McGee Lake in Inyo County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  McGee Lake is an Inyo County water, California side. The surface lies 10,853 feet up. It runs to roughly 26 acres — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. Shoreline comes to about 1.7 miles, small enough to learn in a day. It sits higher than most water we list in California. West Bishop is the closest place, 21 miles off. Then Bishop, 23 miles, and Dixon Lane-Meadow Creek, 23 miles. It lies deep inside the county rather than near an edge.

• Where to Fish on McGee Lake

  Without a survey to go on, judge depth from how the bank falls away. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Reported across Inyo County: california golden trout, brook trout and rainbow trout. Records at this level tell you what is in the area. Treat McGee Lake as a water to read rather than to cover.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The seasonal spread runs 18°F to 49°F. The year runs cold to warm and back, with clear transitions. Hard cover is dependable here; it goes around late June. The lid tends to go about late June and return around mid November. Look to early summer and the first cool weeks of autumn. Expect McGee Lake to follow that timing.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether the bank is open is not something our records settle. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. Nothing is listed nearby for parking or launching a boat. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Season dates differ by species, so read the table. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. Failing this one, try Sapphire Lake, 1.2 miles away. Check the current arrangement for McGee Lake.