Troutketcher
08-27-2007, 04:52 PM
What up everybody, just got back from our annual summer Mammoth trip and thought I would share some of the highlights. Our family has been going every summer for the past 20 years but this summer it was just the guys that went, me my bro and father so we were able to focus the whole trip on fishing and hiking and turned out to be probably the best trip ever. We left Pasadena at 6:00 and stopped for breakfast at the High Sierra Cafe in Lone Pine. When we hit bishop we decided to do something we've never done before and made the left turn onto the 168 to try some fishing at the bishop lakes. We had our poles in the water at Lake Sabrina by 12:00, not exactly the best time of day to fish but immediately got hits and began bringing in fish. We were there for about an hour and a half and my brother caught 6, my dad 2, and me 1. What a great start to our week long trip! We were pretty pumped and decided hitting the Bishop Lakes would for sure be a traditional stop on the way up to mammoth for future years. We then headed up to Mammoth and checked into our Condo, hit up the Pita Pit in the village for dinner, and decided to do some evening fishing at Lake Mamie. My brother caught a decent sized stocker on his first cast and we were all set to have a great time fishing when a nice little visitor decided to crash the party. We looked to our right and there he was...
http://fishingnetwork.net/images/tmp2/bear1013.jpg
http://fishingnetwork.net/images/tmp2/bear1014.jpg
http://fishingnetwork.net/images/tmp2/bear1015.jpg
It was actually pretty cool getting to watch the bear that close eat our fish and snap some great pictures, I did have a rock in one hand and my knife in the other just in case anything went down.
Day 2
We decided to give Virginia Lake a try, drove up early in the morning and tried the little lake first with not much luck except for 1 fish. So we moved to Big Virginia and brought in several nice stockers there
http://fishingnetwork.net/images/tmp2/mammoth001.jpg
http://fishingnetwork.net/images/tmp2/mammoth002.jpg
We then hit the trail from Virginia and checked out some of the backcountry lakes along the hike. It's a very beautiful hike and went about 3 miles in before turning back. We didn't have much luck fishing but heres a picture of one of the lakes we passed.
http://fishingnetwork.net/images/tmp2/mammoth003.jpg
Day 3
Drove to Saddlebag lake up the Tioga pass and ate breakfast at the shop there while waiting for our fairie departure time. Not gona lie, it was one of the best breakfasts I have ever had and the pancakes were so big they didn't even fit on the plate! So we took the fairie across and departed on the 5 mile loop hike among what they call the 20 lakes basin. It's definetely one of the best and prettiest hikes in the eastern sierras, unfortunately due to the small snow fall there wasn't alot of snow on the hike like there was last year but it was still a lot of fun. We did bring our poles and tried fishing Lake Helen which the fairie driver told me theres a chance to catch Golden trout. His name may have been Liar because we didn't catch any but we did catch several small brooks which were a lot of fun. We caught them off a bubble fly combo
http://fishingnetwork.net/images/tmp2/mammoth004.jpg
http://fishingnetwork.net/images/tmp2/mammoth005.jpg
After the hike we decided to skip fishing Saddlebag since the water levels were so low it was kind of depressing, and instead tried fishing Ellory Lake which we had never fished before. We chose a spot down from the road not knowing what to expect and began catching fish like crazy off of gulp getting double hookups several times and never really had a chance to eat my lunch cause we kept catching fish so quickly. We realesed all of them and left after about an hour. We came to the conclusion that the lake must not be fished very often as most people just pass it since it is right before the entrance to Yosemite, most people come up to actually go into Yosemite.
http://fishingnetwork.net/images/tmp2/mammoth006.jpg
Day 4
Woke up early and drove to Convict lake to fish at one of our favorite spots, the backside of the lake at the inlet. So we hiked around to the backside where it wasn't too crowded, just a few boats out there, and caught 3 on a red/gold thomas bouyant but that was it. They weren't biting the bait and after a while weren't bitting the lures or fly bubble either. We decided to relax the rest of the day and do some evening fishing to redeem ourselves. We arrived at Lake George at 6:30 and hiked around to the backside and found a great spot. My brother caught 2 nice hefty 1 1/2 pound stockers off of the red/gold bouyant and then all of a sudden when 7:30 hit, the bite was on! As quck as we would cast out we would get a bite and the same went for the family in the boat who were right out from where we were. We were putting on a clinic out there bringing in so many fish, the bite was hot and it was so much fun. We fished until it was pitch black dark and used our giant spotlight to keep it going. Finally we decided to call it quits and realized we still had to hike the half mile around the lake. That half mile dragged forever and I just knew we were gona run into a bear as my brother was carrying a nice hefty stringer of fish. We finally made it but never want to do that hike again! Heres some pics from that night.
