Road to Crystal Lake re-opens

[Trout Daddy]

Fished this place many times with my late Grandpa. Always had a blast. now with the road open hopefully they can get some stocks. Heading up there tomorrow to see if any bass survived or holdover trout :EyePop:

http://www.sgvtribune.com/ci_17760576

[Slims]

Nothing survived from before the fire that closed it down. I was told the water was thick with sut and ash
complete die off. They might have restocked bluegill or trout to deal with the bugs though.

[AngelTheSeaguy]

I drove there this morning, It was a beautiful morning drive the greenest i ever seen the canyons. Fished the lake for about 3 hours really seemed dead and all i kept getting was tons of algae by the time i was getting ready to go i could have had enough to fill a 5 gallon bucket none the less im really happy the lake is finally open and cant wait for DFG to start stocking it. Almost forgot to mention there where some idiots trashing the place already so i did pick up what ever trash i could fit in my bags.

[PokerFish]

It will be great if DFG starts restocking this place...its beautiful up there

[TROUT MASTERS]

When i was a kid,my dad took me up there all the time,wow what a great place.
Im glad that lake is open now.
Oh,by the way,please try to keep it clean.

[Viejo]

In the 50's and 60's, we spent many weekends there as a family. Take a good look around while it is still pristine. The Forest Service spent several years cleaning the graffiti off anything that stood vertical. By the end of summer, it will be once again covered with markings of those trying to claim all of outdoors for their little group of losers.

[Marley]

That's fantastic news! My brother and I used to catch bullfrog tadpoles from there, BIG suckers, OMG-how-long-ago? What a nice destination for a weekend family drive.
I just hope that the DFG CAN stock trout in there, not only due to the ash that surely changed the water's chemistry, but because the lake could drain into the San Gabriel River which I have heard will never again be planted because of that stupid lawsuit.

[fish-o-haulic]

That's fantastic news! My brother and I used to catch bullfrog tadpoles from there, BIG suckers, OMG-how-long-ago? What a nice destination for a weekend family drive.
I just hope that the DFG CAN stock trout in there, not only due to the ash that surely changed the water's chemistry, but because the lake could drain into the San Gabriel River which I have heard will never again be planted because of that stupid lawsuit.

what lawsuit

[dockboy]

They won't stock it again. Its a direct feeder to the the San Gabriel system, and DFG won't touch it because of that. Trout will still come in from the feeder creeks, but not a viable fishing population. Don't believe they will stock bluegill, bass, or catfish either because of the lawsuit. So dumb.

[gletemfeelsteelgary]

aww man....this is a sad day indeed..

I used to fish there as a young boy and camp up there at the campgrounds..

Didn’t know the road was even closed as I haven’t been up there in years..

A whole lot of good memories though…

I suggest anyone frequenting those mountains take a couple 5 gallon buckets and start making a few plants themselves…bluegills and bass…

Heck if someone really wanted to do something trout cud happen too…just throw some light ice into the bucket to keep water cool and supply oxygen..

Luv to see some fish thrive there for future generations so they can have memories like I have : )


Are the campgrounds still there ?

I used to do that windy gap trail hike and camp up there too !
Gary

[castlekid]

They have done a great job on the campgrounds, esp. handicap. Still a lot of debris from rains but they target late spring earlier summer for opening. No fish in lake. Yep they got killed off due to burn and lack of O2. Don't know why they wouldn't stock. It might be connected to SGR by aquifer but don't see how the fish could survive that journey. Also with state of budget it might not be cost effective. Anyway it was beautiful last Sunday. My son and I had a nice hike and a great hot dog at the general store. we need to support that family that owns the store and yes KEEP IT CLEAN!!!

[fish-o-haulic]

What lawsuit!!!

[dockboy]

DFG vs. The Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) & Stanford Enviro. Law group, 2008.

The CBD sued the DFG on account for not making EIRs (environmental impact reports) on the stocking of trout. A list of 80 native species "threatened" by stocked trout was submitted, and any water containing one of the 80 species had to be suspended from stocking. The water must then be evaluated by the DFG field scientists to discern whether suspension of trout stocking is a viable course of action. A list of suspended stocking water can be found on the DFG website. The DFG is still working day and night in many areas to evaluate a good chunk of places that were paper-clipped into the court order on very little physical evidence. They are doing a good job for the tiny amount of people they have, but each watershed takes months. Mostly lakes in the Bay area where CBD is located, but some SoCal lakes and Sierra lakes. Not much in the Sierras though, mostly metropolitan/semi-rural Nor Cal.

[JusStartnOut]

This is true. i contacted DFG and received this:

As you know the Dept of Fish and Game was sued over their stocking program by the Center for Biological Diversity. As a result of the ongoing lawsuit, DFG has to evaluate each body of water for 37 species of concern before the water is approved to stock. Crystal Lake is not on the approved list. I believe their is a frog issue. We are trying to resolve some of these issues with USFWS. Please continue to monitor this website for approval of Crystal Lake:

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