baybassboy
10-27-2010, 12:39 PM
Haven't posted in awhile, but each year I like to (not so) quickly report on an annual tournament that I fish with my dad and a great group of guys.
The tournament is called the Red *** Beer Drinkin' Good Ol' Boys Trout Tournament and is hosted out of Mammoth Lakes. Kittredge Sporting Goods is the main sponsor of the tournament and plays the role as headquarters throughout the week. This year's tournament took place from Thursday October 14 to Saturday October 16. It is an invite only tournament and a majority of the participants are current/retired LA firefighters or family/friends of these men. I have the distinction of being the youngest invited member at 24 years old, and i would have to say that the majority of the guys are on the older end. This year was the 28th year of the tournament (I think) and the turnout is usually between 50 and 80 guys. The boundaries are anywhere in the Eastern Sierra or east of the Sierra Nevadas (in California) from Bishop to the South to Lake Tahoe in the North. Trout only, taken on conventional or fly gear. I would say the split for the participants is 60% conventional, 40% fly. This is an event that I look forward to each and every year beginning the day after the tournament ends the year prior.
For this report, I'll highlight what my dad and I did, and touch on a few other things from the tournament. Away we go...
Tuesday
My dad and I left home (Ventura/LA County border) early Tuesday morning the 12th. Our main goal was to take our time getting up, get the cabin warmed, unpack, and maybe wet a line somewhere in the Basin that evening. The drive went pretty quickly, and we pulled into town right around noon. We stopped in at Rick's Sport Center to get the local dope. The guys at Rick's are, IMO, the most trustworthy and knowledgeable guys in town. This is not to take anything away from the other stores in town, but i just feel like the guys at Rick's give it to you straight. If it sucks, they will tell you. If you bring a fancy, big dollar item to the counter and they feel a less expensive good will get you by just fine, they will let you know. Top notch establishment and a great source of information.
After BS'ing for a bit, we pulled up to the cabin and began unloading. The weather was absolutely beautiful, with temps in the low 60s, no wind, and predictions for more of the same throughout the week. Our cabin-mates Tim and Jon arrived shortly after us. We unpacked, turned on utilities, and prepped our gear until we couldn't take it any more and dad and I headed out the door and up to Lake Mary for a couple hours at sundown.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c345/thebigmojob/IMG_2788.jpg
My dad and I are 100% fly-anglers when it comes to trout, so our first evening is usually spent finding out what we are low on with respect to tapered leaders, tippets, and flies. Always a plus when you get to pull on a few fish in the process though. We chucked various bugger and leech patterns at the stockers and found best success on Type 3 full sink fished very slowly just above the weeds on the West Shore. Patterns didn't matter as much as the painfully slow action. Fun times, but stockers are stockers. Called it a day at sundown and head back to the cabin for a couple steaks and a few drinks. Oh, while in our tubes, we got a nice aerial display from 2 bald eagles. What a sight.
Wednesday
Saving our energy for some of the later days, we got started mid-morning on Wednesday. The plan was to hit Rick's to fill our shopping lists, and then head to the North Arm of Lake Crowley and fool a few rainbows and hopefully stumble upon some browns. We launched the tubes at North Landing, just south of the point, and began our search.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c345/thebigmojob/IMG00116-20101013-1418.jpg
What we found over the next few hours was that reports could not have been more dead on. The fish are spread throughout the lake, with no real body of fish being in one specific area. This usually isn't the case in the fall, but with extremely low water levels and somewhat warm evenings, the fish are not in a normal fall pattern. This also effected the fishing in that the fish didn't want to “slash” perch fry or attack other baitfish patterns like they normally do this time of year. Instead, they wanted a “cripple” action where the fly is basically sinking through the strike zone on a full-sink line. We found best success on smaller perch patterns like mini Hornbergs, small Matukas, and the ever popular Punk Perch (thanks Sierra Drifters).
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c345/thebigmojob/IMG00117-20101013-1425.jpg
Takes were a lot like midge strikes where you either hardly feel the take or simply get a bit of pressure upon beginning a strip. It was very tough to figure out, and my dad and I struggled with it, converting on far less than 50% of our takes... ouch. I did have a little better luck once I kicked across the main channel and over to Leighton Springs. I took a chance and fished the shallower areas when the wind kicked up and found active fish in 4-7 feet of water willing to “slash” when there was ripple on the water. A sink-tip line worked best for this application. We called it a day when we simply couldn't kick any more, and finished with 5 or 6 fish each in the 14-18” range. But they were the typical, hard fighting, never give up rainbows Crowley has become popular for.
