often the real limit rather than the bank itself. Close seasons apply to some species and not others. Breeze Lake, 0.9 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. What applies at Chain Lakes may have changed since it was mapped.