California’s Great Beyond

Types of Fish

All about the types of trout and other fish species found in Mono County waters!

Rainbow Trophy Trout 
Home to famous trophy-size rainbow trout, the Eastern Sierra region is a sought-after fishing destination. Mono County stocks 21 bodies of water in the region, and invests over $100,000 annually in its trout planting program. “Coastal rainbow trout are usually the first fish that comes to mind when people think of trout in California.” –https://wildlife.ca.gov/

Brown Trout 
“Cherished by many, the brown trout is a challenging adversary for California wild trout anglers. These wily gamefish find, occupy, and defend the prime cover and feeding spots in a stream and often live to advanced age and grow to trophy size.” – https://wildlife.ca.gov/

Cutthroat Trout 
“The coastal cutthroat is characterized by profuse spotting on the body and the typical red-orange slashes under the jaw. These marks may fade or disappear completely when the fish resides in salt water. Anglers often mistake coastal cutthroats for rainbow trout.” – https://wildlife.ca.gov/

Brook Trout 
“Brook trout are currently widespread throughout the Sierra Nevada with wild brook trout occupying hundreds of miles of streams. Many high mountain lakes have been stocked with fingerling brook trout, providing fast action angling and tasty dinners while in the high country.” – https://wildlife.ca.gov/

Golden Trout
The beautiful and elusive Golden is only found in the Eastern Sierra backcountry lakes above 10,000 feet -- which requires hiking in. The Golden is "the State Freshwater Fish of California and has long been recognized for its unparalleled beauty." – https://wildlife.ca.gov/

Sacramento Perch 
(Crowley Lake, Bridgeport Reservoir only) 
Sacramento perch are most often found in warm reservoirs and ponds where summer temperature range form 18-28°C. Sacramento perch are capable of surviving high temperatures, high salinities (up to 17 ppt), high turbidity, and low water clarity. Though Sacramento perch are often found in clear water among beds of aquatic vegetation, they achieve greater numbers in turbid lakes absent of plants. Typically they are found along the bottom of inshore regions. -- http://calfish.ucdavis.edu

Kokanee Salmon
Kokanee are the landlocked form of the Sockeye Salmon. While the Sockeye Salmon mature in the ocean and migrate into streams, Kokanee mature in lakes or reservoirs and migrate into tributaries in the fall to spawn. Kokanee were first introduced as fingerlings to California waters in 1941.” -- https://wildlife.ca.gov/

Smallmouth Bass 
(Topaz Lake only) 
Smallmouth bass are most common in large, clear lakes and cool, clear streams with large amounts of cover. Lake populations concentrate in narrow bays along shore where rocky shelves project under water. -- http://calfish.ucdavis.edu

 

 

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Sierra Slam

Catch all four species of trout - rainbow, brown, golden and cutthroat - in the same day or on the same trip and you've got a Sierra Slam! Post your catches on the Mono County Tourism Facebook page and tag #MonoCountyTourism and we'll shout the news to the world!

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Cunningham Lane Bridge

Fun Facts

The largest brown trout caught in California was 26.8 pounds, hooked at Twin Lakes near Bridgeport. The largest trout caught in the past 20 years was in the June Lake Loop -- Troutzilla was 18.1 pounds. The brown was landed and released in Silver Lake, late October 2012. 

Cunningham Lane Bridge