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TROUT OPENER PACKAGE II: News from the region -- Jim Matthews-ONS 12april06
Mono County about to ink deal for trout rearing
Outdoor News Service
Mono County is on the verge of approving a deal that will result in at least 10,000 pounds of privately-raised catchable trout a year planted in 15 waters in the region. The best news? At least 4,000 pounds of those fish are going to be brown trout.
The county purchased the Conway Ranch on the shores of Mono Lake several years ago, and it is about to enter into a long term agreement with fish growers Tim Alpers and Todd O'Banion to operate a fish hatchery on this property, according to Alpers. In lieu of accepting payment for lease of the property, Alpers and O'Banion will provide 10,000 pounds of trout to the county each year, and additional fish may be purchased at discount prices.
"Eventually, we hope to move toward having more exotic species there. There are a lot of people raising rainbow trout, including my fish, but we'd like to do browns and brooks out there -- maybe some cutthroats," said Alpers.
The agreement with the county, which is not final yet, will call for rearing and planting 6,000 pounds of rainbow trout and 4,000 pounds of brown trout in return for allowing Alpers to create a fish rearing facility at the Conway Ranch.
Mono County waters to receive these fish include Rock Creek Lake, Crowley Lake, Convict Lake, the four main lakes in the Mammoth Lakes Basin, the four main waters in the June Lake Loop, Saddlebag Lake, Lundy Lake, Virginia Lakes, Upper and Lower Twin Lakes out of Bridgeport, Bridgeport Reservoir, and the West Walker River.
Alpers said the first fish from the new facility would probably be planted this fall and that he already had brown trout fry at his Oregon facility.
If the Conway Ranch comes on line rearing brown trout for the Eastern Sierra, it will become the fourth and largest private facility rearing browns for Mono County. The Bridgeport Fish Enhancement Program (covered here last week) is currently raising over 10,000 fingerling browns on the banks of Bridgeport Reservoir, Steve Marti plans to rear 15,000 browns in his pens on Lower Twin Lake, and Norman Anette also continues to raise brown trout on Upper Twin Lake for that water.
The Department of Fish and Game has not had an effective brown trout rearing program since the mid-1980s when its Whitney-strain browns were destroyed by whirling disease. Until last year, there hadn't been a brown trout over 15 pounds caught in the Eastern Sierra for over a decade, but it now looks like the fruits of the private brown trout plants, which started almost 10 years ago, are beginning to payoff with more huge, trophy fish and just more quality browns from three to six pounds. The big browns last season were a 17-pound, 7-ounce fish caught from Upper Twin in October and a 16-pound, 5-ouncer caught last May from Lower Twin.
Trout that size haven't been caught since Danny Stearman of Bakersfield set the state record for brown trout when he landed a 26 1/2-pounder from Upper Twin in 1987. The good ol' days are coming back thanks to private brown trout plants.
DFG TROPHY FISH PLANTS: With the April 29 trout season opener just days away, the Department of Fish and Game has announced that trophy rainbow trout will be on tap almost everywhere.
Waters throughout the Eastern Sierra -- from the West Walker River in the north to Diaz Lake in the south and all stops in between -- will be planted with catchable rainbows prior to trout season opener. But Dennis Redfern, the DFG's Eastern Sierra hatchery supervisor, said bonus plants of two- to five-pound broodstock rainbows also were planted last fall after trout season.
These trophy fish went into the following waters: Diaz Lake, the Owens River, Pleasant Valley Reservoir, Rock Creek Lake, Crowley Lake, Convict Lake, the Twin Lakes at Mammoth, the Mammoth Lakes, including Mary, Mamie, Gull and George, and June and Silver lakes in the June Lake Loop. In the high country, Ellery, Trumble, Tioga, and Saddlebag lakes were planted with broodstock, but they aren't likely to be ice-free or have road access for the opener. Further north, Lundy Lake, Upper and Lower Virginia Lakes, Bridgeport Reservoir, the Walker River, and the Little Walker River also received broodstock trout. "We put `em out there in the fall, let them carry over and be there for the trout opener," said Redfern. "It think it's going to be a very good opener."
REVIVING KIRMAN LAKE: Jim Reid, owner of Ken's Sporting Goods in Bridgeport, remembers a special week in the 1980s when he weighed in two huge brook trout when he was still a young man just working at the store he'd later buy. The near-twin brookies weighed 6 3/4-pounds each and they were caught in Kirman Lake, located in the backcountry above the West Walker River.
