Mammoth

• Spots

  • Mammoth Lakes

  • Sherwin Creek

  • Duck Pass

  • Crystal Lake

  • Rainbow Falls

  • Agnew Meadows

  • Red's Meadows

  • Upper Middle Fork San Joaquin River

• Upper Middle Fork San Joaquin River Tips

• Flies

  • Mammoth Lakes Flies

  • Mammoth Backcountry Flies

  • Upper Middle Fork San Joaquin River Flies

• Resources

Spots

Mammoth Lakes

• Mammoth Lakes Map

  • Mammoth Lakes Map

• Twin Lakes

  • Location: Twin Lakes Location

  • 8,480'

• Lake Mary

  • Location: Lake Mary Location

  • 8,930'

• Mamie Lake

  • Location: Mamie Lake Location

  • 8,800'

• Lake George

  • Location: Lake George Location

  • 9,060'

• Horseshoe Lake

  • Location: Horseshoe Lake Location

  • 8,880'

• T.J. Lake

  • Location: T.J. Lake Location

  • Trailhead: Lake George Campground

  • AllTrails: T.J. Lake AllTrails Map

  • 9,259'

• McLeod Lake

  • Location: McLeod Lake Location

  • Trailhead: Lakes Basin Path / Horseshoe Lake Trailhead

  • AllTrails: McLeod Lake AllTrails Map

  • 9,250'

Sherwin Creek

• Sherwin Creek

  • Location: Sherwin Creek Location

  • Trailhead: Sherwin Lakes Trailhead

  • AllTrails: Sherwin Creek AllTrails Map

• Sherwin Lakes

  • Location: Sherwin Lakes Location

  • Trailhead: Sherwin Lakes Trailhead

  • AllTrails: Sherwin Lakes AllTrails Map

  • 8,700'

• Lost Lake

  • Location: Lost Lake Location

  • Trailhead: Sherwin Lakes Trailhead

  • AllTrails: Lost Lake AllTrails Map

  • Elevation not provided

• Valentine Lake

  • Location: Valentine Lake Location

  • Trailhead: Sherwin Lakes Trailhead

  • AllTrails: Valentine Lake AllTrails Map

  • 9,696'

Duck Pass

• Mammoth Backcountry Map

  • Mammoth Backcountry Map

• Arrowhead Lake

  • Location: Arrowhead Lake Location

  • Trailhead: Duck Pass Lakes Trailhead

  • Alltrails: Arrowhead Lake AllTrails Map

  • 1 mile from trailhead at 9,800'

• Skelton Lake

  • Location: Skelton Lake Location

  • Trailhead: Duck Pass Lakes Trailhead

  • Alltrails: Skelton Lake AllTrails Map

  • 1.5 miles from trailhead at 9,900'

• Barney Lake

  • Location: Barney Lake Location

  • Trailhead: Duck Pass Lakes Trailhead

  • Alltrails: Barney Lake AllTrails Map

  • 2.25 miles from trailhead at 10,100'

• Red Lake

  • Location: Red Lake Location

  • Trailhead: Duck Pass Lakes Trailhead

  • Alltrails: Red Lake AllTrails Map

  • 2.25 miles from trailhead at 10,100'

• Woods Lakes

  • Location: Woods Lakes Location

  • Trailhead: Duck Pass Lakes Trailhead

  • Alltrails: Woods Lakes AllTrails Map

    • Not exact trail map

• Duck Lake

  • Location: Duck Lake Location

  • Trailhead: Duck Pass Lakes Trailhead

  • Alltrails: Duck Lake AllTrails Map

  • 3.5 miles from Duck Pass Trailhead at 10,450'

• Pika Lake

  • Location: Pika Lake Location

  • Trailhead: Duck Pass Lakes Trailhead

  • Alltrails: Pika Lake AllTrails Map

  • Next to Duck Lake

• Purple Lake

  • Location: Purple Lake Location

  • Trailhead: Duck Pass Lakes Trailhead

  • Alltrails: Purple Lake AllTrails Map

  • 8 miles from Duck Pass Trailhead at 9,900'

