Fishing at Lily Lake, El Dorado County, California

• Overview

  Lily Lake lies in El Dorado County, California. It sits in rolling hill country. The water measures roughly 7 acres, so nothing here is far from anything else. The nearest town is South Lake Tahoe, 6.6 miles away. For a city, Reno is 47 miles off. Near neighbours include: Cathedral Lake at 1.2 miles, Triangle Lake at about 1.2 miles, Lost Lake at 1.4 miles, Grass Lake at about 1.7 miles and Floating Island Lake at 1.9 miles. The nearest boundary is a fair way off.

• Where to Fish on Lily Lake

  Depth is unmeasured here, so let the shoreline guide you. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Across El Dorado County, recorded fish include 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. Lily Lake gives up its fish to patience rather than distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warm month here averages 60°F; the cold one sits at 28°F. Ice comes and goes from one year to the next. Hard water here is never dependable, so check for yourself before stepping out. April and May are the settled weeks, with October close behind. That is the shape of the year on Lily Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. Parking is close: a car park sits half a mile from the bank. There is a mapped landing stage half a mile away. There is a campsite half a mile from the water. There are toilets mapped about half a mile away. A phone call first saves an afternoon. Some water is controlled locally without a sign saying so. Cathedral Lake sits 1.2 miles off and takes the overflow. Check the position on Lily Lake before loading the car.