Pinto Lakes is a lake in California, near Tuolumne County.
Pinto Lakes is a lake in Tuolumne County, California and covers about 2 acres, reaches about 10.9 feet at its deepest point and holds roughly 8.8 acre-feet.
Pinto Lakes is small water, so a careful lap around the bank can show most of the useful cover. With little deep water in Pinto Lakes, weeds, wind, and water color can matter more than depth alone.
Fish listed for Pinto Lakes include Golden Trout.
Use wind as a clue; a light push can carry food toward a bank, but hard wind may muddy it, so look for a clean edge near a point or protected pocket; follow any bait found near the surface, then test a point before fishing a featureless bank.
In spring, start with warming banks, creek mouths, and shallow cover; summer usually pushes the better bite toward the outside weed edge or a nearby drop; fall can bring bait back to windblown points, while winter calls for smaller moves and a slower pace; check the clean side of wind, then use one moving lure and one slow bait.
A light spinning rod, thin line, a few small spoons, inline spinners, and jigs cover the listed trout; carry one slightly heavier setup when other fish or windy water call for more control; use a smaller lure in clear water; make short moves after each pass.
Record the wind, water color, depth near the strongest cover, and cover after a bite; those four notes are more useful on the next trip than a long list of spots that did not produce; work a creek turn before a flat bank, then change retrieve speed before changing lures.
Explore nearby waters, including local Featured destinations. Check each page for access and fishing restrictions.
Distances are straight-line estimates between mapped water locations.