Crowley Lake

[Al in Whittier]

From what I saw and experienced, Crowley Lake was extremely slow this year for the opener and worse for today (Sunday). On the opener, we fished from boats and we averaged about 3 fish per per person. Today on Sunday for our group caught 1 total. The good news is that all of the fish we caught were bigger than usual.

We fished mostly around McGee Bay and Sandy Point. We saw one boat doing really well at McGee, but the rest of us were at really slow picks.

My friends who normally go back to Crowley on Memorial weekend are changing their plans.

The Sierra Drifter's pre-opener You Tube excerpt said that plants were restored back to normal last fall after being short the last few years so we were pretty excited. But this year was slower than the last two for us for sure. Pretty disappointing.

I hope you did better than us.

[sierraslam]

Bummer. At least you were in the Sierras. I'm headed up Friday and was going to shore fish Greenbanks. Maybe I'll go straight to Convict. One thing about the trout in Crowley is that great red meat they all have. All the fish seem to be at least 16 - 17 inches, most bigger, and fat. You caught a enough fish for a good trout fry. I call that a success.

[londonfish]

Thanks for the report, i am heading up there in two weeks to float the boat in Crowley. Did you get your fish on the troll or bait n wait?

[Marley]

Thanks for the report! This wsa the first tiem in 28 years that we did not make it to Crowley for the opener. What a bummer, it truly felt bad not being there. Sorry to hear that the fishing was so slow. I wonder what happened? If the plants went in as usual then the lake should be plugged full of fish. Was there any wind this year? I was thinking about scheduling a trip over Memorial Day weekend. Maybe the fish just didn't want to go and are just getting bigger. I hope so!

[Al in Whittier]

I didn't mean to come off as so negative. I guess I was dead tired last night after getting back at around 11p and feeling a little emotional. These trips to Mammoth are the best and we had a great time with friends and family as usual. I just wish the fishing was a little better.

We had three boats on the lake. Boat 1 had 3 anglers and 13 fish. Boat 2 and 3 anglers (not including the goofing around kids) and 2 fish. My boat had 2 anglers and 7 fish. We talked to just about everyone we crossed paths with, and most people were shaking their heads in negativity.

One thing I appreciate about this message board is that it seems to give a more honest assessment than what WON or the other fishing reports might show so I wanted to put in my two senses.

To reply to some questions, we were bait fishing and casting the usual lures.

The weather was great! Saturday stayed on the cool side and never really warmed up. The winds came up every now and then, but wasn't a big problem. Sunday was even nicer and did warm up by lunch time. I was up in Mammoth the week before for my kids spring break and it was a pretty windy snow storm up in Mammoth on Saturday. It was raining at Crowley but amazingly when we went down to PVR to fish, it was 75 degrees and clear.

Anyway, good luck to you all. Crowley is still Crowley. I'll be back.

[popeyoung2]

I have been going to Crowley for 28 years for the opener. Same guys, 2 lb. test, all good fisherman. I always come back in July to midge fish. The last 3 years have been terrible. They have stopped stocking the normal amount of rainbows in the fall. The fish camp web site claims they stocked 400,000 last fall. That is 100% a joke. We caught all browns again for the second year. I never saw a rainbow. Mcghee creekbed. What a great lake gone bad. Never again will I wate my time being lied to, and sucked in another year. BYE Fishcamp.

[t-bone]

i didnt have any problems.. i had my limit by 9 AM and culled fish till 4 pm.. i would say between me and my buddy we caught 25 fish saturday smallest 2 lb.. with a nice 3 lb brown

[sierratroutslaya]

I have been going to Crowley for 28 years for the opener. Same guys, 2 lb. test, all good fisherman. I always come back in July to midge fish. The last 3 years have been terrible. They have stopped stocking the normal amount of rainbows in the fall. The fish camp web site claims they stocked 400,000 last fall. That is 100% a joke. We caught all browns again for the second year. I never saw a rainbow. Mcghee creekbed. What a great lake gone bad. Never again will I wate my time being lied to, and sucked in another year. BYE Fishcamp.

You are writing off the entire lake as gone bad because you had two days of mediocre fishing? You don't have to be a statistics major to know your logic isn't right. There's a reason it's called fishing..... I have had my share of bad trips too; and for every bad trip we have had absolutely amazing trips. I used to go up there for a week at a time during the openers. I can't tell you how many times I've had a terrible start to the week and finished on fire, and vice versa. Let me guess; you only fish the opening weekend in the sierras and that's it? I'll go a step further...You're off the lake by 4pm right?....I know the type. Any successful anglers know, you need to adapt to the situations. If not, you will have poor results. What's that saying?....10% of anglers catch 90% of the fish. I'm sure it was true this year too. Fair-weather anglers fall every year; nothing personal Cheers.


i didnt have any problems.. i had my limit by 9 AM and culled fish till 4 pm.. i would say between me and my buddy we caught 25 fish saturday smallest 2 lb.. with a nice 3 lb brown


Get the point pope?:Smile: Nice job t-bone!

