crowley lake

There must be a secret to fishing this lake as we didnt know you had to pay to park $9, both areas we drove down were too shallow to shore fish and the bugs were outrageous, and a lot of the places we tried to fish had too many weeds. Was not worth the 40 mile drive from our campsite.

Easy drive (paved roads) and a minor detour from the main highway. Beautiful man-made lake full of clear Sierra Nevada mountain run-off and plenty of fish. The lake serves LA, but don't let that ruin your enjoyment :)

My fiends and I dropped by one day recently after a nice day fishing at Convict Lake. We were discouraged from coming by two rangers? Employees? We weren't sure but they didn't willingly give us any information that was helpful about current fishing conditions. It was, admittedly, the end of the season but having fished there many times, we knew there was still some trout fishing, mostly flyfishing, and fishing for the delicious Sacramento Perch. When we asked if we could drive down to the dock area, they said no one was manning it and couldn't say whether it would be open tomorrow or not. Who were these rude people at the gate?

It's not one of those beautiful viewable lakes that you can gaze at for hours. It definitely is a fishing lake though. A place where you go and sit out there for hours.

Although this is an open high desert lake, it has a few kayaking amenities. There is a huge arm near the dam that has several sand beach landings, places to hike and calm water. We saw several species of wildlife including one we'd never seen in the wild (we're retired professional biologists). Watch the wind religiously - it can get rough quickly and if you're in a sit on top, you can be in trouble quickly.

It is a nice big lake. You can watch it from the car. There is a turnout point where you can read info about it, and it has a marina for boats. I did not like it because it did not have shade at all, nor trees or vegetation around it, and we did not have a boat, so we just "kept moving." Bit there are other beautiful lakes with fish and beautiful scenery, I would not stop at this one.

I love the Sierras! I cant describe the beauty or the landscape. This is our planet in the raw.

Big lake, have gone fishing there a couple of times, but have never caught anything. I like other lakes better. Convict Lake has one of the most awesome views ever! The fishing is great and it is never too growded.

I have been coming to Crowley for several years and some years are better than others. This year, I am on my second trip in two months and have not been disappointed. McGee, Hank's Point, Whiskey Creek, and Hilton have been good this year. To get the most out of the day, go early - they open at 6:00 a.m. and one can get a lot in before winds start up in the afternoon. Sometimes the wind just needs to be waited out and then it calms down again.Several of us caught larger than 3 lb trout. The water level is up, even since the beginning of June. Whiskey Creek had a shore to park a chair, but this trip there is just a slope and maybe room for a chair in spots. No matter, as there are large fish in the middle of the creek waiting for your pumped up night crawler.Once you fish Crawley, you think the other lakes have tiny fish. Crawley has friendly staff at the fish camp, and if you rent a boat and get stuck, they are quick to the rescue (and don't ask how I know this).You can catch on night crawlers and power bait or sierra gold. But hurry, as you can't use bait or barbed hooks after July 31.

The lake is large and is known for it's trout. Unfortunately, we have never had good luck here but many do. The rent boats and equipment and have a cafe and store. You can also camp here as well.