After a short discussion back at the truck, we decided to head up to Grant Lake (June Lake Loop) for sundown. We have each had good success this time of year trying to intercept the browns as they move up into the Rush Creek inflow area of the lake. It's usually better with wind and cloudy skies, but we wanted to try anyways. I quickly caught a smaller rainbow on a leech pattern that would be my only fish for the night. Dad worked the shallower areas hard, and was rewarded with a long (but skinny) brown on a dark Matuka.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c345/thebigmojob/IMG_1955.jpg
That was about it for Wednesday night. We fished hard, even in the dark, but just couldn't get any more to go. Kicked back to the car, and enjoyed a cold Coors Light and perfectly calm evening with millions of stars.
Thursday
First day of the tournament. My dad and I release 100% or what we catch, but we are fine with just enjoying the company and good times at the tournament gatherings. We head back to the same area of Lake Crowley armed with what we had learned the day before and hoped to connect on a few more of the strikes. This was a move that proved to pay off for both my dad and I as we had a much better hookup ratio this day. There were also a lot more tubes and boats fishing the Green Banks area of the lake, and rather than kick up towards them and do the bob and weave, we decided to make the long crossing over to Leighton again. With less wind on this day, most of our strikes were deeper but still on the same small perch patterns. Most the fish were in the same size range as the day before.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c345/thebigmojob/IMG00118-20101014-1033.jpg
My dad did hook one, much bigger than normal fish that put up a great fight before simply coming unbuttoned. Bummer. I got the big fish of the day with a 21” rainbow that ate a mini-Hornberg on 5x tippet on my 4wt. This was one hell of a fight on the lighter gear.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c345/thebigmojob/IMG_1957.jpg
And here is my favorite pic of a rainbow who apparently knows what the cameraman's “1, 2, 3” count means...
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c345/thebigmojob/IMG00119-20101014-1210.jpg
Our friend John, who stays with us at the cabin each year, caught the biggest Tui Chub I have ever seen.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c345/thebigmojob/IMG_2790.jpg
And right before we got out, I finished the day with a slab of a Sacramento Perch.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c345/thebigmojob/IMG_2793.jpg
That evening, our cabin-mates went to enjoy the GOB social hour and raffle while my dad and I went back to Grant to fish the dam for a little. We have always heard rumors of monstrous fish near the damn, but despite towing around the biggest, ugliest flies I have on a Type 6 full sink, I couldn't connect. My dad did manage a few smaller fish on the regular patterns, but I was too far away to get any pics.
Friday
We decided to head up north toward Bridgeport for the day. Tim and Jon in one car, my dad and I in the other. On the way up, we talked about our plans over the radios. Tim and Jon wanted to float tube Bridgeport Reservoir while I convinced my dad to spend the day on the East Walker River. We met up at the Rez and then parted ways.
Flows were pretty low at the river, at least compared to days I have fished it in the past, at 76cfs. Still doable, but like I said, lower than the flows I am used to. As we came down the Miracle Mile, we noticed it was absolutely slammed. 2 or more cars in every turnout and lots of pressure on the water. We decided to go to our trusty spot by the bridge, and were rewarded with a few hundred yards or river to ourselves... more than enough to scratch a few from. I started off with the usual nymphs and practiced feeling my grabs without an indicator. I managed a couple smaller fish on small PTs and Copper Johns. My dad nymphed up above me most of the time. It took him a little while to figure it out (he has notoriously struggled with streams and rivers), but soon got into a rhythm, and began connecting. When I got sick of nymphing the same stretch, I went to my strong suit... stripping streamers in the faster water.
