Hungry Packer Lake Fishing
Sabrina Basin - Inyo County
Hungry Packer Lake is tucked up against the eastern Sierra crest in the Sabrina Basin. The beautiful mountain lake deep in the John Muir Wilderness offers exciting fishing for rainbow and brook trout. Your 6½-mile hike and 2000-foot elevation gain are well rewarded once you arrive at Hungry Packer Lake and discover its breathtaking beauty. Few places in the Sierra can match it.
While Hungry Packer Lake makes a great camping destination, there are numerous other excellent fishing lakes in the vicinity, including Midnight Lake, Moonlight Lake, and Dingleberry Lake. On my most recent trip there I heard reports of a 5-pound brown taken from Dingleberry Lake. It's hard to go wrong in the Sabrina Basin. Throughout the Sabrina Basin I found fish in every lake, stream, pond, and puddle I passed.
Sidetrips
All of the lakes mentioned above make good sidetrips from Hungry Packer Lake. The best way to approach Midnight Lake is cross-country from Hungry Packer Lake, traversing around the ridge that separates them. Climbing up to Midnight Lake from below results in a lot of boulder scrambling.
Other Nearby Featured Trips in Inyo County:
- Bottleneck Lake - a steep cross country climb from Dingleberry Lake
- Marie Louise Lakes - a short hike from South Lake for great fishing
- Baboon Lakes - beautiful, secluded mountain lakes, super fishing
In My Creel
- #16 Olive Elk Hair Caddis
- #14 Adams Parachute
- #16 Red Quill
- #16 Adams
- #16 gnat
- #16 Blue Olive Parachute
I was all fly fishing on this trip. I was sure glad I brought a variety of flies because up at Hungry Packer Lake the big rainbows sniffed at my Adams and even my Blue Olive disdainfully. The gnat caught their attention, though. I noticed a lot of grasshoppers around all the lakes in Sabrina Basin. The Blue Olive did well in other lakes.
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Recommended Books, Lures, and Flies for Fishing Sabrina Basin
- Fly Fishing Eastern Sierra Streams Where to Go, What to Use, and How to Get There, Mike Brown. Great book detailing the best streams in the Eastern Sierra. Color Photographs.
- California's Best Fly Fishing: Premier Streams and Rivers from Northern California to the Eastern Sierra, Chip O'Brien. An up-to-date guidebook, complete with maps, detailed descriptions of fishing locations, analysis of the seasonal differences which affect fishing, and fly patterns.
- Panther Martin Pro Guide Anywhere 6 Pack Great trout lures almost guaranteed to catch fish.
- Flies Direct Elk Hare Caddis Olive Assortment Trout Fishing Flies (1-Dozen) Hand-Tied By Professionals Who Take Great Pride In Their Craftsmanship.