fly fishing yosemite
What is the best fishing area in Toulemne meadow, Yosemite CA?
I’m going fishing flyfishing/backpacking in the summer and I’m doing as much research as I can. Does anyone have any favorites there or knowledge of good fishing spots and what flies to use?
In Tuolumne meadows, there is the Tuolumne River. It splits in the meadows, the Dana (north) fork is closer to the road and smaller, the Lyell fork is bigger. I’ve caught plenty of small trout out of both. (I fish lures, generally small spinners on 2 pound test.)
If you’re into fly fishing in streams; in the high country of Yosemite, the Tuolumne River is really the only one large enough to bother with. The area near the campground and store is pretty crowded, but go a mile or two upstream or downstream and it should be pretty good. But the fish will generally be small (8 inches or so.)
There are a couple lakes you can get to on a day hike from Tuolumne. Elizabeth Lake had plentiful 7-inch brookies the one time I was there; Dog Lake is a steep uphill hike, supposedly has larger fish — I’ve hooked one in two trips there and it came off the hook, but it felt 12-14 inches.
Longer trips– I did a 5 or 6 day trip into northern Yosemite many years ago. We found 12 inch rainbows in Upper McCabe Lake, Smedberg Lake, and Rogers Lake. South of Tuolumne, there were lots of tiny (4-5-inch) trout in just about every stream we found, but the only sizeable fish were in lakes. (There are nice brookies in Merced Lake and May Lake.)
If you want lots of decent-sized fish you have to go outside the park. Tioga, Saddlebag, and Ellery lakes are all stocked, as are plenty of lakes down by the road — Crowley, Convict, the Mammoth and June lake areas. They don’t stock inside the park. When I go there, it’s for the scenery, hiking, and camping, and fishing is secondary (though I do my share); when I want to catch fish I go elsewhere.
fly fishing yosemite national park California Sept 2009
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