Scenic 395 - The Official Guide 2018/2019

2018-2019 Scenic 395 54 Fishing size on the rich food supply in the alkaline reservoir. Each year the state plants around a half-million or more small trout in the fall, and they grow into trophy sizes quickly. By the end of their first year in the lake, the fish are mostly 15 to 17 inches long and approach two pounds. By the next spring, they are 18 to 20 inch trout in the three-pound class; and by their third year in the lake, they can be four to five-pound class trout. The DFW now plants the lake with at least two varieties of rainbow trout, Lahontan cut- throat trout, and brown trout in some years. The browns and cutthroats show a proclivity to be long-lived and when trout over six pounds are caught – and there are more of those fish than in decades – they are these two species. No Eastern Sierra fishing career is com- plete without at least a few days of fishing this incredible reservoir, and for fly-anglers, it is a nirvana. Owens River: If Crowley Lake is the hub of all Eastern Sierra trout fishing, the Owens River is Crowley’s main artery and a tremen- dous fishery in its own right. The Owens Riv- er managed with a complex set of rules on gear and bag and anglers need to read these regulations (which are too lengthy to summa- rize here). There are three distinct parts of the Owens. The upper river above Crowley Lake is a meadow river that cuts through an an- cient caldera. Most of the season, the river has a good population of wild trout from six to 12 inches long, but runs of spawning trout out of Crowley pack the river with rainbows, cutthroats and browns from 15 to 26 inches long and weighing up to eight pounds spring and fall. There is also a short stretch right be- low the Benton Crossing bridge that gets planted with hatchery trout throughout the summer. Between Crowley Lake and Pleasant Valley Reservoir, the Owens River flows through a deep gorge that can only be reached by hikes in from the rim or the two ends of the canyon where there is road access. The river here is a series of deep runs lined by tules and canyon walls. While most of the trout are wild eight to 10 inches, the canyon is known to hold some huge brown trout. Fishing “the gorge” is usually done in solitude. Below Pleasant Valley Reservoir, the Owens River flows through the broad Owens Valley all the way (with recent new flow allot- ments) all the way the Owens Dry Lake. The Bishop to Independence stretch is a wonder- ful trout fishery that is best fished via drift boat because the banks are so brushy. Guide services in Bishop offer these floats year- around and the average rainbows and browns are one to two pounders with some bigger browns tucked up beneath deep undercut banks. Below Independence, the river be- comes a warm water fishery with bass, bluegill, and catfish in its pools and backwa- ters. There is a good smallmouth bass fishery in this stretch of river, but that is a secret. It is amazing this river can be a major com- ponent of the Los Angeles City water supply and still provide incredible fishing along its whole length. Twin Lakes, Bridgeport: The biggest brown trout in California are caught each year in Upper and Lower Twin Lakes out of Bridge- port. So far in 2016, the biggest was a 17- pounder caught and released from Lower Twin. A brown trout just under 10 pounds won the opening day derby. These two lakes have been producing hu- mongous brown trout for decades. The state record brown is a 26-pound, eight-ounce fish that was caught the beginning of trout season in 1987 by Danny Stearman of Bakersfield from Lower Twin. If your goal is a giant brown trout, there is no better place in California. That trophy fish will be taken at first or last light by an angler who is willing to troll big, rainbow trout-like lures for weeks on end without getting a strike. It will probably be caught early in the spring – the first week or two of trout season – or late in the fall when the big fish are stag- ing at the creek mouths for the spawn. Is that you? East Walker River: The East Walker River below Bridgeport Reservoir is one of the finest brown trout fisheries in the entire West. Protected with a one-fish, 18-inch min- imum size limit and gear restrictions that mandate barbless hooks, the river abounds with big fish over that minimum size, and most anglers practice complete catch-and-re- lease fishing. How good is the fishing? Fly-fishermen frequently report 20 to 30 fish days and at least a couple of the trout topping the 20- inch mark. In September and October, when the brown trout stack up in the first mile of water below Bridgeport Reservoir, six to eight-pound trout are caught and released daily. If you want to fish in total solitude on this river, you can drive downstream and toss flies on the publicly-owned Rosaschi Ranch stretch in Nevada. You will likely not see an- other angler during the fall on this stretch. The best part is that you can get short-term Nevada licenses at Ken’s Sporting Goods in Bridgeport. Kirman Lake: If you hear someone in Bridgeport say that he was fishing in COURTESY PHOTO Daniel King shows off his catch at Twin Lakes near Bridgeport. Continued from Page 53 Continued on Page 55