"My biggest brookie from Kirman was a fish a little better than five pounds, and I may have caught and released a bigger fish or two," said Reid. "I love that place."
A four- or five-pound brook trout is legendary, but Kirman Lake routinely produced fish that size for years. The DFG would stock the rich, spring-fed water with subcatchable brookies each fall. In just one year, those trout would be12-inch fish. But amazingly, they would weigh nearly two pounds and be as fat as a football. The lake became famous.
"I've climbed the hill above the lake and it looked like a bowl of Cheerios there were so many float tubes on the water," said Reid. "I've been there when there were 60 tubes on the lake."
The fishery went in the tank. Some people wanted to blame fishing pressure. Some wanted to blame the cutthroats the DFG decided to add to the stocking regime. But then anglers found out Kirman wasn't planted with brookies for three years in a row. Since very little natural spawning can take place, the fishery was dependent on the DFG plants. Hell was raised and brook trout were planted again last fall. It will take another couple of years of plants and another couple of seasons of fish growth before the four-pounders return, but Kirman is on the road to recovery.
FLY-FISHING'S NEW SECRET SIERRA SPOT: In mid-summer, Crowley Lake can become clogged with float tube, fly-rod anglers hurling midges or Matuka's to fat rainbows from 14- to 24-inches long. It's a world class fishery and plants of 400,000 sub-catchable rainbows each year keep it that way. But it can get crowded.
Fly anglers looking to leave some of the bustle behind have discovered Bridgeport Reservoir. With conditions that match Crowley -- big weed beds and midge and callibaetis hatches that bring fleets of big rainbows to the surface to feed -- the lake can be almost deserted on a week day. On a busy weekend, you might be joined in Buckeye Bay by a half-dozen other anglers.
Part of the problem is that it's long kick over to Buckeye Bay from the nearest access point. Jeffrey Wenger at Bridgeport RV Park and Marina is solving that problem. Last year he offered a float tube shuttle service to run anglers from the marina to Buckeye on a pontoon boat. He'll be doing it again this year.
Mono County about to ink deal for trout rearing
Outdoor News Service
Mono County is on the verge of approving a deal that will result in at least 10,000 pounds of privately-raised catchable trout a year planted in 15 waters in the region. The best news? At least 4,000 pounds of those fish are going to be brown trout.
The county purchased the Conway Ranch on the shores of Mono Lake several years ago, and it is about to enter into a long term agreement with fish growers Tim Alpers and Todd O'Banion to operate a fish hatchery on this property, according to Alpers. In lieu of accepting payment for lease of the property, Alpers and O'Banion will provide 10,000 pounds of trout to the county each year, and additional fish may be purchased at discount prices.
"Eventually, we hope to move toward having more exotic species there. There are a lot of people raising rainbow trout, including my fish, but we'd like to do browns and brooks out there -- maybe some cutthroats," said Alpers.
The agreement with the county, which is not final yet, will call for rearing and planting 6,000 pounds of rainbow trout and 4,000 pounds of brown trout in return for allowing Alpers to create a fish rearing facility at the Conway Ranch.
Mono County waters to receive these fish include Rock Creek Lake, Crowley Lake, Convict Lake, the four main lakes in the Mammoth Lakes Basin, the four main waters in the June Lake Loop, Saddlebag Lake, Lundy Lake, Virginia Lakes, Upper and Lower Twin Lakes out of Bridgeport, Bridgeport Reservoir, and the West Walker River.
Alpers said the first fish from the new facility would probably be planted this fall and that he already had brown trout fry at his Oregon facility.
If the Conway Ranch comes on line rearing brown trout for the Eastern Sierra, it will become the fourth and largest private facility rearing browns for Mono County. The Bridgeport Fish Enhancement Program (covered here last week) is currently raising over 10,000 fingerling browns on the banks of Bridgeport Reservoir, Steve Marti plans to rear 15,000 browns in his pens on Lower Twin Lake, and Norman Anette also continues to raise brown trout on Upper Twin Lake for that water.
