Troutketcher
07-11-2010, 06:52 PM
Headed up the 395 the day after 4th of July for our annual Sierra trip with my dad and brother. Couldn’t believe how many cars we saw coming back home from the other direction…it really must have been a packed weekend up there for the holiday! But was surprised not to see many post reports on here from that weekend? Stopped at Jacks in Bishop for a late lunch and arrived in Mammoth at 3:00. We didn’t waste any time and headed straight up to fish the mammoth lakes. Made a quick stop at Ricks who informed us they had just stocked all the Mammoth lakes on Friday so we spent the whole rest of the day fishing Mamie and George…however Rick must have been a liar cause we only caught 1 fish and nobody was really catching anything. Kind of a disappointing start to the trip but knew there would be plenty of more fishing to come.
Day 2
Got to Crowley at 7:30 and shore fished at Alligator Point all morning for 5 fish, 3 normal guys and these 2 which were about 2.5 pounds each. What an awesome fight they give catching them on 2 lb line…never seen fish jump out of the water so many times. Afterwards we fished the Owens just below Browns Campground and found a nice pocket where we needled them on every cast, all stockers and nothing of size put was a great way to end the day.
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u267/brlennox/Mammoth%202010/Mammoth201000500.jpg
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u267/brlennox/Mammoth%202010/Mammoth10068.jpg
Day 3
Decided to try a new hike we had never tried before out of Lundy Lake. It’s a 3 1/3 mile hike to Oneida Lake. Got to the trailhead at Lundy lake at 8:00 and made it to Oneida at 9:30. It was probably the steepest 3 miles I have ever hiked, we were wiped out when we got there but what a beautiful lake it was. There’s some pretty nice views along the way and you pass through the ruins of a mining camp. Threw our lines in and caught probably about 12 of these guys. Beautiful fish. Hiked back to Lundy and fished the outlet and did pretty well catching another 12 fish. All normal stockers except for this brown, kinda cool cause I had never caught a rainbow, brooke, and brown all in the same day before.
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u267/brlennox/Mammoth%202010/Mammoth2010011.jpg
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u267/brlennox/Mammoth%202010/Mammoth2010029.jpg
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u267/brlennox/Mammoth%202010/Mammoth2010030.jpg
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u267/brlennox/Mammoth%202010/Mammoth2010010.jpg
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u267/brlennox/Mammoth%202010/Mammoth2010042.jpg
Day 4
Headed up to Bridgeport for the first time ever. We had no idea where the good fishing spots were so we decided to hit up the East Walker first where my brother caught this nice brown on a barbless gold kastmaster. The browns were jumping like crazy but couldn’t get any to hit the fly and bubble.
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u267/brlennox/Mammoth%202010/Mammoth2010045.jpg
Next we tried Bridgeport Reservoir off the rocks at the outlet with no luck…it was the middle of the day so we weren’t expecting much. From there we drove to Upper Twin to explore, much more scenic than the reservoir and was quite crowded. Found a shady spot right of the road to fish and once again didn’t have any luck nor was anybody else. From there we decided to stop at Virginia on the way home. We were told they had just stocked that day so we brought out the Thomas Bouyants and caught about 6 stockers.
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u267/brlennox/Mammoth%202010/Mammoth2010068.jpg
Day 5
Drove up to Saddlebag lake and had our traditional pancake breakfast. Bombest pancakes ever!
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u267/brlennox/Mammoth%202010/Mammoth10049.jpg
We actually lucked out cause little did we know that a week earlier the lake was still completely frozen and the day we got there was officially their resort/shop’s opening day. So if we had gotten there one day earlier we would have missed out on the pancakes! After breakfast we fished a few spots around the lake for a steady bite. We were really trying to target the Alpers we saw cruising the shoreline but no luck on those. The shop told us they stocked about 280 Alpers two days before, saw a few on other’s stringers. Caught 10 fish in totally, 7 stockers and 3 brookes.
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u267/brlennox/Mammoth%202010/Mammoth2010077.jpg
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u267/brlennox/Mammoth%202010/Mammoth2010076.jpg
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u267/brlennox/Mammoth%202010/Mammoth2010074.jpg
FYI they are doing some road paving on the Tioga Pass road so expect some delays going up.
Day 6
The final day was the much anticipated hike to Lake Dorothy out of Convict Lake. We had talked about this hike for years and finally decided to go for it. It’s a 6 mile hike to Dorothy from the Convict parking lot…definitely not a short hike. We were at the trailhead at 6:45 and went about 4 miles until we came to this crossing which was pretty much impossible to cross, the water was rushing way too hard and fast. We tried building a bridge with logs and rocks but there was just no chance. It was highly disappointing but the hike was still beautiful and gives us something to look forward to next time in a year with less snowfall. Here are some of the pics.
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u267/brlennox/Mammoth%202010/Mammoth2010081.jpg
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u267/brlennox/Mammoth%202010/Mammoth2010082.jpg
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u267/brlennox/Mammoth%202010/Mammoth2010099.jpg
Later in the day we decided to try fishing a backcountry stream we had never fished before and were rewarded with these guys. Golden/Rainbow hybrids??? Let me know what you guys think they are. Prettiest fish I had ever caught and highlight of the trip for sure.
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u267/brlennox/Mammoth%202010/Mammoth2010089.jpg
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u267/brlennox/Mammoth%202010/Mammoth2010092.jpg
Ended the trip by trying Crowley one last time off the rocks. My dad hooked into a monster that instantly snapped his 3 lb line as it lept out of the water. I also hooked into a nice one on a lip ripperz who jumped out of water and shook loose of the lure. Man these fish are smart!