I tied on a Matuka variant I had tied up the night before and went rock hopping. This was the smartest move I made all day. I hit every rock, current break, and pool in this stretch and had to have caught around 25 browns (and one lone rainbow). Unfortunately, I missed the 3 biggest fish (2 connected and then spit, one rolled and missed the fly). One thing I noticed in this type of fishing, is that you may hook only 1 in every 3 fish that come at your fly. The strikes are so fast as they fly out of their haunts, that often times they miss the hook entirely. But this is the high paced action I have grown to love. Its probably the calico bass fisherman in me. Here is one of the better browns I got with this style. The only pic we got that day as my dad and I were separated for most of the day.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c345/thebigmojob/IMG_1958.jpg
He was hunkered down behind that boulder on the right side of the pic, and it took around 20 twitches before he jumped out at the fly... a very fun fight in the skinnier water.
As the sun went behind the mountain, my dad and I decided to give our backs a rest for the evening, and head home for dinner and drinks. I wanna give my dad a lot of credit for how he did out on the river. Like I said, he usually struggles with this fishing, but he committed himself to figuring things out that day. He ended up catching fish on dries, nymphs, and streamers. It won't be as difficult to get him to go back next time.
Saturday
The plan for my dad and I Saturday morning was to try and find at least one big fish and to also stay away from the crowds. We decided to fish a section of Crowley we knew had some bigger fish in it at times, but that we had not heard a report from all week. Got some coffee in us, and went out the door. Here are a few pics of just how low the water level is at Crowley...
Little Hilton
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c345/thebigmojob/IMG_2799.jpg
Big Hilton
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c345/thebigmojob/IMG_2795.jpg
Crooked Creek
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c345/thebigmojob/IMG_2803.jpg
My dad definitely had the hot hand this morning. I got a few fish, but he dominated me in numbers and size. We found a pretty good depth change that was holding fish, and he figured out that the fish were hitting perch patterns as they fell through the water column right before they hit the bottom or just after a couple twitches once they reached the bottom.
At one point, my dad came on the radio to let me know he was hooked to a very decent fish. I spun my tube around to see him getting handled pretty good. Started kicking his way when the fish jumped all the way out, about halfway between my dad and I. This was an easy 6lb+ rainbow. Unfortunately, the fish came undone a short while later. My dad was definitely bummed, but he went right back after them and was rewarded maybe 20 minutes later.
This beautiful hook-jaw brown ate a larger size Doc's Twin Lake Special in the original Olive Grizzly/Red Throat coloration. When I heard the commotion of my dad hooked up, I gave him some advise, “Don't screw this one up like the last one.” He didn't...
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c345/thebigmojob/IMG_1960.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c345/thebigmojob/IMG_1962.jpg
I assisted in netting the fish for him once he biffed it a couple of times himself. Snapped a few pics, revived him, and released him back to spawn more trophies. That was about it for Saturday morning, so we decided to head over to the town of Crowley for a couple slices of pizza and discussion of our evening plans.
We decided to have an early evening in order to make it to the awards banquet on time. So we put the tubes in Middle Twin Lakes up in the basin. The weeds are way up in Middle, so there are really only a few holes that you can strip streamers in on sink-tip lines, otherwise, its full float with beadheads. We released a couple fish there each and then kicked under the bridge to Lower. Lower was pretty much wide open as the sun got lower. Nothing special, but fun times with the stockers on the lighter gear. Called it a day and headed off to the banquet at Grumpies.
The banquet is always a blast. A bunch of guys sharing fishing stories, swapping jokes, and always some great food. This year, the winning weights (3 places) ran from 3.25 to 4.25 pounds. Pretty small compared to years passed and both my dad and I released fish that probably would have placed. But like I said, we are just there for the whole experience.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c345/thebigmojob/IMG_2802.jpg
Sunday
We went back to the same area of Crowley on Sunday morning with our friend (non cabin-mate) John, in hopes of finding some more decent browns. My dad and John fished the same stretch while I went exploring. Unfortunately, all I found were a couple of Sac Perch, but one had to be pushing 3 pounds... easily the biggest Sac Perch I have ever seen.
When I met up with my dad and John again, they let me know that they had gotten a few fish each, but nothing special. Shortly after, my dad and I called it so that we could go get the cabin cleaned up and head back home. On our way out, John came on the radio and let us know that he had a very nice rainbow in the 20”+ range. Congrats John!
Overall, it was another successful week in Mammoth for the Good Ol' Boys Trout Tournament. We caught a few fish, lost a few good ones, won a few raffle prizes, and shared some great times with friends. I'm already looking forward to next year. And I definitely wanna get one more trip up 395 before the end of the season...