The Department of Fish and Game has not had an effective brown trout rearing program since the mid-1980s when its Whitney-strain browns were destroyed by whirling disease. Until last year, there hadn't been a brown trout over 15 pounds caught in the Eastern Sierra for over a decade, but it now looks like the fruits of the private brown trout plants, which started almost 10 years ago, are beginning to payoff with more huge, trophy fish and just more quality browns from three to six pounds. The big browns last season were a 17-pound, 7-ounce fish caught from Upper Twin in October and a 16-pound, 5-ouncer caught last May from Lower Twin.
Trout that size haven't been caught since Danny Stearman of Bakersfield set the state record for brown trout when he landed a 26 1/2-pounder from Upper Twin in 1987. The good ol' days are coming back thanks to private brown trout plants.
DFG TROPHY FISH PLANTS: With the April 29 trout season opener just days away, the Department of Fish and Game has announced that trophy rainbow trout will be on tap almost everywhere.
Waters throughout the Eastern Sierra -- from the West Walker River in the north to Diaz Lake in the south and all stops in between -- will be planted with catchable rainbows prior to trout season opener. But Dennis Redfern, the DFG's Eastern Sierra hatchery supervisor, said bonus plants of two- to five-pound broodstock rainbows also were planted last fall after trout season.
These trophy fish went into the following waters: Diaz Lake, the Owens River, Pleasant Valley Reservoir, Rock Creek Lake, Crowley Lake, Convict Lake, the Twin Lakes at Mammoth, the Mammoth Lakes, including Mary, Mamie, Gull and George, and June and Silver lakes in the June Lake Loop. In the high country, Ellery, Trumble, Tioga, and Saddlebag lakes were planted with broodstock, but they aren't likely to be ice-free or have road access for the opener. Further north, Lundy Lake, Upper and Lower Virginia Lakes, Bridgeport Reservoir, the Walker River, and the Little Walker River also received broodstock trout. "We put `em out there in the fall, let them carry over and be there for the trout opener," said Redfern. "It think it's going to be a very good opener."
REVIVING KIRMAN LAKE: Jim Reid, owner of Ken's Sporting Goods in Bridgeport, remembers a special week in the 1980s when he weighed in two huge brook trout when he was still a young man just working at the store he'd later buy. The near-twin brookies weighed 6 3/4-pounds each and they were caught in Kirman Lake, located in the backcountry above the West Walker River.
"My biggest brookie from Kirman was a fish a little better than five pounds, and I may have caught and released a bigger fish or two," said Reid. "I love that place."
A four- or five-pound brook trout is legendary, but Kirman Lake routinely produced fish that size for years. The DFG would stock the rich, spring-fed water with subcatchable brookies each fall. In just one year, those trout would be12-inch fish. But amazingly, they would weigh nearly two pounds and be as fat as a football. The lake became famous.
"I've climbed the hill above the lake and it looked like a bowl of Cheerios there were so many float tubes on the water," said Reid. "I've been there when there were 60 tubes on the lake."
The fishery went in the tank. Some people wanted to blame fishing pressure. Some wanted to blame the cutthroats the DFG decided to add to the stocking regime. But then anglers found out Kirman wasn't planted with brookies for three years in a row. Since very little natural spawning can take place, the fishery was dependent on the DFG plants. Hell was raised and brook trout were planted again last fall. It will take another couple of years of plants and another couple of seasons of fish growth before the four-pounders return, but Kirman is on the road to recovery.
FLY-FISHING'S NEW SECRET SIERRA SPOT: In mid-summer, Crowley Lake can become clogged with float tube, fly-rod anglers hurling midges or Matuka's to fat rainbows from 14- to 24-inches long. It's a world class fishery and plants of 400,000 sub-catchable rainbows each year keep it that way. But it can get crowded.
Fly anglers looking to leave some of the bustle behind have discovered Bridgeport Reservoir. With conditions that match Crowley -- big weed beds and midge and callibaetis hatches that bring fleets of big rainbows to the surface to feed -- the lake can be almost deserted on a week day. On a busy weekend, you might be joined in Buckeye Bay by a half-dozen other anglers.
Part of the problem is that it's long kick over to Buckeye Bay from the nearest access point. Jeffrey Wenger at Bridgeport RV Park and Marina is solving that problem. Last year he offered a float tube shuttle service to run anglers from the marina to Buckeye on a pontoon boat. He'll be doing it again this year.
