Convict Lake (pics up)

[kewlwhip]

Anyone fished it lately from the FNN forums? I've heard its been really good
-going to be heading out there the weekend of the 26th-28th w/ family...

tia-

[jmurillo74]

I was up in the Mammoth area the last weekend of September. We fished Convict only one day. I think we only caught 3-4 pan size trout in about a five hour period. We had much better luck elsewhere, especially Pleasant Valley Resevoir and Lake George. That weekend was very cold with snow flurries, and everytime I go up there I see more and more bears. Good luck, let us now how you do.

[Mike274]

Kewlwhip,

A friend and I just fished Convict last weekend Fri-Sun. It was my first time there and not only was the fishing good, but it is a beautiful place. Other than the 8-10 inches of snow last friday the weather was beautiful. Just be aware to take plenty of warm clothing anytime you go to the Sierra's this time of year. Can be nice or just flat out cold sometimes changing in minutes.

Anyhow, back to the fishin' stuff. Fish all over the lake! We caught close to 100 fish, with the biggest being 4.2lbs while fishing Friday, Saturday and half day Sunday. Lots of pan size and lots of decent size one as well. On Saturday one of the Convict regulars caught a 10 punder sporting full spawning colors at the inlet. Lots of fish moving that way to spawn.

Lots of ways to fish that lake. We rented a boat and trolled, as did others, and except for 1 or 2 strikes nothing for anybody. In fact, while trolling a boat came all the way across the lake and cut us off. I was thinking what the heck, and all he wanted was to ask us where we caught all of the fish. Mostly anchored out and fished the bottom. If you need more info you can pm me.

Mike

[steve092]

Never fished there.

But I have seen Convict Lake in those Granola Bar Commercials.

[Mike274]

Kewlwhip,

Fished there for about 100 fish last weekend mostly on the south shore. Fish holding near the shoreline along big dropoffs to be had with mini jigs, lures or flies. Fish get wise and spook quickly though. Best bet is from a boat. Find shoreline areas with shallow shelves and anchor in about 20-30' of water. Cast into the shore and reel in to just above the drop off and wait. We used every kind of bait and lure with inflated crawlers being the best by far. Use the reg size crawlers and you can break them into 2 or 3 pieces. Put them on a #10 bait holder hook, attached to a 18-24" leader below a 1/4 ounce sliding sinker, inflate them to keep them off of the bottom and you have it. If they don't float they won't catch! Fished different tests as well, but found 2-4lb flouro to be the best by a wide margin. I prefer a Carolina Keeper as opposed to a swivel. You can easily move them up and down to change depth while eliminating needless other knots and connections. Pretty much caught fish everywhere we fished with the worms as long as the area had a shelf.
Actually surprising how shallow the fish were. You can also walk the shoreline, especially the inlet, with mini jigs or kastmasters. Definately fewer fish, but the ones caught will be of the larger variety. A 10 pounder in full spawning colors pulled out of the inlet. Most bigguns caught in the evening hours. Hope this helps

Mike

[kewlwhip]

thank you for all the knowledgeable information everyone.

-Ive been going to convict for the past 7 years, just never this late in the season...
so the bears are more abundant now than before? worried about my father fishing from shore, as he's
already asked to be dropped on "his" good luck spot :wink:

mike, just pm'd ya!

anymore info would be appreciated-
when my trip is underway, i will update with story and pictures later-

8)

[Mater]

Nice info Mike274. Thanks for the post.

[sierrajack]

I haven't fished there in awhile, but now should be a good time to try for some large browns.

[Mike274]

Kewlwhip and Sierra,

Kewlwhip, never received your pm. Anyhow, We did catch a few browns but most of the biggies are rainbows. We caught 5 browns with the biggest being about 13". The folks at teh general store said that they just started stocking browns again after a stopping for a few years. DIdn't get into the details though. That could be why there are not many large ones being caught.They were caught in deeper water though. I would say about 25-35'. Again, the water is getting pretty cold. By the way all browns were c&r'd due to the low number of quality browns at this lake. Always release the browns and brookies, Just my thing. :D

Mike

[kewlwhip]

hmm, I'll check again Mike-

will be definately trying for those browns! I just tried to pm you again-