  • Has Golden hybrids

• Lake Virginia

  • Location: Lake Virginia Location

  • Trailhead: Duck Pass Lakes Trailhead

  • Alltrails: Lake Virginia AllTrails Map

    • Not exact trail map

  • 2.5 miles past Purple Lake at 10,320'

  • Has Goldens

• Emerald Lake

  • Location: Emerald Lak Locatione

  • Trailhead: Duck Pass Lakes Trailhead

  • Alltrails: Emerald Lake AllTrails Map

  • From the Duck Pass Trailhead you can take a different trail going to Emerald Lake

  • At 8,900'

• Hammil Lake

  • Location: Hammil Lake Location

  • Trailhead: Duck Pass Lakes Trailhead

  • Alltrails: Hammil Lake AllTrails Map

    • Not exact trail map

  • Can be reached by going off-trail from Emerald to the West

• Way Lake

  • Fishless

• Heart Lake

  • Location: Heart Lake Location

  • Trailhead: Duck Pass Lakes Trailhead

  • Alltrails: Heart Lake AllTrails Map

  • At the Duck Lake Trailhead is another trail that veers to the east to Heart Lake

Crystal Lake

• Crystal Lake

  • Location: Crystal Lake Location

  • Trailhead: Crystal Lake Trailhead

  • Alltrails: Crystal Lake AllTrails Map

  • 1 mile from trailhead at 9,550'

  • Has Goldens

• Deer Lakes

  • Location: Crystal Lake Location

  • Trailhead: Crystal Lake Trailhead

  • Alltrails: Crystal Lake AllTrails Map

  • 4.5 miles from trailhead at 10,600'

Rainbow Falls

• Sharktooth Lake

  • Location: Sharktooth Lake Location

  • Trailhead: Rainbow Falls Trailhead

  • Alltrails: Sharktooth Lake AllTrails Map

    • Not exact trail map

• Sharktooth Creek

  • Location: Sharktooth Creek Location

  • Trailhead: Rainbow Falls Trailhead

  • Alltrails: Sharktooth Creek AllTrails Map

    • Not exact trail map

• Lost Keys Lakes

  • Location: Lost Keys Lakes Location

  • Trailhead: Rainbow Falls Trailhead

  • Alltrails: Lost Keys Lakes AllTrails Map

• Bench Lakes

  • Location: Bench Lakes Location

  • Trailhead: Rainbow Falls Trailhead

  • Alltrails: Bench Lakes AllTrails Map

    • Not exact trail map

• Long Canyon Creek

  • Location: Long Canyon Creek Location

  • Trailhead: Rainbow Falls Trailhead

  • Alltrails: Long Canyon Creek AllTrails Map

• Marsh Lake

  • Fishless

• Stairway Creek

  • Location: Stairway Creek Location

  • Trailhead: Rainbow Falls Trailhead

  • Alltrails: Stairway Creek AllTrails Map

    • Not exact trail map

• Fish Creek

  • Location: Fish Creek Location

  • Trailhead: Rainbow Falls Trailhead

  • No AllTrails

  • Follow the trail along Crater Creek from trailhead

  • Trail reaches Fish Creek at Island Crossing. Continue upstream as the canyon gets steep and impassible going downstream

  • Fish Creek has plenty of Brookies and Rainbows. The trail reaches Iva Bell Hot Springs and connects back to Fish Creek with nearby Second Crossing

Agnew Meadows

• Shadow Lake

  • Location: Shadow Lake Location

  • Trailhead: Agnew Meadows Trailhead

  • Alltrails: Shadow Lake AllTrails Map

  • 2.9 miles from the Trailhead, mostly a level trail with a 750 foot 8,800'

• Shadow Creek

  • Location: Shadow Creek Location

  • Trailhead: Agnew Meadows Trailhead

  • AllTrails: [Shadow Creek AllTrails Map]