[popeyoung2]

Sierratroutslayer wrote:?...".I know the type. Any successful anglers know, you need to adapt to the situations. If not, you will have poor results. What's that saying?....10% of anglers catch 90% of the fish. I'm sure it was true this year too. Fair-weather anglers fall every year; nothing personal Cheers."
I fish 10 different lakes every July.in the Sierras.I have seen the decline on Crowley due to the State not stocking the rainbows. "Fair weather angler?" I spend every November sitting in trees with a bow in sometimes 20 below weather for a shot at a trophy whitetail. Another friend of mine also had all browns.

T-bone, Good job. If "culling" means upgrading the size of your limit out of a livewell, that is illegal and a hefty ticket from the warden.

[phishin phool]

Thanks for the report Al, dosent sound like the fishin was too bad. Ive had both wide open and super slow up there. Thats fishin. Too bad the "sierra trout slayer" wasn't fishin with ya, he seems to know it all.

[sierratroutslaya]

Sierratroutslayer wrote:?...".I know the type. Any successful anglers know, you need to adapt to the situations. If not, you will have poor results. What's that saying?....10% of anglers catch 90% of the fish. I'm sure it was true this year too. Fair-weather anglers fall every year; nothing personal Cheers."
I fish 10 different lakes every July.in the Sierras.I have seen the decline on Crowley due to the State not stocking the rainbows. "Fair weather angler?" I spend every November sitting in trees with a bow in sometimes 20 below weather for a shot at a trophy whitetail. Another friend of mine also had all browns.

T-bone, Good job. If "culling" means upgrading the size of your limit out of a livewell, that is illegal and a hefty ticket from the warden.

By no means have I proclaimed to know everything, but I do know the obvious...As you can see, I don't post often. Just when something needs to be said either to help, or correct something that is wrong. I am not going out on a limb by saying Pope just had a bad day a fishing and in no way does this means the lake is dead.

My point was that you can't say the lake is no good after a weekend of bad fishing.....just that I know the one/two trip a year type of eastern sierra fisherman. They are the same type of people that brag how good of fisherman they are after killing them when the fish are going stupid WFO; and the same people that proclaim a lake is fished out after a single bad weekend.

This has nothing to do with bow hunting of which I know absolutely nothing about. I am just stating a simple fact that you can't judge a lake by one bad weekend. It's Crowely lake for crying out loud; I had two absolutely epic days there last October with my dad when nobody else was around.

Yes, it's not stocked like it used to be, but did you notice that the fish seemed smaller too over the last 10 years? I can't tell you the last time I heard of a 10# fish out of Crowely.... Maybe we'll get some more double digit trout like they used to get up until the 90's cause they aren't stocking so much. Stocking fish is perhaps one of the worst things that ever happened in the sierras, but that's another topic. Save yourself the drive and go to any local pay and take lake if that's what you want.

[TroutOnly]

all my native friends from bishop always tell me it gets great when the water warms a little ,were sometime its slow in areas at the opener but then it blows up big time,everytime i go i troll and smash the bigger browns and then the rainbows on the woolbuggers,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,T/O,,,,,,,,,,,,,

[sierratroutslaya]

It's funny how this is even being discussed ha T/O? Us who fish it often enough, or fish with honest expectations know.....

I just care too much about these places for them to be bad mouthed. They're a second home to me as I know they are to others too.

[chansen49]

all my native friends from bishop always tell me it gets great when the water warms a little ,were sometime its slow in areas at the opener but then it blows up big time,everytime i go i troll and smash the bigger browns and then the rainbows on the woolbuggers,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,T/O,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Bob, you should see the picture of the big *** brown that my friend Harmic caught out of Crowley this year at the opener.. Big ole brownie.. Your phone get pics Bob?


Chris

[phishin phool]

Dude, i know this, you got one big a** head. What do you think, you are the only one who fishes, or has fished up there for years, you sound like a complete idiot! I think anyone who has fished the eastern slope for any amount of time, loves it. Get over yourself, you are just one of thousands who have fished up there for years, or in some cases generations, you are not special.
it's funny how this is even being discussed ha t/o? Us who fish it often enough, or fish with honest expectations know.....

I just care too much about these places for them to be bad mouthed. They're a second home to me as i know they are to others too.

[ttplt]

Can't we all just get along and fish side by side?

[sierraslam]

I'm gona give Crowley my Best shot Friday, from 12:00 till dark. I'll be fishing from shore, so not the best odds for catching tons of trout. If I get 3 fish I'll be thrilled based on the reports. I've always managed a few from Greenbanks that were all quality trout. Wish me luck!