Overall, it was another great trip and was fun catching all the different species, and already have next year’s trip all planned out haha We celebrated the end of the trip by eating the best pizza in the eastern sierras at Giovannis in Mammoth.
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u267/brlennox/Mammoth%202010/Mammoth10054.jpg
Day 2
Got to Crowley at 7:30 and shore fished at Alligator Point all morning for 5 fish, 3 normal guys and these 2 which were about 2.5 pounds each. What an awesome fight they give catching them on 2 lb line…never seen fish jump out of the water so many times. Afterwards we fished the Owens just below Browns Campground and found a nice pocket where we needled them on every cast, all stockers and nothing of size put was a great way to end the day.
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u267/brlennox/Mammoth%202010/Mammoth201000500.jpg
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u267/brlennox/Mammoth%202010/Mammoth10068.jpg
Day 3
Decided to try a new hike we had never tried before out of Lundy Lake. It’s a 3 1/3 mile hike to Oneida Lake. Got to the trailhead at Lundy lake at 8:00 and made it to Oneida at 9:30. It was probably the steepest 3 miles I have ever hiked, we were wiped out when we got there but what a beautiful lake it was. There’s some pretty nice views along the way and you pass through the ruins of a mining camp. Threw our lines in and caught probably about 12 of these guys. Beautiful fish. Hiked back to Lundy and fished the outlet and did pretty well catching another 12 fish. All normal stockers except for this brown, kinda cool cause I had never caught a rainbow, brooke, and brown all in the same day before.
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u267/brlennox/Mammoth%202010/Mammoth2010011.jpg
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u267/brlennox/Mammoth%202010/Mammoth2010029.jpg
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u267/brlennox/Mammoth%202010/Mammoth2010030.jpg
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u267/brlennox/Mammoth%202010/Mammoth2010010.jpg
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u267/brlennox/Mammoth%202010/Mammoth2010042.jpg
Day 4
Headed up to Bridgeport for the first time ever. We had no idea where the good fishing spots were so we decided to hit up the East Walker first where my brother caught this nice brown on a barbless gold kastmaster. The browns were jumping like crazy but couldn’t get any to hit the fly and bubble.
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u267/brlennox/Mammoth%202010/Mammoth2010045.jpg
Next we tried Bridgeport Reservoir off the rocks at the outlet with no luck…it was the middle of the day so we weren’t expecting much. From there we drove to Upper Twin to explore, much more scenic than the reservoir and was quite crowded. Found a shady spot right of the road to fish and once again didn’t have any luck nor was anybody else. From there we decided to stop at Virginia on the way home. We were told they had just stocked that day so we brought out the Thomas Bouyants and caught about 6 stockers.
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u267/brlennox/Mammoth%202010/Mammoth2010068.jpg
Day 5
Drove up to Saddlebag lake and had our traditional pancake breakfast. Bombest pancakes ever!
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u267/brlennox/Mammoth%202010/Mammoth10049.jpg
We actually lucked out cause little did we know that a week earlier the lake was still completely frozen and the day we got there was officially their resort/shop’s opening day. So if we had gotten there one day earlier we would have missed out on the pancakes! After breakfast we fished a few spots around the lake for a steady bite. We were really trying to target the Alpers we saw cruising the shoreline but no luck on those. The shop told us they stocked about 280 Alpers two days before, saw a few on other’s stringers. Caught 10 fish in totally, 7 stockers and 3 brookes.
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u267/brlennox/Mammoth%202010/Mammoth2010077.jpg
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u267/brlennox/Mammoth%202010/Mammoth2010076.jpg
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u267/brlennox/Mammoth%202010/Mammoth2010074.jpg
FYI they are doing some road paving on the Tioga Pass road so expect some delays going up.
Day 6
The final day was the much anticipated hike to Lake Dorothy out of Convict Lake. We had talked about this hike for years and finally decided to go for it. It’s a 6 mile hike to Dorothy from the Convict parking lot…definitely not a short hike. We were at the trailhead at 6:45 and went about 4 miles until we came to this crossing which was pretty much impossible to cross, the water was rushing way too hard and fast. We tried building a bridge with logs and rocks but there was just no chance. It was highly disappointing but the hike was still beautiful and gives us something to look forward to next time in a year with less snowfall. Here are some of the pics.
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u267/brlennox/Mammoth%202010/Mammoth2010081.jpg
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u267/brlennox/Mammoth%202010/Mammoth2010082.jpg
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u267/brlennox/Mammoth%202010/Mammoth2010099.jpg
Later in the day we decided to try fishing a backcountry stream we had never fished before and were rewarded with these guys. Golden/Rainbow hybrids??? Let me know what you guys think they are. Prettiest fish I had ever caught and highlight of the trip for sure.
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u267/brlennox/Mammoth%202010/Mammoth2010089.jpg
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u267/brlennox/Mammoth%202010/Mammoth2010092.jpg
Ended the trip by trying Crowley one last time off the rocks. My dad hooked into a monster that instantly snapped his 3 lb line as it lept out of the water. I also hooked into a nice one on a lip ripperz who jumped out of water and shook loose of the lure. Man these fish are smart!
Overall, it was another great trip and was fun catching all the different species, and already have next year’s trip all planned out haha We celebrated the end of the trip by eating the best pizza in the eastern sierras at Giovannis in Mammoth.
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u267/brlennox/Mammoth%202010/Mammoth10054.jpg