  • Fish between Shadow Lake and Ediza Lake, there is about 2.5 miles of freestone stream between the two lakes

  • he stream consists of pools and runs with some small waterfalls and a slow section through meadows

• Cabin Lake

  • Location: Cabin Lake Location

  • Trailhead: Agnew Meadows Trailhead

  • Alltrails: Cabin Lake AllTrails Map

  • About 1.5 miles past Shadow Lake follow the outlet creek of Cabin Lake off-trail about .5 miles with a 500 foot gain at 9,520'

  • Contains Goldens at the second stream crossing

• Ediza Lake

  • Location: Ediza Lake Location

  • Trailhead: Agnew Meadows Trailhead

  • Alltrails: Ediza Lake AllTrails Map

  • 5.5 miles from the Trailhead at 9,300'

• Iceberg Lake

  • Location: Iceberg Lake Location

  • Trailhead: Agnew Meadows Trailhead

  • Alltrails: Iceberg Lake AllTrails Map

  • 6.4 miles from the Trailhead at 9,800'

• Laura Lake

  • Location: Laura Lake Location

  • Trailhead: Agnew Meadows Trailhead

  • Alltrails: Laura Lake AllTrails Map

  • 9,600'

  • Following the southwestern shoreline of Altha, go another .5 miles off-trail to Laura following the contours southeast

    • Not exact map

• Altha Lake

  • Location: Altha Lake Location

  • Trailhead: Agnew Meadows Trailhead

  • Alltrails: Altha Lake AllTrails Map

    • Not exact map

  • 5.2 miles from the Trailhead. 9,680'

  • About .2 miles from Garnet Lake , the trail forks to the south ending at Altha Lake

• Garnet Lake

  • Location: Garnet Lake Location

  • Trailhead: Agnew Meadows Trailhead

  • Alltrails: Garnet Lake AllTrails Map

    • Not exact map

  • 5 miles from the Trailhead with a 1700 foot gain at 9,840'

• Ruby Lake

  • Location: Ruby Lake Location

  • Trailhead: Agnew Meadows Trailhead

  • Alltrails: Ruby Lake AllTrails Map

    • Not exact map

  • At 10,000'

  • Fish usually be in the deeper portions of the drop-offs

• Emerald Lake

  • Location: Emerald Lake Location

  • Trailhead: Agnew Meadows Trailhead

  • Alltrails: Emerald Lake AllTrails Map

    • Not exact map

  • At 9,980'

  • The lake is fairly shallow but contains a fair number of rainbows in the 9-10 inch class

  • Best bet is early morning and late evening

• Rosalie Lake

  • Location: Rosalie Lake Location

  • Trailhead: Agnew Meadows Trailhead

  • Alltrails: Rosalie Lake AllTrails Map

    • Not exact map

  • About 4.3 miles from the trailhead at 9,320'

  • Going around the southern shoreline of Shadow Lake, follow the John Muir Trail down some switchbacks to Rosalie Lake

• Gladys Lake

  • Location: Gladys Lake Location

  • Trailhead: Agnew Meadows Trailhead

  • Alltrails: Gladys Lake AllTrails Map

    • Not exact map

  • Elevation: 9,160'

  • About .5 miles past Rosalie going south on the John Muir Trail

• Lois Lake

  • Location: Lois Lake Location

  • Trailhead: Agnew Meadows Trailhead

  • Alltrails: Lois Lake AllTrails Map

  • Go around the southeastern side of Rosalie Lake, follow the inlet creek off-trail up to Lois Lake About 1 mile off-trail from Rosalie with a 670 foot gain at 10,050'

• Emily Lake

  • Location: Emily Lake Location

  • Trailhead: Agnew Meadows Trailhead

  • Alltrails: Emily Lake AllTrails Map

    • Not exact map

  • Follow the contours to the east from Lois Lake and drop down about 150 feet to reach Emily Lake

  • .5 miles from Lois Lake at 9,900'

