Upcoming Trout Plants

I found this handy link I think is worth sharing.  With trout season getting started I’m sure many people would like to know when and where the fish plants will be happening.  Here is a link to the to DFG’s website with all the info:

http://www.dfg.ca.gov/fish/Hatcheries/FishPlanting/

Enjoy!

Back From Vacation

Frog Lakes

I’m back from my hiking trip.  Went on a few really awesome trails in the eastern Sierras and did a little fishing along the way.  We stayed a few nights in the Virginia Creek area and walked from the trailhead there to the the trailhead in Green Creek.  Then we went up to Twin Lakes and walked the Robinson Creek trail.  Did most of my fishing in the Virginia Lakes area and caught plenty of Rainbow and Brook trout.  I also made it up to Moat lake and landed a really nice Golden Trout.  I don’t have any pics of it on my camera but my buddie took some with his.  When he sends them to me I’ll post them.  Other than that fish there was nothing notable.  Just plenty of 6-10 inch rainbows that made for good dinner.

I’m really missing the bass fishing right now, maybe I’ll feel like waking up early and head over to Hodges or Wohlford for a bit of bassin’.

Vacation!

I’m off for a two week hike in the mountains.  I’ll be going to the easern Sierras and doing a lot of hiking and fishing, wish me luck.  I’ll post pics as soon as I get back.

Some pics from my phone

I was cleaning out my the memory card on my phone and found these.  I caught these fish at Lake Wohlford in mid April of this year.  All were caught on crankbaits.  I caught plenty of smaller fish but these were in the 4-5lb range.

Wohlford Bass 1

Wohlford Bass 2

Wohlford Bass 3

Wohlford Bass 4

Last Months Hiking Trip

 

Brook Trout

Last month I went on four day hiking trip in Kings Canyon/Sequoia National Forest.  It was just me and two of my best friends.  We started at the at the Roads End trailhead east of Fresno.  Our intent was to do the Brewer Loop in three and a half days.  Since I knew we would be close to some very pristine lakes and streams I couldn’t resist finding a place for some gear within my pack.

The first two days were spend hiking up hill along a creek that held a good amount of small wild trout.  I caught a few rainbow and brook trout without much effort.  Little spinners in the bigger pools of water were a sure thing.  I tried floating some salmon eggs down stream but the wild trout didn’t seem as interested in that presentation as stock trout normally are.  I planned on frying some of these fish up for dinner but they were all too small.  I just didn’t seem worth the effort of cleaning and cooking these fish so I let them all go.  I had  blast though.  The scenery was amazing.

At the end of the second day we arrived at East Lake.  This was probably the most beautiful lake I’ve ever seen.  It was nestled in a valley between several 12-13,000 foot peaks.  The water was crystal clear and I could clearly see fish as deep as 20 feet.  Rocks and logs could be made out anywhere in the lake.  We crossed a natural log-pile spanning the lakes outlet stream and looked for a nice campsite.  I have to admit that I had less interest in finding a nice place to sleep than I did in finding a nice place to fish. 

East Lake

My hiking buddies found a nice spot to bed down and I proceeded to fish.  It turned out that anywhere was a nice place to fish.  I quickly caught several brook and rainbow trout on spinners.  It was a great experience.  Even when I couldn’t see the fish I would cast for large logs and boulders in deep water and the fish were always there.  I’m so used to the muddy reservoir water in SoCal that I forget what its like to sight fish in deep water.  The fish here were all small as well and I did not bother to eat any of them for dinner. (I’m not big on eating fish anyway)  I settled for some oatmeal and a cup of hot chocolate.  This was definitely the high point of my trip.

One of my hiking partners was having some endurance problems.  He wasn’t used to hiking, high altitudes or carrying a pack and he was having a hard time.  We decided not to go up Mt. Brewer and instead turned around and went back the way we came.  Because we were now walking down hill it only took us one day to walk the same distance that previously took two.  In three days we walked 30 miles.

The low point of the trip would be when I broke my favorite trout rod.  It was a three-piece Lamiglas rod that I’ve been hiking with for years.  It got caught on a branch while I was walking and one of the pieces broke.  I choose to see the silver lining though… I have a good excuse to buy a new one!