Originally Posted by
Cliffy
My Dad went to June the first time in 1925 (he was 21) 2 or 3 day drive in a model T camped at Little Lake (when there was a Little Lake "town" there) the first night. All dirt road from then on. He said average fish then was 5 lbs in June. We actually ate at the cafe at Little Lake once and only once in the 50s. That's always been a strange place around there. I wish I knew more about it. Off the highway eastside a short walk (now behind the fence near the lakeshore) is a few large rocks and one contains a cave with prehistoric paintings in it. Don't ask me how I know. Always wanted to fish the lake there.
We'd stop a White's Cafe in Mojave in the early 50s for breakfast on the way up. Saw an atomic bomb test one morning while in the restaurant. The sky lit up then went dark. After we left we looked east and saw the mushroom cloud. Anyone remember all the geysers around Mammoth along 395? For Several years there was an old miner with a burro that traveled up and down 395 below Bishop in the 50s. Of course we only had the old Sherwin Grade with all the dead cars at the bottom to use.
My Dad fished Grant when it only had the lower dam (now usually submerged). My Mom Hated Grant as there were no trees around.
I think you're correct on the 10 lbs +1 fish now that I think about it. We used "cat gut " leaders (that you had to soak to soften) before mono came out. We all bait fished with fly rods and sinking line from the boat and as young kids we learned how to play a fish as we used 3/4 lb leader material. We used eggs and special homemade cheese bait. Back then you could chum so guys would by quart jars of salmon eggs, anchor the boat and then toss out the whole quart around the boat as they set up their gear. Actually had a guy who had no idea what he was doing come in near us to anchor and he threw his anchor into our boat!
Carson's Camp and all the old run down shacks were right at the campground by Big Rock then. Only stayed there once (my Mom hated it). June used to have thousands of sticklebacks in it when I was a kid. We only used the big square barges to fish from (Big Rock) and I was supposed to work the dock there the summer when I was 14 but the owner died.
June Lake had old crank telephones back then. There were 3 boat rentals on the lake and we'd eat breakfast once in awhile at the cafe in Big Rock's main building. We used a 1942 Johnson OB with an exposed rope start pully (no recoil starter for us, we don't need no stinkin recoil starter) that my Dad bought new (still have it!).
Used to run a round with a guy named Stan Bell from Bishop 40+ yrs ago. He was the family member they didn't talk about. His Dad Marvin Bell drove the road grader for the county for years. The Copper Bell restaurant was a Bell family deal (closed now). There was a Bell sawmill down the valley a ways and way back when some of the Bell clan got into a gunfight with the law a century ago IIRC.
Owens Dry Lake had water in it. A stream ran along the highway down south near Big Pine to Lone Pine. The Owens Valley was green.