ERNIE COWAN
June Lake—Trout guide Dan Lengning said it best after a busy day at Grant Lake.
“Fall is definitely here, and the browns are starting to bite,” said Lengning, owner of Dan’s Guide Service.
This is that special time in the Eastern Sierra where the battle of the seasons is a wrestling match between summer, fall and winter.
Winter always wins, but during the battle, it’s the anglers who win the most as trout move into a feeding frenzy before bitter cold brings ice and limited food sources.
And it’s the wild browns that seem to bring out the frenzy in trout hunters, many who don’t fish much at other times of the year but show up ready to go for that shot at a double-digit brown pulled from the depths of a Sierra lake, or the froth of a gurgling mountain stream.
While the browns are the grand prize sought by many, the rainbows, cutthroats and brookies also join the action this time of the year like the 8.5-pound rainbows that came out of Rock Creek Lake and Lake Mary in the past week and the 20- to 25-inch cutts on the chew at Crowley Lake.
Add blazing fall colors from the thick aspen groves that flow down Sierra Canyons, the few anglers on prime waters, heavily stocked creeks and lakes, and the Eastern Sierra is nothing short of paradise between now and the end of the general season on Nov. 15.
Many landings and services will be closing in the next week or by the end of October, but anglers can still fish most areas until the season closes, or the weather makes areas inaccessible.
Because of the area’s history of producing monster browns, look for that army of Brown Baggers dedicated to special gear, tackle and techniques, leadcore line and deep trolling to lurk around Twin Lakes in Bridgeport in hopes of landing a new state record brown.
After all, it’s about time.
The current California Brown Trout record has held since 1987 when Upper Twin Lake produced a 26.5-pound whopper. Last May, Shaver Lake came close with a 24.48-pound brown.
Other notable brown trout waters include Lower Twin Lake, Grant Lake, Silver Lake and the East Walker River. Rush Creek is also a good brown trout fishery, but the section between Silver and Grant Lakes closes to fishing at the end of September since this is a sensitive brown trout spawning area.
Let’s take the drive from Bridgeport to Bishop and see what the High Country has to offer autumn trout hunters.
Virginia Lakes, Bridgeport area—A good snowfall early last week chilled water in the Bridgeport area and that’s always good to get trout energized. Carol Webb at Virginia Lakes Resort said the biggest fish of the season, a 7.25-pound rainbow, came out a few days ago and cooler waters have energized the surface bite. Look for a surprise snowstorm just about anytime now. Virginia Lakes Resort will be closing by mid-October.
Cooler water at Bridgeport Reservoir means fish are moving from the East Walker Channel and spreading out in the lake, according to Jim Reid at Ken’s Sporting Goods. The water is also clearing and that’s good news for late season trolling.
Reid expects both trolling and shore fishing to pick up now, with some of those trophy rainbows planted throughout the season showing up on stringers.
Trolling and bait fishing have both been getting results on Upper and Lower Twin lakes and that, not surprisingly, includes some larger browns to 4 pounds starting to bite. Best results for trolling have been with Thomas Buoyants, Rapalas and Kastmasters, with Pinched Crawlers, Mice Tails, inflated nightcrawlers and PowerBait the best bait choices. Jigging with Hook Baits, Golden State jigs and Sierra Slammers is another good option at the Twins.
The East Walker River is running low at around 50 CFS and the fish are responding well to streamers and dry/dropper rigs and nymphs.
June Lakes, Lee Vining, Lundy Lake—Fall colors in Lundy Canyon should be at their peak this week, and that means anglers will not only enjoy a beautiful view, but some good trout fishing since there won’t be much pressure and the lake is well stocked. Haley Wragg at Lundy Lake Resort said they will close for the season on Oct. 15 at the latest.
Campgrounds in Lee Vining Canyon will be shuttered for the season soon, but creek flows are ideal now, and waters are well stocked with some bigger fish, along with pan-sized rainbows. Late-season fishing pressure is light, and the heavy aspen groves lining the creek are in full autumn glory.
Access to upper elevation lakes around Tioga Pass is still open, but that could change at any time, so check in at Beaver’s Sporting Goods in Lee Vining to get the latest fishing and road information.
June Lake Loops always seems to save the best for last. As the season winds down, both the fishing and the scenery are hard to beat. The Loop is producing some spectacular fish, along with a kaleidoscopic display of autumn aspens. Anglers should remember that Rush Creek between Silver and Grant Lakes is now closed to fishing for the season.
Some bigger cutthroats are active at June Lake along with some beefy rainbows tipping the scales at 6 pounds-plus. What’s working seems to be changing daily, so check in at Ernie’s Tackle and Ski to get the latest intel on baits and lures.
Both Gull and Silver lakes were stocked all season with trophy fish, and the cooler conditions has brought them into shallow water to feed. This is a great time to land that new, personal best trout.
Grant Lake is known as a place for good brown trout action, especially late in the day on a trolled Rapala.
Dan’s Guide Service owner Dan Lengning says that hasn’t changed, but the arrival of fall has pumped up the action.
The big rainbows don’t want to be left out, so they are feeding aggressively as well, with angler Josh Peet reeling in a 7.8-pound ‘bow on Grant at the Rush Creek inlet.
Rock Creek, Convict, Crowley and Mammoth Lakes area—Services at Mammoth Lakes Basin will close by the end of the month at the latest, weather permitting. But if anglers can reach the lakes, the fishing will be epic. Basin lakes have been stocked all year with trophy rainbows, and just like other areas, the cooler weather has energized the bite. A good example of that was the 8.5-pound rainbow landed by angler Christian working a Mice Tail at Lake Mary.
Services at Crowley Lake will close at the end of the month, but in the meantime the action there has been the season’s best.
Angler Jeff Smith came all the way from North Dakota to fish Crowley Lake with Doug Rodricks of Sierra Drifters Guide Service and connected with a 10-pound rainbow that and was inhaled a #18 Charlie Brown midge, and Connor, 12, boated a 25-inch cutthroat while fishing with Eastern Sierra Sportfishing guide Andrae Nersesian. If the weather stays mild, the final weeks of the season at Crowley could be incredible.
Convict Lake continues to be epic. We get so many good, big fish pictures from Convict Lake that we simply can’t use them all. Most of those fish were caught near the inlet, but the good news is that the chilly fall weather has spread the bite out now with anglers reporting lots of bigs on the chew in all areas. Daniel Drew used PowerBait on the North Shore last week to land a 6.75-pound rainbow.
The annual Ambush at the Lake Derby is still going to the end of fishing season. Anglers can sign up in the General Store and catch a 14-inch or larger fish to be entered into a drawing to win resort prizes.
Also catch a Convict Lake tagged fish between Oct. 14-26 and win a chance at a cash prize.
Cooler temperatures and a little snow in Rock Creek Canyon last week didn’t hurt the bite, according to Jim King at Rock Creek Lake Resort. The Resort will close on Oct. 13.
“There is excellent fishing at RC Lake with Needlefish trolled on leadcore at 4 colors,” King said.
Anglers willing to hike into the upper wild lakes are also reporting streamers and dry flies are attracting goldens, small brookies and rainbows.
Aspens in the lower elevations of Rock Creek Canyon are still putting on a good show.
Bishop area waters and Lower Owens River—The season is fading quickly for waters in Bishop Creek Canyon, but not the fishing. Landings and services will close on Oct. 19 at the latest, but Basin lakes and creeks are well stocked and should continue to produce some nice trout for late season anglers.
Cooler temperatures also mean good fishing on the Lower Owens River, where flows are now down to a left that allows wading into those productive holes not accessible from shore.
