Fishing Wahoo Lake in Inyo County, California

• Overview

  This water sits in Inyo County, California. This is pine and birch country. It covers about 8 acres, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. Compared with other California water on our list, it sits high. Nearest town is West Bishop, 17 miles off. Further out sit Dixon Lane-Meadow Creek (20 miles) and Bishop (20 miles). This one is safely inside the county line.

• Where to Fish on Wahoo Lake

  No chart reached our records; the first cast is your sounding. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Survey and observation records for Inyo County include california golden trout, brook trout, rainbow trout, brown trout and owens sucker. Records at county level tell you what is around, not what is stocked here. On Wahoo Lake the obvious spot is not always the productive one.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages move between 18°F in January and 49°F in August. The year splits cleanly: hard water, then open water. Break-up comes around mid June, and the run that follows is short and strong. Climate figures give an open season running mid June to mid November. The first weeks of open water and the last are the ones to plan for. Wahoo Lake runs to its own calendar within the local pattern.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. There is no mapped parking or launch close by, which usually means walking in. Light line and small metal for the trout; a fly rod earns its place on calm evenings. Parking is often the real limit rather than the bank itself. Close seasons apply to some species and not others. Should this one be busy, Lower Golden Trout Lake is 0.8 miles off. Rules at Wahoo Lake are worth checking on the day.