Fishing Table Lake in Tuolumne County, California

• Overview

  Table Lake is set in Tuolumne County, California. It lies 7,100 feet above sea level. It covers about 17 acres, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. Yosemite Valley lies 17 miles from the water. It is 80 miles to Clovis, the nearest city. It lies deep inside the county rather than near an edge.

• Where to Fish on Table Lake

  We hold no survey for this water; read the slope of the shoreline instead. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Open biodiversity records for Tuolumne County list rainbow trout, brook trout, Sacramento sucker, bluegill and brown trout. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. At Table Lake light and wind decide more than tackle does.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages move between 30°F in February and 61°F in August. The swings are modest, so patterns change slowly. Hard water here is never dependable, so check for yourself before stepping out. February into May fishes hardest as the water warms. Expect Table Lake to follow that timing.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. We find no slipway, car park or made path within a short radius, so treat access as rough. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. Signs go up and come down, so check on the day. Should this one be busy, Irwin Bright Lake is 0.5 miles off. Confirm before you fish Table Lake.