The tournament is called the Red *** Beer Drinkin' Good Ol' Boys Trout Tournament and is hosted out of Mammoth Lakes. Kittredge Sporting Goods is the main sponsor of the tournament and plays the role as headquarters throughout the week. This year's tournament took place from Thursday October 14 to Saturday October 16. It is an invite only tournament and a majority of the participants are current/retired LA firefighters or family/friends of these men. I have the distinction of being the youngest invited member at 24 years old, and i would have to say that the majority of the guys are on the older end. This year was the 28th year of the tournament (I think) and the turnout is usually between 50 and 80 guys. The boundaries are anywhere in the Eastern Sierra or east of the Sierra Nevadas (in California) from Bishop to the South to Lake Tahoe in the North. Trout only, taken on conventional or fly gear. I would say the split for the participants is 60% conventional, 40% fly. This is an event that I look forward to each and every year beginning the day after the tournament ends the year prior.
For this report, I'll highlight what my dad and I did, and touch on a few other things from the tournament. Away we go...
Tuesday
My dad and I left home (Ventura/LA County border) early Tuesday morning the 12th. Our main goal was to take our time getting up, get the cabin warmed, unpack, and maybe wet a line somewhere in the Basin that evening. The drive went pretty quickly, and we pulled into town right around noon. We stopped in at Rick's Sport Center to get the local dope. The guys at Rick's are, IMO, the most trustworthy and knowledgeable guys in town. This is not to take anything away from the other stores in town, but i just feel like the guys at Rick's give it to you straight. If it sucks, they will tell you. If you bring a fancy, big dollar item to the counter and they feel a less expensive good will get you by just fine, they will let you know. Top notch establishment and a great source of information.
After BS'ing for a bit, we pulled up to the cabin and began unloading. The weather was absolutely beautiful, with temps in the low 60s, no wind, and predictions for more of the same throughout the week. Our cabin-mates Tim and Jon arrived shortly after us. We unpacked, turned on utilities, and prepped our gear until we couldn't take it any more and dad and I headed out the door and up to Lake Mary for a couple hours at sundown.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c345/thebigmojob/IMG_2788.jpg
My dad and I are 100% fly-anglers when it comes to trout, so our first evening is usually spent finding out what we are low on with respect to tapered leaders, tippets, and flies. Always a plus when you get to pull on a few fish in the process though. We chucked various bugger and leech patterns at the stockers and found best success on Type 3 full sink fished very slowly just above the weeds on the West Shore. Patterns didn't matter as much as the painfully slow action. Fun times, but stockers are stockers. Called it a day at sundown and head back to the cabin for a couple steaks and a few drinks. Oh, while in our tubes, we got a nice aerial display from 2 bald eagles. What a sight.
Wednesday
Saving our energy for some of the later days, we got started mid-morning on Wednesday. The plan was to hit Rick's to fill our shopping lists, and then head to the North Arm of Lake Crowley and fool a few rainbows and hopefully stumble upon some browns. We launched the tubes at North Landing, just south of the point, and began our search.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c345/thebigmojob/IMG00116-20101013-1418.jpg
What we found over the next few hours was that reports could not have been more dead on. The fish are spread throughout the lake, with no real body of fish being in one specific area. This usually isn't the case in the fall, but with extremely low water levels and somewhat warm evenings, the fish are not in a normal fall pattern. This also effected the fishing in that the fish didn't want to “slash” perch fry or attack other baitfish patterns like they normally do this time of year. Instead, they wanted a “cripple” action where the fly is basically sinking through the strike zone on a full-sink line. We found best success on smaller perch patterns like mini Hornbergs, small Matukas, and the ever popular Punk Perch (thanks Sierra Drifters).
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c345/thebigmojob/IMG00117-20101013-1425.jpg
Takes were a lot like midge strikes where you either hardly feel the take or simply get a bit of pressure upon beginning a strip. It was very tough to figure out, and my dad and I struggled with it, converting on far less than 50% of our takes... ouch. I did have a little better luck once I kicked across the main channel and over to Leighton Springs. I took a chance and fished the shallower areas when the wind kicked up and found active fish in 4-7 feet of water willing to “slash” when there was ripple on the water. A sink-tip line worked best for this application. We called it a day when we simply couldn't kick any more, and finished with 5 or 6 fish each in the 14-18” range. But they were the typical, hard fighting, never give up rainbows Crowley has become popular for.
