Gull Lake

Gull Lake is the small one on the June Lake Loop: about 65 acres and 70 feet at its deepest, tucked in beside June Lake village at 7,618 feet. It is a natural, spring-fed lake with no dam. June Lake's outlet comes in at the east end, and Reversed Creek drains it out the west end, flowing back toward the crest to meet Rush Creek above Silver Lake. CDFW planted it six times between the late-April opener and the end of August in 2026, and the June Lake Loop Trophy Trout Program and Mono County add trophy rainbows on top. A few browns live here too, and the lake has a long memory for big fish: a 13 lb 3 oz rainbow and a 6 lb 12 oz brook trout from 1968.

You can cross it in a float tube in a few minutes, Reversed Peak and the aspens block some of the afternoon wind, and the north shore is lined with tules and weed beds that drop into the middle. Fish it like any small Sierra stillwater. In the morning, hang a chironomid under an indicator off the weed edge or over the hole by the marina. Through June and July, strip a damsel or callibaetis nymph in size 12 to 14 slowly along the tules and around Big Rock on an intermediate or Type I line. In August the trout drop to the drop-off by midday, so fish early and late or go down. From September to the close, streamers and leeches between Big Rock and the aspens move the bigger fish. The water is a little less clear than June or Silver, and 4x tippet is usually enough.

In summer it gets busy. Most of the loop's rental boats and bait anglers end up at the marina end, so expect company there and look for room along the north shore. The 10 mph speed limit keeps it quieter than Grant. The season runs from the last Saturday in April to November 15 with a 5-trout limit. A trailered boat needs an Eastern Sierra mussel sticker, and a float tube or kayak, the right boats for this lake anyway, should arrive clean, drained and dry.