Last weeks of the season could be epic
BY ERNIE COWAN
BRIDGEPORT—I don’t want to jinx it, so we’ll just whisper that those special brown colored trout that everyone gets so excited about are biting pretty well right now. And they are big.
And we don’t have to worry about jinxing the cutthroat bite that’s wide open at June Lake and Crowley Lake as we go to press this week.
For those who may have been following baseball playoffs instead of Sierra fishing trends, here’s the big news.
The fall prime time trout feeding frenzy is underway and shaping up to be one of the better season-ending periods in several years as the clock ticks down to the Nov. 15 close.
So far, major storms have not hit the high country, lakes and streams are filled with trophy rainbows and browns, and best of all, the crowds are gone, and serious anglers have the water all to themselves.
If you are fishing, or just wandering the woods enjoying spectacular fall color, it’s safe to say it doesn’t get much better.
At resort lakes accessible by road, cooler fall temperatures have energized the fish. They know ice and snow are just around the corner and they are feeding wildly. The have come up from deeper holes, are surface feeding, often close to shore, and not very particular about what they eat.
Anglers willing to hike a bit to wild lakes will find even more aggressive action as wild brookies, browns and ‘bows bulk up before the winter blanket slows their metabolism, and they enter hibernation.
The big brown bite continued last week with San Diego angler Kevin Kuhn hauling in a massive, 9.19-pound trophy at Upper Twin Lake.
To make this an even better story, Kuhn was using a 2-pound leader when the big fish inhaled the streamer he was tossing while wading near shore.
As you might imagine, it was quite the battle to gently bring in this big fish without snapping that thin leader.
“Fortunately, he was in shallow water, so he couldn’t go deep, and I just kept swinging the rod as he moved right to left,” Kuhn said.
Like any great achievement, this was not a flash-in-pan event. Kuhn has been coming annually to Mono Village at Upper Twin for 50 years.
“I have had good success at the same spot, even catching a 7.5-pound rainbow in 1991, but this is my all-time biggest trout,” he said.
The adventure began late in the day, with Kuhn in waders casting a brown Woolly Bugger.
“I had spotted some bigger fish cruising the shallows and was hoping to get something to bite,” he said.
The big brown hit with a big swirl and it began to run.
“I thank that’s what set the hook,” Kuhn said.
With only 2-pound leader, he was able to really horse this big brown, so for the next 10 minutes he just kept a steady resistance on the line.
“I had no net, so I just need to tire it out and bring it to shore,” Kuhn said.
Despite continued efforts, the battle was too much for the big fish and it was not able to be revived and released.
Upper Twin is not the only Sierra water producing nice browns.
Evening anglers trolling Rapalas at Grant Lake and finding a steady brown bite, and they are also feeding aggressively on the Upper Owens.
And then there are the cutthroats what have been showing up at June Lake and Crowley Lake, with one of the biggest being a 7.6-pound heavyweight caught by Sierra veteran Estevan McDonald, owner of Golden State Fishing Custom Baits.
Not surprisingly, he was using one of his 4-inch GSF Super Tubes while fishing off the North Landing at Crowley Lake.
For many of the Eastern Sierra resorts and landings, this will be the last weekend of the season, but until storms arrive or roads are gated, anglers will still have access to open water and likely some of the best fishing of the season.
And just why is that you ask?
The simplest answer is because there are lots of fish. Both DFW and local efforts have dumped tons, yes, tons of fish in Sierra lakes and streams, right up to last week. Likely that will continue until the weather shuts down access to stocking trucks.
Chilly weather and the end of summer means most visitors are gone for the season, and that means much less bait on the water.
The final puzzle piece is the feeding frenzy that trout enter each fall. All those factors mean the few anglers on Sierra waters will catch lots of fish and some of them will be epic, lifetime record trout.
If it’s not real clear, this is a spectacular time to be trout hunting in the High Sierra!
So, let’s take the south to north journey to check on conditions along the Eastside.
Bishop area and south—South of Bishop, the creeks flowing into the Owens River are still a good bet, since flows are down, and they have been stocked.
Services will be closed on Oct. 19 at Parchers Resort, South Lake and Lake Sabrina, but waters will still be open to fishing until the season closes on Nov. 15. Waters in Bishop Canyon are well stocked with trophy rainbows and DFW stockers.
Until storms hit, hiking into higher elevation lakes above South Lake can also be extremely rewarding for fall trout anglers.
Mammoth Lakes area—The hike-in lakes above Rock Creek Lake are now prime, with eager wild brookies, browns and rainbows taking just about anything tossed at them. Just be prepared for sudden weather changes.
Rock Creek Lake campground is now closed, but anglers can still fish and waters are well stocked. Fish are surface feeding and shore anglers are reporting good number and size being caught.
The campground at Convict Lake will closer Oct. 28, but anglers still have access to the lake and creek. Boats are still available until Nov. 15. Trout seem to be holding in 10 to 15 feet of water and they are not picky.
Crowley Lake closes on Oct. 27, but until then, the bite has been wide open, with larger rainbows, brown and cutthroats being caught. Some of the best action has been in the North Arm.
Mornings are chilly at Mammoth Lakes, but that’s just triggered more activity, with trout taking just about any bait or lure offered. Lots of limits coming from lakes Mary and George, with some larger brook trout being caught by tube anglers at Twin Lakes.
June Lake Loop-Lee Vining—Cutthroats and browns are the big news, with Grant producing a steady evening bite of cutts taking trolled Rapala. Larger cutts are taking offerings from anglers trolling down the center of the lake., m
Rush Creek now closed to fishing for the season.
Gull and Silver Lakes well stocked, but services are closed.
No reports from Lee Vining Creek, but it was recently stocked, and flows are ideal.
Virginia Lakes, Bridgeport area—Services at Virginia Lake are now closed for the season, but access is good, and the lakes remain well stocked. Some bigger fish are being caught on spoons, Minijigs or bait from shore, tubes or kayaks.
The fishing on Bridgeport Reservoir is still doing very well both from the shore and boats. Boat anglers are trolling with Thomas Buoyants, Rapalas and nightcrawlers and getting into lots of fish while shore anglers are doing well with garlic PowerBait, Pinched Crawlers, inflated nightcrawlers and Mice Tails.
Twin Lakes continue to produce limits, with anglers reporting up to 6-plus fish per day. With the 9-pound brown caught at Upper Twin last week, there has been lots of interest.
This is trophy brown season, and the Twins are a prime water for that.
The East Walker River is recovering well from the massive fish die-off several weeks ago. While the “Miracle Mile” just below the dam is still a bit slow, anglers are reporting an excellent bite further down and into Nevada.
