Scenic 395 - The Official Guide 2019/2020

2019-2020 Scenic 395 53 Fishing By Jim Matthews www.OutdoorNewsService.com F or a region that historically never had trout of any kind south of Conway Summit, the Eastern Sierra Nevada has become known across the country for the quality trout fishing that exists there now. Here are the five best spots for anglers inter- ested in landing a quality trout. Crowley Lake: For Eastern Sierra Nevada anglers, Crowley Lake is the water all other fisheries are measured against. The Crowley watershed has a complex regime of regula- tions, an aggressive and creative stocking program, and an increasing number of wild trout. Throughout the long fishing season (last Saturday in April through Nov. 15), Crowley Lake produces more and bigger fish than all other waters in the region. For the first half of the season, Crowley Lake is open to all types of fishing – bait, lures, and flies – and it has a five-trout limit. From August 1 through the close of the sea- son, Crowley has a special two-fish, 18-inch minimum size bag limit and anglers are re- stricted to using artificial lures with barbless hooks – fondly known as the trophy season. Surveys done by the Department of Fish and Wildlife show that the average size of the trout caught opening day of the season is 13 to 14 inches most years with those fish weighing in at a pound. Most of those are fish that were planted by the DFW the fall before as three- to six-inch trout and have grown that 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 Top 5 Eastern Sierra fishing spots JOSH WRAY/MONO COUNTY TOURISM The Owens River is a popular spot for trout fishing. JOSH WRAY/MONO COUNTY TOURISM Crowley Lake is a popular spot for fishing, and is considered by many to be the water other Eastern Sierra fisheries are measured against. Continued on Page 54