2016 Sierra Adventure: Lee Vining Creek, Upper Owens River and Hot Creek

This is going to be a short post because I didn't catch very much. In fact, the only picture I have is one of a trout flopping back to freedom.

The fish got away while my sister was taking the photo.

Lee Vining is the first river you encounter once you exit the East entrance of Yosemite national park. After taking Poole Power Plant Road you happen upon Manzanita campground.

There are two situations: the river has been stocked or it has not been stocked. If the river has been stocked, prepare yourself for awesome fishing with trout in the 12-14 inch range.

If the river has not been stocked things are a lot tougher since the fishable area is small, and there aren't many places to hide. I managed to catch two trout on salmon eggs and a split shot, but fishing was difficult. In any case, Lee Vining is a good place to stop by, and the nearby town holds Niceley's restaurant, which serves amazing fried chicken.

I also visited Hot Creek and Upper Owens River, supposedly one of the best fly fishing sections in the world. Unfortunately, all I can say is that late July is not the time to visit these rivers.

Both are shallow and meander slowly along through meadows and canyons. Both are choked with weeds by late July, making fishing difficult. Also, they are especially windy in the evening.

I fished at Brown's Owens River Campground, where the steam was only 10-15 feet wide. Perhaps I was fishing at the wrong place. If you guys know where to go, then let me know in the comments.

In any case it was nice to have the opportunity to fish these esteemed rivers, but it would have been nicer to catch a fish.

A panorama of the Upper Owens River. 

Equipment and Catch Summary

• Three-weight Reddington Classic Trout fly rod with 6x leader 
• #8 Woolly Bugger 
• #20 Parachute Adams
• 2 trout; afternoon (salmon eggs) at Lee Vining

Total: 2 trout

Trip total: 41 trout

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Sierra Adventure: Graph of Fish Catches

The graph above is the summary of my family's trip to the Sierras. Conway Ranch is not included due to the fact that trout are heavily stocked in the areas we were fishing.

Individual reports:

• May Lake in Yosemite National Park - brook trout mania
• San Joaquin near Devil's Postpile National Park - wild trout dry fly
• Hot Creek and Crowley Lake - big brown trout on fly rod
• San Joaquin and Tuolumne River in Yosemite National Park - dry fly action continues
• Yosemite National Park small creek fishing - eleven wild trout in one hour

 

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Sierra Adventure: Conway Ranch - The Last Episode

A giant rainbow

Here it is, the last episode of the season. In just a few days I will be heading back to school, where I will be busy with homework. Over the summer, I have documented my many adventures in the form of a blog. Although I will continue to make entries, the posts will be far and few between. Still, I have one last adventure from my time in the Sierras for you.

The family posing with my sister's fish

The entire time my family has been in the Sierras there was one place that was always in the back of our minds. That place was Conway Ranch. Conway is the home of the legendary Alpers Trout, a modified version of the rainbow trout that fights harder and grows bigger than the average rainbow. The Ranch grows the trout to be shipped over the Eastern Sierra, but they also have a couple ponds which they stock with the trout they raise. We were about to go to one of those ponds.

Me fighting a fish

My family arrived at Conway Ranch at 11:00 A.M. There we signed the necessary paperwork, and began to set up our rods. I would be using an olive wooly bugger tied onto two pound tippet. My father would be helping my younger sister catch fish with a bobber and bait. As soon I threw my fly into the water, a fish jumped up and snapped my two pound tippet. That was how big the fish were. Switching to four-pound tippet, I cast in again, and hooked up with another Alpers Trout. Meanwhile,  my sister also had a fish on her line. We both landed our fish, and took photos. Over the next hour and-a-half I proceeded to catch six Alpers Trout, my dad caught one, and my sister caught five for a total of eleven Alpers Trout. By the end we all had broken our fair share of lines, and were fatigued. We fed the trout as a chore for the managers, piled into the car, and drove back to the Bay Area. My family ended the Sierra Adventure with a combined total of sixty-one trout, a mix of brook, brown, rainbow, and Alpers trout.

The biggest rainbow of the trip

This trip was a truly remarkable experience for me. It will stay in my mind as the best trout fishing excursion I have taken so far. The amount of fish we caught, the unique places we visited, and the people we met made the entire trip appealing and captivating. Whether it was fishing in a high mountain lake, or pulling a giant brown trout in from a float tube the fishing was special because of the memories that I will take with me from this trip.




However, this trip brings me back to one of the reasons why I started this blog. Many of the places that I have gone to in the past weeks may not stay open for more than ten years. Although the people of today try hard to preserve the lakes for future generations, the future generation may not preserve it for themselves. It's hard to compete for attention with the flashy game console or iPod. Many kids will not get outdoors as much as they need to. They will not make the connections with nature as previous generations have, that leads to the conservation of special places. Fishing was my solution to this problem.  There is something  about fishing that most children instinctually like. Therefore, it is one of the easiest tools a parent can use to get a child familiar with the outdoors. And when a child gets familiar with nature they will want to protect it, like they would an iPod or Xbox. So push yourself to get outside and see what it does for your child.

Preserve Nature!

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Sierra Adventure: San Joaquin - Relived + Tuolumne River

Biggest fish of the San Joaquin expedition

Wednesday was our last wild trout fishing in the Eastern Sierra. To end the trip on a good note my dad and I decided to fish the San Joaquin River. However, we experienced some difficulties early in the trip...

My dad and I woke up around 6:00 A.M. to get breakfast at the deli. As we began to cross the shopping square we saw a scary sight on the left. A 300 pound mother black bear and her cub were eating out of an improperly closed trash can. We tried to scare the bears away, but they refused to move, and began to snarl at us. Terrified, my dad began to flee towards the hotel with me right behind him. We took an elevator down to the parking lot, got in the car, and went to a different bakery.

