Fishing at Upper Kinney Lake, Alpine County, California

• Overview

  California holds Upper Kinney Lake, in Alpine County. The country round it is pine and birch from end to end. At 18 acres it is the sort of place you fish for an evening rather than a day. Topaz Ranch Estates is the closest town at 21 miles. Reno is the closest city, 67 miles away. No border sits close enough to matter. The character changes with the season more than with the year.

• Where to Fish on Upper Kinney Lake

  Depth went unrecorded, which puts the reading back on you. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Across Alpine County, recorded fish include brook trout, rainbow trout, great basin cutthroat trout and cutthroat trout. The county list is broader than any single water. Upper Kinney Lake gives up more to patience than to distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Temperature averages peak at 57°F in August and bottom out at 25°F in January. A full turn of seasons, with the strongest sport on either side of summer. Firm cover through the cold months, then open water from mid May. Break-up near mid May, freeze-up near late November: that is the shape of an average year. Just after the ice goes and just before it returns, the fishing lifts. At Upper Kinney Lake the season follows that pattern closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing in our records says who may fish here. You can camp about 0.9 miles away, going by the mapping. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. Rules for this water may differ from the county norm. Keep proof of licence with you rather than in the car. Lower Kinney Lake, 0.4 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Check the position at Upper Kinney Lake before loading the car.