After a short discussion back at the truck, we decided to head up to Grant Lake (June Lake Loop) for sundown. We have each had good success this time of year trying to intercept the browns as they move up into the Rush Creek inflow area of the lake. It's usually better with wind and cloudy skies, but we wanted to try anyways. I quickly caught a smaller rainbow on a leech pattern that would be my only fish for the night. Dad worked the shallower areas hard, and was rewarded with a long (but skinny) brown on a dark Matuka.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c345/thebigmojob/IMG_1955.jpg
That was about it for Wednesday night. We fished hard, even in the dark, but just couldn't get any more to go. Kicked back to the car, and enjoyed a cold Coors Light and perfectly calm evening with millions of stars.
Thursday
First day of the tournament. My dad and I release 100% or what we catch, but we are fine with just enjoying the company and good times at the tournament gatherings. We head back to the same area of Lake Crowley armed with what we had learned the day before and hoped to connect on a few more of the strikes. This was a move that proved to pay off for both my dad and I as we had a much better hookup ratio this day. There were also a lot more tubes and boats fishing the Green Banks area of the lake, and rather than kick up towards them and do the bob and weave, we decided to make the long crossing over to Leighton again. With less wind on this day, most of our strikes were deeper but still on the same small perch patterns. Most the fish were in the same size range as the day before.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c345/thebigmojob/IMG00118-20101014-1033.jpg
My dad did hook one, much bigger than normal fish that put up a great fight before simply coming unbuttoned. Bummer. I got the big fish of the day with a 21” rainbow that ate a mini-Hornberg on 5x tippet on my 4wt. This was one hell of a fight on the lighter gear.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c345/thebigmojob/IMG_1957.jpg
And here is my favorite pic of a rainbow who apparently knows what the cameraman's “1, 2, 3” count means...
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c345/thebigmojob/IMG00119-20101014-1210.jpg
Our friend John, who stays with us at the cabin each year, caught the biggest Tui Chub I have ever seen.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c345/thebigmojob/IMG_2790.jpg
And right before we got out, I finished the day with a slab of a Sacramento Perch.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c345/thebigmojob/IMG_2793.jpg
That evening, our cabin-mates went to enjoy the GOB social hour and raffle while my dad and I went back to Grant to fish the dam for a little. We have always heard rumors of monstrous fish near the damn, but despite towing around the biggest, ugliest flies I have on a Type 6 full sink, I couldn't connect. My dad did manage a few smaller fish on the regular patterns, but I was too far away to get any pics.
Friday
We decided to head up north toward Bridgeport for the day. Tim and Jon in one car, my dad and I in the other. On the way up, we talked about our plans over the radios. Tim and Jon wanted to float tube Bridgeport Reservoir while I convinced my dad to spend the day on the East Walker River. We met up at the Rez and then parted ways.
Flows were pretty low at the river, at least compared to days I have fished it in the past, at 76cfs. Still doable, but like I said, lower than the flows I am used to. As we came down the Miracle Mile, we noticed it was absolutely slammed. 2 or more cars in every turnout and lots of pressure on the water. We decided to go to our trusty spot by the bridge, and were rewarded with a few hundred yards or river to ourselves... more than enough to scratch a few from. I started off with the usual nymphs and practiced feeling my grabs without an indicator. I managed a couple smaller fish on small PTs and Copper Johns. My dad nymphed up above me most of the time. It took him a little while to figure it out (he has notoriously struggled with streams and rivers), but soon got into a rhythm, and began connecting. When I got sick of nymphing the same stretch, I went to my strong suit... stripping streamers in the faster water.