[Mike274]

A buddy and I fished Crowley hard twice last fall for not much. On the water early and off late. People not catching much overall maybe 2 or 3 per boat. Even the guide services were not catching much, in the way of trout that is. The perch fishing wasn't bad though. You would think that with the amount of fish reportedly being planted, and the change in regs from Aug 1st on there would definately be more fish caught but who knows. Maybe the guy reporting the fish stocking numbers is the same guy that reports for Santa Ana River Lakes LOL.

Mike

[sierratroutslaya]

Dude, i know this, you got one big a** head. What do you think, you are the only one who fishes, or has fished up there for years, you sound like a complete idiot! I think anyone who has fished the eastern slope for any amount of time, loves it. Get over yourself, you are just one of thousands who have fished up there for years, or in some cases generations, you are not special.

Classy......

[phishin phool]

STS, I fell into the thing I try to avoid on here........ be a negative knuckehead, I always try and be positive on here and STS's post rubbed me the wrong way, we are all people on here who share the same love of this wonderful sport and area, so to all offended, I apoligize. Peace and Great Phishin to all!!!
Classy......

[sierratroutslaya]

STS, I fell into the thing I try to avoid on here........ be a negative knuckehead, I always try and be positive on here and STS's post rubbed me the wrong way, we are all people on here who share the same love of this wonderful sport and area, so to all offended, I apoligize. Peace and Great Phishin to all!!!

Fair enough brother, ditto; tight lines.

[Viejo]

i didnt have any problems.. i had my limit by 9 AM and culled fish till 4 pm.. i would say between me and my buddy we caught 25 fish saturday smallest 2 lb.. with a nice 3 lb brown

What a dipstick! Anybody tell you that culling is against the law. You were done fishing at 0900 when you caught your limit. That means you stop fishing when you have a limit...not keep catching and try to get a bigger limit. Might as well been tossing them into an ice chest and stashing them in your car like the rest of the dipsticks!

[golfish]

I have a 10 year old son who's been tubing for 3 years. I wouldn't take him there just because most of the guides that service that lake are such Douchbags. They think they own the lake, fish and everything in or around it. Its hard to disargee with a guy in a huge boat when your floating around in a little tube.

I pay close attention to who gets my money up there. I'll come right out and say that The Trout Fly doesn't see my money..

I've fished that lake since the 80's...a lot of Double Haul in the Fall shin digs that WON put on too. The guides ruined that lake for me. They have no class at all.

[DEVOREFLYER]

Try Sierra Drifters as they are "World Class", I would not use anyone else. I have never had a guide service work harder or teach me more than these guys. www.sierradrifters.com

[golfish]

Viejo, I have no problem with your last post...couldn't agree more. I'm having a hard time with my stupid PC. I think my daughter has been on it :)

DEVOREFLYER, sorry, those guys are on my list as well. I don't need a guide, I just need them to stay out of my way and not try and push me out. IMO, Tom's the worst of them all.

[fishfinder]

Wow, go on a year old thread o hate. I wish i could be a guide and fish for a living. never ha them bother me a bit, in fact i have had a few give me some free fishing advice. MORE POWER TO THE FISHING GUIDES.

[DEVOREFLYER]

I have never used Tom and have no opinion. My go to guy is Phil Therrien and he contracts thru Sierra Drifters. Over 30 years of using guides in many different states and seasons I have to say that Phil is the most humble, knowledgeable and professional guide I have ever used. I use Phil on my first day on every trip to Crowley to get in the groove. Drift fishing in the winter on the lower Owens with Phil has always been a memorable trip. http://sierradrifters.com/phil-therrien

ps: Guides are not paid for their bedside manor by anyone but their clients. It's not just some guides that be INVASIVE to others that also fish the waters. Our local waters are some of the worst.

[Fish Cop]

There's all manner of guides, especially on Crowley. You should hear them bicker at each other, on and off the water.

[flytyingreloader]

Not a long time Lake Crowley buff, in fact I fished it for the first times this July. Algae was kinda thick, but we still nailed some 'bows, one of which went 4.5#. There were a couple guide boats on the water, and they didn't charge at us or become aggressive. Some of the talk here makes ya think they were grizzlies or Kodiaks. Will I fish it again? Absolutely. My ONLY complaint is that the Lake can go from "Walden Pond" glasswater to "Victory At Sea" Perfect Storm conditions in about 2'15" flat. And did. That wind is DOGMATIC.

[stickboy]

Nov. 15, 2012

[golfish]

We went to Leighton springs Monday and Tuesday, Nobody there except the cows both days. My son threw spinners and I stripped Olive Matukas. We both killed it, he was using a little 6.5 foot rod and had the time of his life. Its not the same, you can't drive down the the lake anymore. The level is way way down and its a tough 1/4 mile hike through the cows, mud and rocks going out to Aligator point.

We caught lots of 13-17" fish both days and on our way out Monday around noon we both hooked up at the same time too 18+" fish, his was a bow and mine a cutthroat...we called the cutthroat "dinner" for two nights.