Crystal Lake Fishing near Three Rivers, California

• Overview

  Look for Crystal Lake in Tulare County, California. It stands 10,804 feet above sea level. Small at around 10 acres: two anglers spread out cover most of it. Compared with other California water on our list, it sits high. Supplies mean a trip to Three Rivers, 19 miles off. It is 41 miles to Visalia, the nearest city. Rules here are straightforward: one county, one set of rules.

• Where to Fish on Crystal Lake

  No depth figure has reached our records, which makes a plummet useful. Look for where the old bank line still shows under the surface. The arms fish better than the open middle whenever the water is up. County-wide records name rainbow trout, brook trout, california golden trout and Sacramento sucker. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. Crystal Lake gives up more to patience than to distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Temperature averages peak at 53°F in August and bottom out at 20°F in January. Winter shuts things down for a spell, then spring reopens them fast. Count on hard cover from midwinter, and open water from early June. Open water usually runs from early June until about late November. Fish feed hardest at the start and the close of the open season. It holds true on Crystal Lake more years than not.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing we hold confirms whether access is permitted. You can camp 0.9 miles off, which suits an early start. Public toilets are recorded roughly 0.9 miles off. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. Should this one be busy, Amphitheater Lake is 0.6 miles off. Confirm before you fish Crystal Lake.