A colorful brown trout

After the bear scare, my dad parked around 6:30. I immediately started to catch fish, but the bite began to heat up with the water temperature. My dad and I were fishing a #20 Parachute Adams and a #28 Caddis. Trout were only hitting very small dry flies the entire day. Also, my dad hiked up and down the river, but only a small stretch produced fish. After five intense hours of fishing my dad and I ended up with a combined total of eleven fish (eight for me, three for dad). There was a mix of brown, brook, and rainbow trout that was caught all on dries before 10:00 A.M.

San Joaquin Fish Total = 20 (9 on day one plus 11 on day 2)
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 Brook trout at San Joaquin

We left the Eastern Sierras on Wednesday, but our fishing adventure continues to be productive in Yosemite Park. One of our first fishing trips in the park was started at Tuolumne River. The river runs East to West through Yosemite's high country. Large populations of small wild trout swim through the Lyell Fork and Dana Fork of the river.

The biggest brown trout caught in San Joaquin

My family left for the Lyell Fork of the Tuolumne river around 10:00 A.M. We were going there mainly for the hike, but there was a fly rod stowed away in my backpack. After a short hike, the Tuolumne River was within sight. After a quick lunch, I proceeded to catch a small brook trout with an olive green wooly bugger. Satisfied, my family returned to the car. 

The following morning my dad and I went to the Dana Fork of the Tuolumne River. Although the early morning was slow, fishing       began to get better as the sun's rays warmed the water. I caught two brook trout while using a bubble-fly combination. There was a small mosquito on the end of the line, but action could have been better if my dad had a smaller fly in his fly-box. 

Tuolumne total = 3

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Sierra Adventure: Hot Creek + Crowley Lake Action

The beginning of the wild trout section of Hot Creek

It's not all about the fish. Any angler has heard that phrase hundreds of times. I had that lesson pounded into me at Hot Creek. The creek is generally regarded as one of California's best wild trout stream. A single mile of the creek contains about 11,000 trout per mile. However the average trout at Hot Creek is caught about five to six times a month. This creates very smart, but very large wild trout. Hearing the praise about Hot Creek, I decided to fish there.

Me and my brown trout that I caught at Crowley

A sixteen-inch brown trout

When we arrived at the stream the first thing I noticed was a giant sign that said, "0 fish limit". Despite the sign I still noticed dozens of anglers trying their luck. At most places I go to people fish for the food, not the fish. However, Hot Creek is a special place where anglers come from miles for just a glimpse of the fish. These anglers are in a special class of people that are hardcore catch and release fishermen. Just being at the river and walking through the meadow was enough for them. Fishing is all about the experience of enjoying the river and the nature around you. Whether you choose to enjoy it or not is up to you. Nevertheless, I hooked a nice sized rainbow with a green wooly bugger. While fighting it against the current, I was just about to net the trout, when the fly popped out of the fish's mouth. Seconds later, it disappeared back into the middle of the creek.

Hot creek

Luckily, I had a chance to redeem myself the following day while fishing at Crowley Lake. The lake is one of the best trout fishing areas in the state. Note that it contains no wild trout. All trout are stocked at fingerling size, and grow about an inch per month due to the abundant food sources in Crowley.

Unfortunately for me, the fish seemed to avoiding my lure. During the past two hours I had been fishing from a float tube with a rainbow pattern Kastmaster attached to four pound test. The hits had been far and few between, and I was getting slightly frustrated. Anglers around me all had at least one fish with their fly rods. In a moment of desperation I switched my spinning rod to a fly rod. The fish soon began to strike the midges I was fishing under a strike indicator. Then a trout grabbed my fly and ran. I set the hook and settled in for the fight. Two intense minutes later a nice sixteen-inch brown trout was netted. I returned to the car a happy angler.

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Sierra Adventure: Wild Dry Fly Action at San Joaquin

The sunrise this morning marked the third day of our trip. Today, my family decided to hit the San Joaquin River. The San Joaquin is a wild trout stream that is boosted with plants of ten to twelve-inch rainbow trout. However, this year the DFG (Department of Fish and Game) had not stocked any rainbows. The result is slightly tougher fishing for wild trout. We had fished there in the past with good results. My dad and I hoped for similar conditions today.

We arrived at Pumice Campground at 7:30 A.M. The air was frigid, and rang with the biting chill of harsh wind. That still did not stop many hikers from showing up in t-shirts and shorts. My family instead opted for warm layers and neoprene waders. As soon as my dad and I walked down to the river, we immediately spotted the rises from small trout. In my hand I held a spinning rod equipped with  split shot and a #8 hook. Salmon eggs were the bait of choice for me. My father instead held a fly rod with a nine-foot tippet on the end. A #22 Parachute Adam dry fly was tied onto the end. Although my dad immediately began to hook up with some trout, I left in search of the big one.

The biggest rainbow of the day

Ten minutes later I found my fish. It was a nice fifteen-inch rainbow trout that had been hiding behind a  large boulder. Zipping a cast upstream I let the salmon eggs drift down to the fish. It stopped the bait and I set the hook. For three minutes I ran up and down the river, vainly trying to land the fish with my four-pound test. Finally I dragged the fish onto a sandy beach. After taking a few photos, I returned downstream ready for some dry fly action.

A wild rainbow

A rainbow trout that my dad caught

My dad had already caught three trout (smaller ones) when I returned. Tying a Parachute Adam onto my three-weight fly rod I cast upstream. Immediately a eight-inch brook trout smacked the fly. That was the type of action my father and I experienced for the next three hours. Finally we ended the day with a combined total of nine trout. A mix of brooks, browns, and rainbows. My family returned to the hotel and soaked in a hot tub talking about the big ones.

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