Ruwau Lake
(Inyo County)
John Muir Wilderness
August 3, 2014
Contributer: Alex Clark
Getting There
The journey to Ruwau Lake begins at the
South Lake Trailhead located at South Lake, outside
of Bishop, California. Take Highway 168 west from Bishop and follow the signs to South Lake.
Ruwau Lake
The Hike
The trail to Ruwau Lake starts at the South Lake Trailhead and the hiking was moderate uphill all the way to long lake. The
trail runs along the western shore of Long Lake until you reach the inlet creek from Ruwau Lake. At this point, you can follow the outlet
creek of Ruwau Lake up to the lake itself. The incline increases at this last section up to Ruwau. I chose to make camp at Long Lake, on the
eastern side where many campsites are available. This appeared to be a popular destination for many backpackers who were apparently willing
to brave the storm. The weather faired better at Long Lake than Ruwau Lake.
View from Ruwau Lake
The Fishing
The fishing was great at Ruwau Lake for brookies in 12-14 inch range. They were hardy fighters and I landed 6+ fish within one hour
before the massive storm finally forced me to return to my camp at Long Lake. Using the Panther Martin lure with the Yellow Body,
the Panther Martin with the Black body and a brass Mepps spinner, many fish were landed and released.
Brookie landed at Ruwau Lake
The only location I fished was the outlet as the storm was limiting my fishing time. However, this proved to be the right place to fish as the fishing at Ruwau Lake was outstanding!
Ruwau Lake