Camping and Fishing Big Pine Creek 7/28

[Mase]

My buddies and I got to the Sage Flats campgrounds on Friday evening. The upper campgrounds were full but Sage flats was perfect and uncrowded. Plus our site was about 30 feet from the creek.

Weather was partly cloudy, 70's, and wind was calm.

Glacier Lodge Rd:


We setup our site and I suited up to get ready for a quick session before dark. I threw out a couple times with a Panther Martin and waded about 100' upstream but didn't get anything. It was more of a learning experience since it was my first time fishing water that was moving that fast.

Sage Flats:


The next morning we talked to the groundskeeper and he said there was a little meadow to fish just past the campgrounds. We all hiked down there and didn't find a meadow so we just waded the creek for a couple hundred feet or so. I was still using my black/silver Panther Martin and one of my friends was using corn pb while the other was using a silver Kastmaster wedge.

Hiking around the creek:



I found the easiest method was just to toss the spinner out about 20 ft and just let it spin in the current about 4-6" below the surface. I got quite a few bites that way but never landed any. After a few hours, we were hungry, and empty handed, so we went up to the trout pond to get some easy lunch.

Easy lunch...my butt! There were a few little schools in there but they were so scared of anything that touched the water! They'd flee from the sight of a lure, flee from the sight of powerbait or eggs, nightcrawler, and even the flies my buddy was whipping out on his flyrod! They must've learned from seeing all their buddies getting hooked up in the past.

I finally threw out one single salmon egg on a tiny gold egg hook. The egg went flying through the air and my empty hook landed in the water. The fish were instanly curious about the tiny gold glint in the water. Surprisingly they were fighting over it! I hooked one up, maybe a little over 1lb, on a bare hook! A nice little stocker. I c&r'd 4 more while waiting for my buddies to catch their lunch. Eventually we all left with one each to cook up for lunch. I felt embarrassed about fishing at the kiddie pool as I was carrying it back to the truck!

Glacier Lodge campgrounds trout pond:


After lunch and a quick nap, we headed back out to the creek. I switched to a Kastmaster gold wedge and hiked up a couple hundred feet from our campsite. I found a really nice, calm pool dammed up by a fallen tree. I approached it quietly and casted out the wedge. Almost immediately on my retrieve I saw something dart out from under the log, at lightning speed, and snatch it right up! It ended up being a little stocker, maybe 12". It still fought and jumped like heck though!

I waded upstream some more and just casted out about 20' and let the current make the wedge swim. I got a few bites and eventually hooked one up. As soon as it ran downstream my drag peeled out then, my day-old 4lb XXX Spidewire snapped like silk. Well there went my only Kastmaster wedge.



I tossed around for another 2hrs or so with only a few bites, no hookups. We all eventually retired back to our campsite for the last night and cooked up some 1.5lb mountain-man-meals. Ground beef, chopped potatoes, onions, and bell peppers wrapped in foil and cooked in the fire....mmm.



I can't wait to go up to the Sierras again! Maybe we'll make a trip to Big Rock creek next.

[Granny Fish]

Those trout get spooked pretty easy. Sounds like you had a good time out there regardless. Thanks for reporting.

[one_leg]

Mase, it sounds like you had a really nice trip.

But where's the fish porn? :wink: .....j/k

One_Leg

[Mase]

Hah ha! I would've gotten some pics for your pleasure but it was too much of a hassle...you know, pole in one hand, beer in the other, while trying to keep balance in the strong current and walking on a bed of big rocks! Not to mention my movement was limited because I had to use my waders to store empty beer cans! :lol:

Mase, it sounds like you had a really nice trip.

But where's the fish porn? :wink: .....j/k

One_Leg

[studlyfisherman]

if you wanna stroke trout up there just use salmon eggs with a small split shot a foot up. its almost hard not to catch a ton of fish. :D as foe the pond...it sucks...dont waste your time. thanks for the report

[Troutman65]

Nice read.

Thanks for sharing on FN.

Sorry you did not hook up into more trout.

Troutman65

[jeff4321]

I was up in lone pine this weekend. check my report out:

http://fishingnetwork.net/forum1/viewtopic.php?t=5985

that mtn. man meal looks tasty =D

[Scott H.]

Thanks for posting the report.

I usually have better luck fishing across from the stables and up the creek, well past the first bridge, on both sides of the creek. I tell ya, a couple salmon egss and a size 12 or 14 hook works best up there.

BTW, I caught my first fish when I was about 4 in that pond - in the upper left hand corner area near the inlet. It's a nice pond for kids to learn to fish lures and plastic worms. Pink Lip Ripperz worked really good for us a couple years back.

[Native 2]

Is this the creek that is between Bishop and Crowley just before the road begins to climb steeply?

[Fisher-of-Men]

Awesome report! I love these Eastern Sierra reports. I've never camp that section. Looks like a good place to try.



Fisher-of-Men