I tied on a Matuka variant I had tied up the night before and went rock hopping. This was the smartest move I made all day. I hit every rock, current break, and pool in this stretch and had to have caught around 25 browns (and one lone rainbow). Unfortunately, I missed the 3 biggest fish (2 connected and then spit, one rolled and missed the fly). One thing I noticed in this type of fishing, is that you may hook only 1 in every 3 fish that come at your fly. The strikes are so fast as they fly out of their haunts, that often times they miss the hook entirely. But this is the high paced action I have grown to love. Its probably the calico bass fisherman in me. Here is one of the better browns I got with this style. The only pic we got that day as my dad and I were separated for most of the day.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c345/thebigmojob/IMG_1958.jpg
He was hunkered down behind that boulder on the right side of the pic, and it took around 20 twitches before he jumped out at the fly... a very fun fight in the skinnier water.
As the sun went behind the mountain, my dad and I decided to give our backs a rest for the evening, and head home for dinner and drinks. I wanna give my dad a lot of credit for how he did out on the river. Like I said, he usually struggles with this fishing, but he committed himself to figuring things out that day. He ended up catching fish on dries, nymphs, and streamers. It won't be as difficult to get him to go back next time.
Saturday
The plan for my dad and I Saturday morning was to try and find at least one big fish and to also stay away from the crowds. We decided to fish a section of Crowley we knew had some bigger fish in it at times, but that we had not heard a report from all week. Got some coffee in us, and went out the door. Here are a few pics of just how low the water level is at Crowley...
Little Hilton
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c345/thebigmojob/IMG_2799.jpg
Big Hilton
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c345/thebigmojob/IMG_2795.jpg
Crooked Creek
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c345/thebigmojob/IMG_2803.jpg
My dad definitely had the hot hand this morning. I got a few fish, but he dominated me in numbers and size. We found a pretty good depth change that was holding fish, and he figured out that the fish were hitting perch patterns as they fell through the water column right before they hit the bottom or just after a couple twitches once they reached the bottom.
At one point, my dad came on the radio to let me know he was hooked to a very decent fish. I spun my tube around to see him getting handled pretty good. Started kicking his way when the fish jumped all the way out, about halfway between my dad and I. This was an easy 6lb+ rainbow. Unfortunately, the fish came undone a short while later. My dad was definitely bummed, but he went right back after them and was rewarded maybe 20 minutes later.
This beautiful hook-jaw brown ate a larger size Doc's Twin Lake Special in the original Olive Grizzly/Red Throat coloration. When I heard the commotion of my dad hooked up, I gave him some advise, “Don't screw this one up like the last one.” He didn't...
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c345/thebigmojob/IMG_1960.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c345/thebigmojob/IMG_1962.jpg
I assisted in netting the fish for him once he biffed it a couple of times himself. Snapped a few pics, revived him, and released him back to spawn more trophies. That was about it for Saturday morning, so we decided to head over to the town of Crowley for a couple slices of pizza and discussion of our evening plans.
We decided to have an early evening in order to make it to the awards banquet on time. So we put the tubes in Middle Twin Lakes up in the basin. The weeds are way up in Middle, so there are really only a few holes that you can strip streamers in on sink-tip lines, otherwise, its full float with beadheads. We released a couple fish there each and then kicked under the bridge to Lower. Lower was pretty much wide open as the sun got lower. Nothing special, but fun times with the stockers on the lighter gear. Called it a day and headed off to the banquet at Grumpies.
The banquet is always a blast. A bunch of guys sharing fishing stories, swapping jokes, and always some great food. This year, the winning weights (3 places) ran from 3.25 to 4.25 pounds. Pretty small compared to years passed and both my dad and I released fish that probably would have placed. But like I said, we are just there for the whole experience.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c345/thebigmojob/IMG_2802.jpg
Sunday
We went back to the same area of Crowley on Sunday morning with our friend (non cabin-mate) John, in hopes of finding some more decent browns. My dad and John fished the same stretch while I went exploring. Unfortunately, all I found were a couple of Sac Perch, but one had to be pushing 3 pounds... easily the biggest Sac Perch I have ever seen.
When I met up with my dad and John again, they let me know that they had gotten a few fish each, but nothing special. Shortly after, my dad and I called it so that we could go get the cabin cleaned up and head back home. On our way out, John came on the radio and let us know that he had a very nice rainbow in the 20”+ range. Congrats John!
Overall, it was another successful week in Mammoth for the Good Ol' Boys Trout Tournament. We caught a few fish, lost a few good ones, won a few raffle prizes, and shared some great times with friends. I'm already looking forward to next year. And I definitely wanna get one more trip up 395 before the end of the season...