chappy23us
07-19-2010, 08:26 PM
The family (wife, 2 boys, my grandparents and my nephew) headed up for a week of camping at Convict Lake. Usually I try to avoid taking any trips up this time of year due to the heat, crowds and mosquitoes but I was forced again to take some more time off from work. I got a great deal on a 30' trailer from Sierra Vacation Trailer Rentals and crossed my fingers we would be able to find a site along the creek at Convict Lake campground.
Day 1- We arrived on Monday at about 1000 hours and were unable to get any of our preferred campsites but we were ok with where we ended up. The weather was a little warm (85 degrees but it felt like 100 with no shade). We quickly set up camp and the kids (alright, me too) were itching to hit the water. We headed down to the south shore and picked up 4 stockers in about 1.5 hrs all on inflated crawlers. I could not believe the amount of people on the lake and in the campground. Everyone was tired from the long drive and we headed back to the campsite. We grilled some great steaks and called it a night by 2100.
Day 2- My grandfather and I headed up to Lake George at 0600. This is my favorite lake in the area and we always seem to catch fish but it was not the case this time. We caught 3 stockers in about 2 hours then headed back to Convict for breakfast. After a great meal prepared by my grandmother and wife we decided to head up to Rock Creek Lake. We set up by the outlet and the bite was on. Between my wife, grandfather, grandmother and the kids we caught over 25 rainbows in just over two hours. All the fish were caught on inflated crawlers on an 18" leader. I did not even get a chance to get my line in the water because I was so busy helping everybody else but it made me smile to see everyone else catching fish. On the way out we stopped at "Pie in the Sky" Cafe to grab some of the famous blueberry pie that my wife keeps telling me about. Thank goodness they were out because there was no way I was going to pay $45 (it cant be that good, right?) for a whole pie. If the pie is that good somebody please tell me.
Day 3-Another hot day! We headed up to Virginia Lakes for the first time. As per our tradition, we stopped at Mono Cone in Lee Vining. I dont know why but the soft serve cones just taste so much better up there. After arriving at Virginia Lakes, I was amazed by how gorgeous the place was. We fished right around the inlet of Big Virginia and nailed about 20 small rainbows in just over 3 hours. The mosquitoes got me about 10 times all over my arms and legs because I forgot to apply repellent. Definitely will consider staying here in the future as the campsites along Virginia Creek looked really nice.
Day 4-Another early morning trip for limit of rainbows for my grandfather and I at Rock Creek. A small green roadrunner was the ticket for me. I was getting hit 2 out of every 3 casts with it. My grandfather caught his limit on the inflated crawler again. A flat tire on grandfather's truck took up most of the remainder of the day. Later in the afternoon I took the kids down to Convict Creek. A small gold Panther Martin got us about 6 nice size planters in just over a half hour. After catching the fish, the kids decided it was just too warm and talked me into going a for a quick dip in the pool we had just fished. Boy was it refreshing as the air temp was still about 85 degrees. The kids and I had a great time in the water for the next hour or so.
Day 5-Woke up early to the sounds of thunder and a light rain but I had promised my oldest I would take him fishing in the morning. Due to the weather we decided to stay at Convict and fish just to the left of the marina jetty. I baited up our rods with crawlers and after a half hour we had zero bites so I decided to try the new corn power bait on one of our rods. Immediately after tossing it out we had a fish on. I switched all three rods to the corn power bait and we caught about 10 more in the next hour before the rain intensified and we had multiple lightning strikes. It was time to get off the water. Later in the day we visited the town of Bodie. It was a very interesting place to visit but we did not budget enough time to make a thorough trip.
We had another great trip and caught a ton of fish but I think we will limit our Eastern Sierra trips to before Memorial Day and after Labor Day. Dont get me wrong, we had a great time but the heat, crowds and bugs weighed on us a little too much. Our last trip of the year will be in the middle of October when the weather is crisp, the crowds are gone and the bugs are dead.
Day 1- We arrived on Monday at about 1000 hours and were unable to get any of our preferred campsites but we were ok with where we ended up. The weather was a little warm (85 degrees but it felt like 100 with no shade). We quickly set up camp and the kids (alright, me too) were itching to hit the water. We headed down to the south shore and picked up 4 stockers in about 1.5 hrs all on inflated crawlers. I could not believe the amount of people on the lake and in the campground. Everyone was tired from the long drive and we headed back to the campsite. We grilled some great steaks and called it a night by 2100.
Day 2- My grandfather and I headed up to Lake George at 0600. This is my favorite lake in the area and we always seem to catch fish but it was not the case this time. We caught 3 stockers in about 2 hours then headed back to Convict for breakfast. After a great meal prepared by my grandmother and wife we decided to head up to Rock Creek Lake. We set up by the outlet and the bite was on. Between my wife, grandfather, grandmother and the kids we caught over 25 rainbows in just over two hours. All the fish were caught on inflated crawlers on an 18" leader. I did not even get a chance to get my line in the water because I was so busy helping everybody else but it made me smile to see everyone else catching fish. On the way out we stopped at "Pie in the Sky" Cafe to grab some of the famous blueberry pie that my wife keeps telling me about. Thank goodness they were out because there was no way I was going to pay $45 (it cant be that good, right?) for a whole pie. If the pie is that good somebody please tell me.
Day 3-Another hot day! We headed up to Virginia Lakes for the first time. As per our tradition, we stopped at Mono Cone in Lee Vining. I dont know why but the soft serve cones just taste so much better up there. After arriving at Virginia Lakes, I was amazed by how gorgeous the place was. We fished right around the inlet of Big Virginia and nailed about 20 small rainbows in just over 3 hours. The mosquitoes got me about 10 times all over my arms and legs because I forgot to apply repellent. Definitely will consider staying here in the future as the campsites along Virginia Creek looked really nice.
Day 4-Another early morning trip for limit of rainbows for my grandfather and I at Rock Creek. A small green roadrunner was the ticket for me. I was getting hit 2 out of every 3 casts with it. My grandfather caught his limit on the inflated crawler again. A flat tire on grandfather's truck took up most of the remainder of the day. Later in the afternoon I took the kids down to Convict Creek. A small gold Panther Martin got us about 6 nice size planters in just over a half hour. After catching the fish, the kids decided it was just too warm and talked me into going a for a quick dip in the pool we had just fished. Boy was it refreshing as the air temp was still about 85 degrees. The kids and I had a great time in the water for the next hour or so.
Day 5-Woke up early to the sounds of thunder and a light rain but I had promised my oldest I would take him fishing in the morning. Due to the weather we decided to stay at Convict and fish just to the left of the marina jetty. I baited up our rods with crawlers and after a half hour we had zero bites so I decided to try the new corn power bait on one of our rods. Immediately after tossing it out we had a fish on. I switched all three rods to the corn power bait and we caught about 10 more in the next hour before the rain intensified and we had multiple lightning strikes. It was time to get off the water. Later in the day we visited the town of Bodie. It was a very interesting place to visit but we did not budget enough time to make a thorough trip.
We had another great trip and caught a ton of fish but I think we will limit our Eastern Sierra trips to before Memorial Day and after Labor Day. Dont get me wrong, we had a great time but the heat, crowds and bugs weighed on us a little too much. Our last trip of the year will be in the middle of October when the weather is crisp, the crowds are gone and the bugs are dead.