• Trinity Lakes

  • Location: Trinity Lakes Location

  • Trailhead: Agnew Meadows Trailhead

  • Alltrails: Trinity Lakes AllTrails Map

    • Not exact map

  • Seven scattered lakes about 6 miles from the trailhead going south on the John Muir Trail

  • Lakes are off-trail a short distance. you can also reach these lakes from Red’s Meadow, going north of the John Muir Trail about 4.5 miles

  • Either direction is a 1800 feet gain

Red's Meadow

• Minaret Creek

  • Location: Minaret Creek Location

  • Trailhead: Red’s Meadow Trailhead

  • Alltrails: Minaret Creek AllTrails Map

  • At 9,800'

  • Can be fished above the Falls for about 4 miles up to Minaret Lake

• Minaret Lake

  • Location: Minaret Lake Location

  • Trailhead: Red’s Meadow Trailhead

  • Alltrails: Minaret Lake AllTrails Map

  • 5.6 miles from the Trailhead with a 2250 feet gain at 9,800'

• Cecile Lake

  • Location: Cecile Lake Location

  • Trailhead: Red’s Meadow Trailhead

  • Alltrails: Cecile Lake AllTrails Map

    • Same map but continue past Minaret Lake

  • Reached from Agnew Meadows Trailhead about 7 miles along Shadow Creek at 10,300'

• Deadhorse Lake

  • Location: Deadhorse Lake Location

  • Trailhead: Red’s Meadow Trailhead

  • Alltrails: Deadhorse Lake AllTrails Map

    • Not exact map, must go off trail

  • 5 miles from the trailhead, go off-trail westerly about .8 miles along the outlet creek to Deadhorse Lake at 10,000'

• Holcomb Lake

  • Location: Holcomb Lake Location

  • Trailhead: Red’s Meadow Trailhead

  • Alltrails: Holcomb Lake AllTrails Map

    • Not exact map, take the fork

  • 6 miles from the trailhead at 9,480'

  • Get off the John Muir Trail just above Minaret Falls and follow the trail west up a number of switchbacks

  • At 5 miles from the trailhead, the trail will fork to the north to Beck Lakes, follow the western fork to Holcomb Lake

• Beck Lakes

  • Location: Beck Lakes Location

  • Trailhead: Red’s Meadow Trailhead

  • Alltrails: Beck Lakes AllTrails Map

  • 2 lakes at 9,760' and 9,800'

  • 6.3 miles from the trailhead with an elevation gain of 2200 feet

  • First take the John Muir Trail northwards to above Minaret Falls. The trail will fork to the west towards King Creek

  • The trail follows King Creek at the 4.75 mile mark along the trail up to the lakes

Upper Middle Fork San Joaquin River

• Upper Middle Fork San Joaquin River Maps

  • Upper Middle Fork San Joaquin River Map

• Upper Section

  • Location: Upper Section Location

  • From Agnew Meadows to Upper Soda Springs Campground

  • This section is also within a dense forest with areas of swamps and high rock cliffs, so it takes some time to fish this section. Most of this water is good for dry flies, switching to nymphs for the deeper pools or early in the season when flows are up. There are two bridges that cross the river, one from below Agnew Meadows and the other at Upper Soda Springs Campground.

• Middle Section

  • Location: Middle Section Location

    • from Upper Soda Springs to Minaret Falls

    • Fishing just above Upper Soda Springs will give you the best chance at a Grand Slam from one location

    • A dry fly with nymph dropper is the preferred method through this section

  • Lower Section

  • Location: Lower Section Location

  • From Minaret Falls to Rainbow Falls

  • Mostly a nymphing areas selecting spots behind rocks but becomes a very good dry fly section in the late summer, early fall.

• Rainbow Falls

  • Location: Rainbow Falls Location

  • Below Rainbow Falls is a small section of water containing small falls and pools with rainbows in the 10-12 inch class

• Sotcher Lake

  • Location: Sotcher Lake Location

  • Trailhead: Red's Meadow Trailhead

  • AllTrails Map: Sotcher Lake AllTrail Map

  • Lake is accessible just north of Red's Meadow

  • A deep nymphing set-up with midges, damsel and callibaetis patterns are productive in the early morning and evening hours and fishing from a float tube or kayak will be most effective in order to target deeper water

  • Streamers and wooly buggers can be successful with active fish.

