Little Lake in Mono County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Set in Mono County, Little Lake is a California water. The water sits 9,685 feet up. This is a tiny water, and one quiet approach covers all of it. Most waters listed here for Mono County are larger. The closest town, Yosemite Valley, is 29 miles distant. Topaz Ranch Estates follows at 41 miles, then Mammoth Lakes at 43 miles. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Little Lake

  No published figure covers depth, so learn it as you fish. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. County-wide records name brook trout, rainbow trout and brown trout. Records at this level tell you what is in the area. At Little Lake the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate normals give 53°F for August and 22°F for February. Hard water is a season in its own right here. The open season starts with the thaw, near enough early June. Break-up sits around early June on average, with the water closing again about late November. The open run goes from the thaw to the freeze, and April through October covers most of it. On Little Lake that shapes the whole year.

• Tackle & Baits

  There is no clear statement anywhere on who can fish it. There is no mapped parking or launch nearby, which keeps numbers down. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. Parking space is the usual limit rather than the bank itself. Some water is controlled locally without a sign saying so. The nearest alternative is Barney Lake, 0.6 miles out. What applies at Little Lake may have changed since it was mapped.