Western Sierra places to go?

[luckydude]

Hi folks,

I sort of stumbled into Mammoth Lakes as a location that worked for the whole family. It has lots of places to go try fishing, a resort for places to stay (key for the wife & kids, I'm good w/ the van, they are not).

Only problem is that to get there you have to all the way to the eastern Sierra. I'm a fan but I'm looking for that magical combo of lots of fishing, nice place to stay, not too many people.

Anyone have any suggestions?

[joh]

From Santa Cruz, most of the family-friendly fishy waters I'm familiar with are quite far. Like 4.5 hrs+. Truckee, Hope Valley Downieville,...

Mammoth is pretty ideal for family+fishing, but it's 5.5 hrs. It almost seems worth it to drive that extra hour. If you can find a place to stay in Lee Vining, you can knock 30-45 minutes off of that drive, and have access to lots of fishy waters that are perfect for kids. Lee Vining Creek along Poole Power Rd, as well as Saddlebag, Tioga, and Ellery Lakes and and the streams that flow in and out are great fun.

June Lake Loop is between Mammoth and Lee Vining, with lots of places to stay.

If you really want to avoid that area, then I'd look for a place around the Hwy 88 corridor, like Sorenson's (http://www.sorensensresort.com/) (never stayed, but heard it's nice). You'll have immediate access to the WF Carson, EF Carson isn't far, lots of lakes nearby as well. There might also be cabins/resort at Kirkwood, but I'm not sure.

Some of the lakes along the Hwy 50 corridor have cabins, though I'm not sure how to go about renting them. Wrights Lake and Echo Lake come to mind. The South Fork American River runs right along US-50, and can be a nice stream for pocket water fishing. If you drive up Ice House Road with an Eldorado National Forest map and a sense of adventure, you can find some small streams with some willing fish, as long as there's still water in them.

Truckee area has nice water, but the fishing in that area can be tough for a kid so I personally wouldn't bother.

Other waters to consider are the various forks of the Stanislaus along Hwys 108 and 4. Haven't been to those watersheds in years, so I hesitate to recommend them.