• Starkweather Lake

  • Location: Starkeweather Lake Location

  • Trailhead: Minaret Vista Trailhead

  • AllTrails: Starkweather Lake AllTrails Map

Upper Middle Fork San Joaquin River Tips

• Hatch

  • The Upper MF San Joaquin contains numerous hatches

  • In June through early July, Midges will start and hatch all season

    • Golden Stones will show up and a PMD hatch comes off in the early evening hours

    • Caddis will show up in the late afternoon during much of the Summer

  • BWO’s emerge in the Spring through July when the air temperature warms but tend to be more prolific in October

  • During late September and through October, the October Caddis appears as well as the Grannom Caddis

  • Trico’s will show up near late October

• Campgrounds/Spots

  • Campgrounds get lots of pressure but not hiking a bit

  • Shuttle from Mammoth Mountain Main lodge is a good way to fish the river

  • The section near Devil's Postpile fishes well

  • Hike above Soda Springs Campground

  • Look for deep pools with shade protection from rocks

  • Panorama Campground fishes well so does near the pack station

    • Park at the parking lot, and head down the trail. Make your first right and walk to the river - Reds Meadow pack station=

  • Starkweather or Sotcher lakes

Flies

Mammoth Lakes Flies

• Dry Flies

  • Callibaetis Cripple

  • Elk Hair Caddis #12-18

  • Royal Stimulator #8-14

  • Griffith Gnats #12-16

  • Yellow Humpy #12-16

  • Parachute Adams #16-22

  • Sierra Bright Dot #12-16

  • Mosquito #16-20

• Nymphs

  • Hare’s Ear Nymph#12-18

  • Pheasant Tail Nymph #14-18

  • Brassie #16-18

  • Zug Bug #12-16

  • Copper John #14-16

  • Prince Nymph #12-14

  • San Juan Worms #16-18

  • Lightning Bug #16-18

• Streamers

  • Crystal Bugger #8-10

  • Twin Lake Specials #8-10

  • Muddler Minnow

  • Mohair Leech #8-10

  • Marabou Leech #8-10

  • Sheep Creek Special #8-10

  • Matuka #6-10

Mammoth Backcountry Flies

• Nymphs:

  • Hare's Ear #16-18

  • Prince Nymph #16-18

  • Pheasant Tail Nymph #16-18

• Drys:

  • Parachute Adams #16-18

  • Olive Caddis #16-18

  • Royal Wulff #16-18

  • Griffith's Gnat #16-18

  • Henrys Fork Hopper

  • Chernobyl Ant

Upper Middle Fork San Joaquin River Flies

• Streamer Flies

  • Woolly Bugger #8-10

  • Twin Lake Specials #8-10

  • Muddler Minnow

  • Mohair Leech #8-10

  • Matuka #6-10

• Nymphs

  • Hare’s Ear Nymph #12-18

  • Pheasant Tail Nymph #14-18

  • Brassie #16-18

  • Zug Bug #12-16

  • Copper Johns #14-16

  • Prince Nymph #12-14

• Drys

  • Callibaetis Cripple

  • Elk Hair Caddis #12-18

  • E/C Caddis #12-18

  • Parachute BWO #16-18

  • Hackle Stacker #16-18

  • Royal Stimulator #8-14

  • Royal Wulff #12-16

  • Yellow Humpy #12-16

  • Royal Humpy #12-16

  • Sierra Bright Dot #12-16

  • Parachute Adams #16-22

  • Yellow Stimi Size 18

Resources

• Fly Fishing the Sierra Mammoth Lakes

• Fly Fishing the Sierra Mammoth Backcountry

• Fly Fishing the Sierra Upper San Joaquin River

• Visit Mammoth San Joaquin River