http://fishingnetwork.net/images/tmp2/mammoth007.jpg
http://fishingnetwork.net/images/tmp2/mammoth008.jpg
http://fishingnetwork.net/images/tmp2/mammoth009.jpg
Day 5
It was time for hands down the greatest hike in Mammoth, the hike to Duck Lake. It is a 6 mile hike from the campground at Lake Mary and is very difficult but well worth it. It is a must do for anyone up for a challenge and the reward is spectacular once you get a glimpse of Duck Lake. We began the trailhead at 7am and made a reststop at Skelton Lake along the way.
http://fishingnetwork.net/images/tmp2/mammoth010.jpg
Once we passed Barney Lake and pointed up at the rock mountain ahead of us and told my dad that in order to get to Duck Lake, we had to hike over that mountain and he didn't beleive me. Well, about 1 mile later and 1,000 feet higher, we passed through Duck Pass and could finally get a glimpse of the lake.
http://fishingnetwork.net/images/tmp2/mammoth011.jpg
We ate our lunch and decided to try our luck fishing. It was so cool to be able to fish at a lake that big (its about 4 miles around) and be the only ones fishing it. It proved to be a great place to fish, as we caught all kinds of wild rainbow and brooke trout. Heres a pic of one of the nice Brooks my bro caught
http://fishingnetwork.net/images/tmp2/mammoth012.jpg
On the way down, we snapped a picture from Duck Pass to show how hight we had climbed and show the lakes we had hiked passed along the way
http://fishingnetwork.net/images/tmp2/mammoth013.jpg
Got back from the hike and rested and then decided we would go back to our spot at Lake George and do some more night fishing. Our experience was similar to the one from the night before and it was all around great fishing. Heres a pic of my catch that night.
http://fishingnetwork.net/images/tmp2/mammoth014.jpg
Last Day
Decided to take the ride down into the San Joaquin and spend the day there. We did more sight seeing than fishing that day and really had a good time taking in the scenery.
http://fishingnetwork.net/images/tmp2/mammoth015.jpg
http://fishingnetwork.net/images/tmp2/mammoth016.jpg
http://fishingnetwork.net/images/tmp2/mammoth017.jpg
By far I would say it was the most fun and action packed summer vacation to Mammoth ever!
http://fishingnetwork.net/images/tmp2/bear1013.jpg
http://fishingnetwork.net/images/tmp2/bear1014.jpg
http://fishingnetwork.net/images/tmp2/bear1015.jpg
It was actually pretty cool getting to watch the bear that close eat our fish and snap some great pictures, I did have a rock in one hand and my knife in the other just in case anything went down.
Day 2
We decided to give Virginia Lake a try, drove up early in the morning and tried the little lake first with not much luck except for 1 fish. So we moved to Big Virginia and brought in several nice stockers there
http://fishingnetwork.net/images/tmp2/mammoth001.jpg
http://fishingnetwork.net/images/tmp2/mammoth002.jpg
We then hit the trail from Virginia and checked out some of the backcountry lakes along the hike. It's a very beautiful hike and went about 3 miles in before turning back. We didn't have much luck fishing but heres a picture of one of the lakes we passed.
