BY ERNIE COWAN
MAMMOTH LAKES—It’s hard to put a dateline on a story that covers more than 200 miles of prime trout water from Lone Pine to Bridgeport, but Mammoth Lakes is about as close to an epicenter as you can get.
This edition of WON comes out on opening weekend of the 2025 general season opener, better known as Fishmas, and it will draw thousands to the gently flowing Owens River, the ice-covered lakes at higher elevations, rushing streams and the big waters of Crowley Lake and Bridgeport Reservoir.
If you are reading this on opening weekend, you might already be planning for that annual trout hunting adventure, so while this won’t be a report on how well your buddies did opening weekend, it will give you some great insight in what to expect in the weeks ahead.
Often, some of the best catches of the season happen right after the flood of Fishmas anglers head home and Sierra waters are continuing to awaken as spring water conditions, insect hatches and empty shorelines create the perfect scenario for anglers lucky enough to get out.
Opening weekend promises to be a good one, with most drive-to water free of ice, streams flowing well, and, most importantly, both holdover rainbows and freshly stocked fish raring to go.
So, let’s take the tour from south to north and see what things look like at the hot spots along U.S. 395.
The Lower Owens River is prime for opening day and the foreseeable future with flows hovering around 80 cfs. This means wading is easy, allowing anglers access into those honey holes you can’t reach from shore through the tangled brush.
Lower O anglers can also expect mild weather for next few weeks, with daytime temperatures in the mid-70’s
While the river is typically a good spot to fill a stringer with pan-sized rainbows, don’t’ be surprised to be hit by a 6- to 8-pound trophy lurking in the deeper pools.
Bishop is one of the first Sierra hot spots, with the lakes and streams of Bishop Creek Canyon providing both breathtaking beauty but also superb fishing.
Jared Smith, who operates South Lake and Lake Sabrina reports there is still ice at South Lake, but the current pattern of warm weather means there will not likely be ice fishing at Sabrina.
“I have but no confidence in the ice fishing conditions (at Lake Sabrina) if the weather stays this warm,” Smith said late last week.
The good news is anglers will have good access to Intake Two and the power plant ponds, and the forks of Bishop Creek and those waters have been stocked with DFW rainbows.
At press time, the road into Rock Creek Lake was closed due to snow only a few miles up from Tom’s Place.
Moving north, Convict Lake is a popular opening weekend spot, and it’s ice free and stocked with 500 pounds of trophy fish purchased by Mono County, along with 600 pounds of privately purchased fish.
On the other side of U.S. 395 at Crowley Lake, conditions are excellent. The lake had very little ice all winter and has been ice free for over a month. Add to that, there has been 8,000 pounds of trout stocked and that, as one angler commented is “absurd, in a good way.”
Crowley Lake is also hosting the Crowley Lake Fish Challenge through June 29. The challenge is a free, online fishing event hosted through the Angler’s Atlas website and MyCatch app (available on iOS and Android). Anglers of all ages can participate and are encouraged to register at AnglersAtlas.com/events.
Upon registration, participants will receive a unique referral URL/QR code to share with friends, earning referral prizes when a referred angler logs a valid trip.
All catches must be submitted via the MyCatch app, and participants must use the same login credentials for both the app and Angler’s Atlas website. Privacy is a top priority, with location data kept confidential.
Mono County has also stepped up to meet the thousands of anglers who come here each season to enjoy some of the best trout fishing in the world.
The county is investing $100,000 to stock 18 local bodies of water with up to 40,000 pounds of rainbow trout.
Additionally, private marinas, resorts and the Town of Mammoth Lakes and local fish foundations like the Twin Lakes Trout Foundation, the Bridgeport Fish Enhancement Foundation, and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife will also contribute to stocking efforts, ensuring a thriving fishing experience for all.
Considering that this was the third winter in a row recording a near-normal or above snowpack, all these fish will have excellent habitat which should also add to excellent fishing.
California trout hatcheries have also recovered from infrastructure and disease issues and expects a robust stocking season with the planting of the highest number of fish since 2020.
June Lake is another prime opening weekend destination, with June, Gull, Silver and Grant lakes all be wide open, ice free and full services available.
Jeremy Ross at Ernie’s Tackle said all lakes are ice free, and most have had no or little winter ice. This means fish should be active and feeding and be in prime condition for early season anglers.
Ross said several sources of trout will be stocked into loop lakes, including DFW rainbows, 1- to 3-pound fish purchased by local landings and the monster rainbows, thanks to the June Lake Trophy Trout Program.
The Loop will also be hosting the annual opening day Monster Trout Derby at Ernie’s Tackle. Fish can be weighed in any of the loop landings or at Ernie’s by 6 p.m. opening day.
Roads to higher elevation lakes in the Tioga Pass area west of Lee Vining are not yet open, but Lee Vining Creek is stocked, and the lower campground is open. Creek flows are good.
Lundy Lake still has ice, but there is open water, and anglers should find some larger holdover rainbows to add some early season excitement.
Virginia Lakes sit at higher elevations and will likely be frozen for another week or two. When things do thaw out, the Virginia’s are typically a good place to reel in some larger rainbows. At press time, the road is repoted to be open to Little Virginia Lake.
Bridgeport area waters are in prime condition. This winter brought very little or no ice, and currents Twin Lakes and Bridgeport Reservoir are wide open with full service available to anglers.
Both Mono County and the local trout foundations have stocked the lakes, and anglers should remember that both Upper and Lower Twin Lake have historically produced some huge, including record brown trout on opening weekend or in the first few weeks following.
Anglers are also being asked to help state wildlife biologists this season.
Last month, DFW biologists with help of local volunteers from the Crowley Fish Foundation clipped the adipose fin of Eagle Lake rainbows for identification during fish surveys this fishing season.
With the collection of extensive fish survey data, DFW can more effectively stock the region’s fisheries with the best matched trout strains for the local waters.
The Department of Fish and Wildlife, Crowley Fish Foundation, and Angler’s Atlas are jointly working to better collect fish data during the first two months of the fishing season on Crowley Lake.
A lot of these Eagle Lake strain rainbow trout will be stocked in Crowley Lake, and other lakes south of Conway Summit.
If you catch one of these Eagle Lake strain rainbow trout, DFW wants to know. Please register for the fish survey which can be done electronically through your smartphone.
Information is available at https://crowleyfishfoundation.org/2025-crowley-lake-challenge/.
