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SIERRA TROUT OPENER SATURDAY -- Jim Matthews-ONS 21apr04
Weather, conditions look good for Sierra trout season opener
In spite of proliferating New Zealand mud snails that can potentially snuff the life out of trout river and a state budget that is likely to snuff the life out of two major trout hatcheries, the trout season opener in the Eastern Sierra Nevada this Saturday could be one of the best openers in a number of years.
The combination of a good weather forecast and heftier-than-normal trout plants in Crowley Lake, always the focal point for the Sierra opener, both point to a better than average opener for the 8,000 to 9,000 anglers who are projected to make the journey from Southern California to fish this region.
Crowley Lake is the jewel of the Eastern Sierra. In late summer each year, the lake is planted with around 500,000 trout, most are four- to six-inch rainbow trout of varying strains that grow into one-pounders by opening day the following spring. This past year, however, the lake received an additional 94,000 catchable (eight- to 12-inch fish) Coleman-strain rainbows in August. These fish are likely to be 15- to 18-inches long come opening day and weigh around two pounds. They will contrast nicely with the 12- to 13-inch trout normally caught.
Curtis Milliron, a DFG fishery biologist in Bishop who's been Crowley's mother hen for many years, said that Coleman rainbows are fall spawners and will not be cruising the shorelines or running up into Crowley's tributary creeks and rivers like the other strains of rainbows -- the Eagle Lake, Hot Creek, and Kamloops rainbows. The bigger Coleman will probably be caught by anglers trolling or fishing baits in the lake's open water.
There will be a lot of other open water in the Sierra this trout opener. While the weather has been cool in the region and major runoff has not muddied up some waters that are usually torrents of chocolate water this time of year, many high elevation lakes are shedding their layers of ice early.
In the Bridgeport region, both Twin Lakes are ice-free, but the Virginia Lakes are still coated with thick layers of ice and will be a popular ice-fishing destination. Lundy Lake is partially open, and all lakes in the June Lake loop are open. In Mammoth, the Twin Lakes were about 50 percent ice-free, but the rest of the Mammoth Lakes in the upper basin were all still frozen solid and ice fishermen would have to snowshoe or ski to these lakes. In the Bishop Creek drainage, the road is open all the way to both South Lake and Sabrina, but North Lake's road was still closed. South Lake was still frozen as of Wednesday with open water and the creek entrances and outlet, and North Lake and Sabrina Lake were partially to mostly-covered with rotten ice that probably would not support ice fishing.
"I drove Bishop Creek today, and you could see the big Alper's trout from last year laying in there," said Paul Schmidt at Culver's Sporting Goods in Bishop. "They were four to six-pounders at least."
The biggest trout opening weekend, typically come from Convict Lake -- which has opening week's biggest trout last opener -- Gull Lake in the June Lake loop, Crowley Lake, and Bridgeport Reservoir. They are usually big rainbows planted by the DFG or from Tim Alper's hatchery. But in year's past, the big fish was usually a very large brown trout that came from Upper or Lower Twin Lake near Bridgeport. Browns over 20 pounds have come from both those lakes opening week of the trout season. Grant Lake, Convict Lake, and Pleasant Valley Reservoir have also produced whopper browns -- but almost none in recent years for the opener.
"They're still out there," said Rick Gieser of Ken's Sporting Goods in Bridgeport, a 23-year veteran of Sierra openers. "We're about due to see another big one caught opening weekend. I was out there fishing with 14-pound test line and had my line snapped last season several times and lost two big fish at the net.
Gieser fishes big Rapalas in Bridgeport Reservoir casting from shore and the dam, and the two browns he lost, well, he estimates they would have weighed between 15 and 18 pounds. He hooked them opening weekend, and Gieser has weighed in enough of the big browns over the years to be a pretty good judge of size.
Gieser figures those two and quite a few more like them are still in the Sierra, and it is dreams of fish like those that bring anglers back year after year for this opening day.
Weather, conditions look good for Sierra trout season opener
In spite of proliferating New Zealand mud snails that can potentially snuff the life out of trout river and a state budget that is likely to snuff the life out of two major trout hatcheries, the trout season opener in the Eastern Sierra Nevada this Saturday could be one of the best openers in a number of years.
The combination of a good weather forecast and heftier-than-normal trout plants in Crowley Lake, always the focal point for the Sierra opener, both point to a better than average opener for the 8,000 to 9,000 anglers who are projected to make the journey from Southern California to fish this region.
Crowley Lake is the jewel of the Eastern Sierra. In late summer each year, the lake is planted with around 500,000 trout, most are four- to six-inch rainbow trout of varying strains that grow into one-pounders by opening day the following spring. This past year, however, the lake received an additional 94,000 catchable (eight- to 12-inch fish) Coleman-strain rainbows in August. These fish are likely to be 15- to 18-inches long come opening day and weigh around two pounds. They will contrast nicely with the 12- to 13-inch trout normally caught.
Curtis Milliron, a DFG fishery biologist in Bishop who's been Crowley's mother hen for many years, said that Coleman rainbows are fall spawners and will not be cruising the shorelines or running up into Crowley's tributary creeks and rivers like the other strains of rainbows -- the Eagle Lake, Hot Creek, and Kamloops rainbows. The bigger Coleman will probably be caught by anglers trolling or fishing baits in the lake's open water.
There will be a lot of other open water in the Sierra this trout opener. While the weather has been cool in the region and major runoff has not muddied up some waters that are usually torrents of chocolate water this time of year, many high elevation lakes are shedding their layers of ice early.
In the Bridgeport region, both Twin Lakes are ice-free, but the Virginia Lakes are still coated with thick layers of ice and will be a popular ice-fishing destination. Lundy Lake is partially open, and all lakes in the June Lake loop are open. In Mammoth, the Twin Lakes were about 50 percent ice-free, but the rest of the Mammoth Lakes in the upper basin were all still frozen solid and ice fishermen would have to snowshoe or ski to these lakes. In the Bishop Creek drainage, the road is open all the way to both South Lake and Sabrina, but North Lake's road was still closed. South Lake was still frozen as of Wednesday with open water and the creek entrances and outlet, and North Lake and Sabrina Lake were partially to mostly-covered with rotten ice that probably would not support ice fishing.
"I drove Bishop Creek today, and you could see the big Alper's trout from last year laying in there," said Paul Schmidt at Culver's Sporting Goods in Bishop. "They were four to six-pounders at least."
The biggest trout opening weekend, typically come from Convict Lake -- which has opening week's biggest trout last opener -- Gull Lake in the June Lake loop, Crowley Lake, and Bridgeport Reservoir. They are usually big rainbows planted by the DFG or from Tim Alper's hatchery. But in year's past, the big fish was usually a very large brown trout that came from Upper or Lower Twin Lake near Bridgeport. Browns over 20 pounds have come from both those lakes opening week of the trout season. Grant Lake, Convict Lake, and Pleasant Valley Reservoir have also produced whopper browns -- but almost none in recent years for the opener.
"They're still out there," said Rick Gieser of Ken's Sporting Goods in Bridgeport, a 23-year veteran of Sierra openers. "We're about due to see another big one caught opening weekend. I was out there fishing with 14-pound test line and had my line snapped last season several times and lost two big fish at the net.
Gieser fishes big Rapalas in Bridgeport Reservoir casting from shore and the dam, and the two browns he lost, well, he estimates they would have weighed between 15 and 18 pounds. He hooked them opening weekend, and Gieser has weighed in enough of the big browns over the years to be a pretty good judge of size.
Gieser figures those two and quite a few more like them are still in the Sierra, and it is dreams of fish like those that bring anglers back year after year for this opening day.