http://fishingnetwork.net/images/tmp2/mammoth003.jpg
Day 3
Drove to Saddlebag lake up the Tioga pass and ate breakfast at the shop there while waiting for our fairie departure time. Not gona lie, it was one of the best breakfasts I have ever had and the pancakes were so big they didn't even fit on the plate! So we took the fairie across and departed on the 5 mile loop hike among what they call the 20 lakes basin. It's definetely one of the best and prettiest hikes in the eastern sierras, unfortunately due to the small snow fall there wasn't alot of snow on the hike like there was last year but it was still a lot of fun. We did bring our poles and tried fishing Lake Helen which the fairie driver told me theres a chance to catch Golden trout. His name may have been Liar because we didn't catch any but we did catch several small brooks which were a lot of fun. We caught them off a bubble fly combo
http://fishingnetwork.net/images/tmp2/mammoth004.jpg
http://fishingnetwork.net/images/tmp2/mammoth005.jpg
After the hike we decided to skip fishing Saddlebag since the water levels were so low it was kind of depressing, and instead tried fishing Ellory Lake which we had never fished before. We chose a spot down from the road not knowing what to expect and began catching fish like crazy off of gulp getting double hookups several times and never really had a chance to eat my lunch cause we kept catching fish so quickly. We realesed all of them and left after about an hour. We came to the conclusion that the lake must not be fished very often as most people just pass it since it is right before the entrance to Yosemite, most people come up to actually go into Yosemite.
http://fishingnetwork.net/images/tmp2/mammoth006.jpg
Day 4
Woke up early and drove to Convict lake to fish at one of our favorite spots, the backside of the lake at the inlet. So we hiked around to the backside where it wasn't too crowded, just a few boats out there, and caught 3 on a red/gold thomas bouyant but that was it. They weren't biting the bait and after a while weren't bitting the lures or fly bubble either. We decided to relax the rest of the day and do some evening fishing to redeem ourselves. We arrived at Lake George at 6:30 and hiked around to the backside and found a great spot. My brother caught 2 nice hefty 1 1/2 pound stockers off of the red/gold bouyant and then all of a sudden when 7:30 hit, the bite was on! As quck as we would cast out we would get a bite and the same went for the family in the boat who were right out from where we were. We were putting on a clinic out there bringing in so many fish, the bite was hot and it was so much fun. We fished until it was pitch black dark and used our giant spotlight to keep it going. Finally we decided to call it quits and realized we still had to hike the half mile around the lake. That half mile dragged forever and I just knew we were gona run into a bear as my brother was carrying a nice hefty stringer of fish. We finally made it but never want to do that hike again! Heres some pics from that night.
http://fishingnetwork.net/images/tmp2/mammoth007.jpg
http://fishingnetwork.net/images/tmp2/mammoth008.jpg
http://fishingnetwork.net/images/tmp2/mammoth009.jpg
Day 5
It was time for hands down the greatest hike in Mammoth, the hike to Duck Lake. It is a 6 mile hike from the campground at Lake Mary and is very difficult but well worth it. It is a must do for anyone up for a challenge and the reward is spectacular once you get a glimpse of Duck Lake. We began the trailhead at 7am and made a reststop at Skelton Lake along the way.
http://fishingnetwork.net/images/tmp2/mammoth010.jpg
Once we passed Barney Lake and pointed up at the rock mountain ahead of us and told my dad that in order to get to Duck Lake, we had to hike over that mountain and he didn't beleive me. Well, about 1 mile later and 1,000 feet higher, we passed through Duck Pass and could finally get a glimpse of the lake.
http://fishingnetwork.net/images/tmp2/mammoth011.jpg
We ate our lunch and decided to try our luck fishing. It was so cool to be able to fish at a lake that big (its about 4 miles around) and be the only ones fishing it. It proved to be a great place to fish, as we caught all kinds of wild rainbow and brooke trout. Heres a pic of one of the nice Brooks my bro caught
http://fishingnetwork.net/images/tmp2/mammoth012.jpg
On the way down, we snapped a picture from Duck Pass to show how hight we had climbed and show the lakes we had hiked passed along the way
http://fishingnetwork.net/images/tmp2/mammoth013.jpg
Got back from the hike and rested and then decided we would go back to our spot at Lake George and do some more night fishing. Our experience was similar to the one from the night before and it was all around great fishing. Heres a pic of my catch that night.
http://fishingnetwork.net/images/tmp2/mammoth014.jpg
Last Day
Decided to take the ride down into the San Joaquin and spend the day there. We did more sight seeing than fishing that day and really had a good time taking in the scenery.
http://fishingnetwork.net/images/tmp2/mammoth015.jpg
http://fishingnetwork.net/images/tmp2/mammoth016.jpg
http://fishingnetwork.net/images/tmp2/mammoth017.jpg
By far I would say it was the most fun and action packed summer vacation to Mammoth ever!