Kidney Lake Fishing near Mammoth Lakes, California

• Overview

  California holds Kidney Lake, in Mono County. Elevation runs to 10,400 feet. This is a pocket water of some 14 acres, and every part of it is reachable from the bank. You are 21 miles from Mammoth Lakes. Beyond it, Yosemite Valley at 23 miles and Midpines at 46 miles. Close by you have: Gibbs Lake just 0.8 miles, Dana Lake after 1.4 miles, Walker Lake just 2.4 miles, Lower Sardine Lake after 2.7 miles and Upper Sardine Lake just 3 miles. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Kidney Lake

  No depth figure has reached our records, which makes a plummet useful. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Survey and observation records for Mono County include brook trout, rainbow trout and brown trout. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. Fish Kidney Lake to its features, not to its size.

• Seasonal Patterns

  On the long-term average, August reads 51°F and February reads 20°F. A solid cap is the normal state through winter. Ice is part of the season here, ending near early June. Climate averages put the opening at about early June and the closing near mid November. The first weeks of open water and the last are the ones to plan for. Keep it in mind when planning a trip to Kidney Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. Public data shows nothing built here, so treat the whole approach as informal. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. Close seasons apply to some species and not others. Should this one be busy, Gibbs Lake is 0.8 miles off. Where Kidney Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.