Saddlebag Lake 8/23-25

Fishing at 10,000 feet: gotta love it. I've been fishing Saddlebag Lake and the surrounding area since I was 10 years old, but this would be the first time my view was from the water. Weary from nearly 5 hour of the slowest Sunday drivers to ever grace the Sierras, my trusty pooch, Tex, and I arrived at the lake late in the afternoon. We met my folks on the shore basking in the post-thunderstorm sun. They already had a few rainbows on the stringer. I needed no prodding to bust out my brand new trout rod and dunk some power bait. With the evening quickly approaching, we added a couple more fish before heading down to set up camp at Lower Lee Vining.

I woke up the next morning with a sore throat and slight fever (a touch of altitude sickness and swine flu ). Crap. Decided to do the sensible thing and take it easy... uh, no. Unloaded my kayak, geared up, and hit the water. I never said I was a smart man. I'd been looking forward to this all week. This would be my first ever outing fishing for trout from a kayak. It showed. I trolled the recommended woolly buggers, flies, and streamers. After 5 hours of no success, I called phooey. With no confidence in my technique, I switched to a Thomas bouyant. Dear diary, Jackpot! Sure it was blind in one eye and probably took the short bus to school, but my trout trolling virginity was gone just the same. I loved that fish like none other. A couple photo ops around the lake and it was time to call it a day.

I couldn't shake the sore throat, so I spent the last day fishing with Tex and my folks from the shore. Yeah, it was terribly rough. Brutal. Chartreuse and orange power baits were the ticket. Several flurries of action into the early afternoon had us filling our cooler with fish to 3 and a half pounds. I love it when fish bite in the middle of the day! With limits of fish in tow, the drive home was pleasant. The adorable park ranger at the highway 120 gate didn't hurt either . Note to self: offers of fresh trout do not work as pick up lines. Hmph.

What a great report. I have never been there but I do love the high sierras. Hard cold small trout rolled in flour with salt and pepper and fried with eggs and bacon? Now you're talking! Great pooch shot. I love my dog too. Congrats on a great trip and hope you are feeling better. Craig

PS. Look those trout have all their tails. Awesome.

Congrats on a great trip!!!! Saddle Bag  rocks!!!! Glad you got your trolling dialed in!!!! October is also good, no crowds and lots of fish. Thanks for the report!!!!!

Badog

Now thats some seriouse High time! Thanks for the report!

Thanks for the great read this morning gelbyak. Nice haul too BTW and
thanks for taking some pictures. Nice looking dog.

Jedmo

Excellent report and great pictures! Sounds like you had a great time. Always nice to land that first fish to boost your confidence.

this post is a failure without pictures of the ranger 

  thats a nice looking lake and some decent rainbows. love the dog picture.

  Hmmm, I had hear that sloshing around in snow melt was the perfect cure for swine flu, can't image how that didn't help?  What a beautiful place to be, thanks for the great report and pictures.  Sorry to hear about the slow drivers, that drives me nuts!   While I was leaving my boat in Sausalito the other day in my Shelby this car was in front of me and off we went north on 101, fun times! 

I LOVE THIS SPOT!!

What a beautiful place this is, ive caught some insane little trout there!!

Cant wait to bring my yak there!!!

this post is a failure without pictures of the ranger 

I completely agree!!! My bad. Guess that gives me another reason to back this season.

While I was leaving my boat in Sausalito the other day in my Shelby this car was in front of me and off we went north on 101, fun times! 

Is that an R8?  can't tell.

my trout trolling virginity was gone just the same. I loved that fish like none other.

The first one's always the most memorable.  Good outing and thanks for the report

Is there a campground on this area? I would love to take my son with me.. Thanks for the awesome reports the water looks like bottled water clear.. how far is it from SFO, Thanks for all the info!!

also, whats the water temp (if you know)?  Searching for a non-tahoe high altitude open water swimming destination.

Fantastic report bro!
I haven't been to Saddlebag for about 5 years, but have great memories of the place. And I've been having wetdreams of yakfishing that lake. It's a beautiful area with some bruiser trout....I remember seeing a pod of 5-6 HUGE brookies cruising the shoreline near the dam....each one was like 4-6lbs!
Curious why you stayed in Lee Vining instead of the campground @ Saddlebag. Although, I imagine the reason is because the WX up there at the lake is so wild.

Yakuza....very very cold! This is the highest altitude lake that you can (relatively) easily drive to in CA @ 10K ft. On top of that, it's a large, deep lake that often has snowbanks along the shoreline until like August!

My favorite part of this area is exploring all the lakes above Saddlebag. You usually have to take the water taxi across the lake to access those tiny lakes though...or a long hike around S-bag. But there are so many little lakes within daytrip distance that you can fish 4-5 different lakes in a day.
   

Curious why you stayed in Lee Vining instead of the campground @ Saddlebag. Although, I imagine the reason is because the WX up there at the lake is so wild.

The campground facilities down in the valley are a little nicer (IMHO) and definitely more protected. And we simply love fishing the creek down there just steps from the campsite. But you can't lose staying at either location.

also, whats the water temp (if you know)?  Searching for a non-tahoe high altitude open water swimming destination.

Sorry, don't have an exact temp. I'd guess somewhere between 45 and 50 degrees. Not sure if swimming is allowed. Never seen anyone do it. June Lake on the other hand is definitely swimming friendly, but a couple thousand feet lower.

Is there a campground on this area? I would love to take my son with me.. Thanks for the awesome reports the water looks like bottled water clear.. how far is it from SFO, Thanks for all the info!!

PM sent! Taking Hwy 120 through Yosemite, you should be able to make it there in 4.5 hours with no traffic delays. If 120 is closed, the Sonora Pass (Hwy 108) adds some considerable time.