Originally Posted by
Natural Lefty
fish4life, Yosemite has good populations of Rainbow, Brook and Brown Trout. However, if you are hoping to find a mecca of Golden Trout fishing in Yosemite, you are barking up the wrong tree. All of major the Golden Trout areas in the Sierra -- by that I mean drainages dominated by Golden Trout -- are farther south.
One poster mentioned the lakes near Tioga Pass. These are called Gaylor Lakes. I have been there, and they have good fishing, at least the first one you come to on the trail does, but they are exclusively Brook Trout.
I went to Dog Lake once, and it seemed fishless. Its outlet was dry, so fish probably could not spawn there. It was also listed as having Brook Trout in my guide. I have heard of Goldens and hybrids in a few remote spots in the far northern part of Yosemite, such as Tilden Lake and Mary Lake, but these are in backpacking country probably a 15 mile hike or so from any roads, and I am not sure whether these are all hybrids or include purebred Goldens.
There are Goldens in the Twenty Lakes Basin just east of Tioga Pass, though, that can be reached in a day hike from Saddlebag Lake. Conness Lakes (upstream from Greenstone Lake), Odell Lake, and a few other small lakes in the area have Goldens. Twenty Lakes Basin is just east of Yosemite. Good Luck!