Upper Mills Creek Lake Fishing near West Bishop, California

• Overview

  Upper Mills Creek Lake is an Inyo County water, in California. Around the bank it is lake country bush. Small at around 22 acres: two anglers spread out cover most of it. It is high ground by California standards. Supplies mean a trip to West Bishop, 19 miles off. It is 63 miles to Clovis, the nearest city. The nearest boundary is well away, so one set of rules covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Upper Mills Creek 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. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Public occurrence data for Inyo County names california golden trout, brook trout, rainbow trout, brown trout and owens sucker. County records show what lives in the area; the local agency holds the water-by-water list. Fish Upper Mills Creek Lake where the bottom changes rather than where it looks deep.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The range across the year is 18°F to 48°F. Cold winters and warm summers give a wide working range. Count on hard cover from midwinter, and open water from late June. Average temperatures cross freezing around late June in spring and again near early November in autumn. Reckon on open water from spring through to late autumn, with May and June the strongest. Upper Mills Creek Lake runs to that rhythm year in and year out.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access status is simply unknown for this water. No made access appears within a short radius, so plan to park on a verge and walk. Light line and small metal for the trout; a fly rod earns its place on calm evenings. Where access is informal, keep it that way by behaving. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. If the gate is shut, Lower Mills Creek Lake at 0.7 miles is the nearest alternative. Nothing on Upper Mills Creek Lake should be assumed from this page alone.