Pinecrest Lake
Pinecrest, Hwy 108 (Stanislaus) · near Pinecrest · Sierra Nevada / Yosemite
Fishing
At a glance
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Best season
- ~April–October; heavily stocked spring through summer. ~5,620 ft
Permits and booking
- Licence required
- Yes
- Licence detail
- CA license (16+). Hwy 108 to Pinecrest is plowed year-round; Sonora Pass beyond closes in winter (affects onward travel, not lake access).
What is here
- Features
- Iconic family trout lake · Heavily stocked rainbows · Walk-around shoreline trail · Marina & rentals
Worth knowing
- Dogs
- Allowed
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
Fishing detail
- Water type
- lake
- Water
- fresh
- Methods
- Bait · Spin · Casting · Trolling
- Boat
- both
- Target species
- Rainbow trout (planted) · Brown trout · Brook trout
- Intl tip
- You don't need a boat — bait-fish from the shoreline trail or the dam, especially soon after a plant, or rent a rowboat to troll the deeper north end. A great low-stress intro to Sierra trout fishing.
The guide
Pinecrest is the quintessential Sierra family fishing lake — a compact, walkable reservoir on Highway 108 stocked hard with rai…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Pinecrest Lake — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 38.193, -119.987