Bishop/Mammoth Report, Memorial weekend
Headed out on Wedneday night> Got to Georges Creek around 7 am on Thursday AM. Had to stop and get some sleep along the way. Fished the Sand Trap on Georges creek. Got a couple hits, but no hookups. Took off after 30 minutes. Ran across some quail. got out my quail call and brought them in. They were shocked to see that the sounds were going from the direction of a 125 lb Rottweiler. They quickly retreated to the trees. The plan for the day was to fish Mammoth Twin lakes but that never happened. Went to Hot creek to check out the hatchery and fish the creek. Fished the creek for about 1 hour. 2 fish in the special regulation area. Very cool area. Decided to head to Convict Creek on the way back. The creek was fished out. Landed a couple and called it a day. Needed to get to camp and get setup. We were staying at Creekside Rv park on Bishop South Fork. Got setup and did some scouting. Landed a few at all the regular spots. One spot was so heavily stocked that you couldnt help but hooking up. Used jigs and powerworms. NO BAIT> This way all hooksets are in the mouth. Must have C&R 50 fish between my nephew and I> He would have stayed there all day if I would have allowed him to.
Friday
Got up and headed for Mammoth Twin Lakes. Drove to upper twin and wasnt too impressed with the shore angling opportunities. Awesome water fall coming into Upper Twin. Got some fotos and headed for Lake Mary,
Fished Lake Mary. Landed a few on Power bait and Thomas Bouyants. First 2 casts were fish. Beautiful area. I have only been in this area in the winter. I will be back for sure. Next stop was George Lake. We ended up walking around the entire lake. The backside was still covered in snow. My nephew regretted wearing his sandals. Got a few fish at all the spots we tried. On the backside we fished from atop a 50 foot cliff. It was cool to watch the fish come up from the deep to chase my gold kastmaster. Fish look much bigger when they are in the water. We walked past a small creek that feeds the lake. There were fish lined up the head up stream. I walked up through the snow to look at the water. There were fish up in the creek. The water was low. I was amazed that they fish were able to get up that far with such a low water level. I was impressed with the drive these fish have to spawn. They must have jumped over rocks and climbed trees.
Finally made it back to the car around 3PM> Headed back to camp. Fished in the private pond at creekside. It was wide open on jigs. Too easy. Must have landed 20 fish in the 2lb range. A few nice browns in the mix. I know it is a pond, so I dont get much pleasure in this. But it is fun to try new techniques.
Saturday
Decided to hike into a remote lake above South Lake. I picked Treasure Lake.
We headed out around 8AM. I was told the lake was just over 2 miles. I dont know who calculated that 2.25 miles. It seemed much further. There is a significant alititude gain. Trail is well market and maintained. Some of it was snow covered and we went off trail. The snow is soft and I sunk hip deep more than once. We saw a fox or coyote as we ventured into the hi country. I didnt see if very well. Just a glimpse as it ran up and over the ridge. I was determined to find someplace to fish. At times, we thought we may have missed a turn and were following a different trail. Alas!!! My nephew cries out, we are here. Still ice on the lake. The lake was clear of ice for about 30 feet from the shore. Worked a small area and landed a few golden/hybrids> I think. May have been pure strain. Fished for about 2 hours and decided it was time to head back.
Fished the meadow below the lake. Reminded me of Horseshoe Meadow (Kern area). Pulled out a few fish, All fish were very small, but that was expected. I get more pleasure catching these small natives than the 5 lb stockers. Made our way back to the car. All of us were tired including the 10 year old dog. I was impressed that he kept up the entire time and trudged thru chest high snow. (My dog Rocks). He has more drive than most people I know. And he loves the snow.
Got back to camp, fished around the Creek and the pond. Broke camp and headed home. Got some much needed sleep in my bed. Man I love pillow-top mattresses (dont let my buddies find out) Got home around 2 AM on Sunday. Bishop was having Mule Days and was crowded as usual for this event. Did some scouting for quail spots. Came across a small housing area outside of Bishop that was full of quail. Pretty obvious that the local feed them.
I included a foto of my nephew at treasure lake and a shot of South Lake, you can see the dam in the distance.> This will give an idea of the elevation. The shot of South Lake is about 1/2 of the way in. I am guessing the elevation was 10,500 feet.
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Originally Posted by Troutman65
