Fishing at Fontanillis Lake, El Dorado County, California

• Overview

  In California, Fontanillis Lake falls inside El Dorado County. Height above sea level is 8,287 feet. At about 29 acres, a day is enough to walk the shoreline properly. The nearest town is South Lake Tahoe, 9.1 miles away. Reno sits 46 miles out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. The county line is nowhere near, so one local authority covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Fontanillis Lake

  No depth figure appears in our records, so the bank has to tell you. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Records held for El Dorado County cover rainbow trout, sockeye salmon, brook trout, bluegill and great basin cutthroat trout. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. Fontanillis Lake repays a walk before the first cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Temperature averages peak at 59°F in August and bottom out at 28°F in January. Some winters cap it and some do not. Some winters give nothing at all, so plan for open water. The cooler months are the comfortable ones to fish here. At Fontanillis Lake the season follows that pattern closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  Our records carry no access rule either way. There is camping recorded roughly half a mile off. Light line and small metal for the trout; a fly rod earns its place on calm evenings. Where a permit is needed, the nearest town usually sells it. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. If the gate is shut, Upper Velma Lake at 0.6 miles is the nearest alternative. Check the position on Fontanillis Lake before loading the car.