Upper Twin Lake Fishing
Kaiser Wilderness - Fresno County
Upper Twin Lake in the Kaiser Wilderness in Fresno County makes a wonderful weekend destination with rewarding fly fishing and spin casting. At an elevation of about 8500 feet, the lake opens in the spring earlier than most of the more remote camping destinations in the area. Upper Twin Lake is known for its trophy brown and rainbow trout.
The 4-mile hike to the lake begins at a trailhead east of Huntington Lake and climbs 1,100 feet in 2 miles to Potter Pass before descending to Lower Twin Lake. Upper Twin Lake is only a short distance farther with slight uphill. (Because of the altitude, the hike feels like more than 4 miles.) Good campsites are found on the northern side of the lake and the southern shore. Campsites must be at least 200 feet from the lake, limiting the number of choices.
Upper Twin Lake
Sidetrips
A popular sidetrip from Upper Twin Lake is nearby George Lake. The trail climbs 600 feet in 1.2 miles. Anglers report good success fishing for rainbow and brown trout, smallmouth bass, and even catfish. This pretty alpine lake has some nice camping sites along its southeastern shore.
Lower Twin Lake is an easy hike back down the trail. Fishing is good there, but it is close enough to the trailhead that it attracts a good number of day fishermen. The lake is stocked with rainbow trout and Kokanee salmon. Large native brown trout are sought after by anglers.
Nearby Featured Trips in Fresno County
- Bear Creek - fishing begins as soon as you hit the trail
- Evolution Valley - a multi-day backpack trip from Florence Lake
- Graveyard Lakes - a wonderful cluster of lakes reached by trail from Edison Lake
- Sandpiper Lake - a beautiful mountain lake with golden trout
- San Joaquin River - miles of excellent fishing near Florence Lake
George Lake
In My Creel
- Royal Wulff
- #14 Adams
- #14 Brown Elk Caddis
- Moosetail Adams
- Olive Matuka
- #18 mosquito
- Panther Martin
No surprise that fly fishing was best in the morning and nearing sunset. Fishing around on the south side of the lake near the inlet proved quite successful, although I never did land one of those "trophy" browns.
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Recommended Books, Lures, and Flies for Fishing in the Ansel Adams Wilderness
- High Sierra Fishing , Basics to Advanced Tactics, Billy Van Loek. This is the book I go back to again and again to improve my fishing technique in the high Sierra.
- The Definitive Guide to Fishing Central California Chris Shaffer. The book details more than 380 lakes, rivers and streams around Central California. The full color guide has more than 500 color photos.
- Panther Martin Pro Guide Anywhere 6 Pack Great trout lures almost guaranteed to catch fish.
- Fly Fishing Trout Flies | Essential Flies for Trout | Hand-Tied Dry Flies, Nymphs, Streamers 32 of the most proven Trout flies, well-known for their timeless fish-catching effectiveness.
