June Lake/Eastern Sierra 10/13-10/16

[AnglerBob]

A quick report on my solo trip last week to June Lake and the Eastern Sierra…

Barely any time to fish with work duties these days, but had a quiet week and snuck out of town on an impromptu trip that was planned Monday morning about an hour prior to departure. I called and reserved a little mini-apartment at Boulder Lodge. I was looking forward to a few days of hard-core fishing, hiking and making a batch of venison chili. Maybe firing up my Luhr-Jensen electric smoker that I can't use here in my condo as the neighbors complain. I packed the car with rods, tackle box, unfashionable clothing and junk food. This would be a good week.

Monday, Oct 13 - an easy drive up 395, dinner stop at Holy Smoke BBQ in Bishop (quite good!) but arrived in June Lake too late to fish. Settled in and put line on reels, took tackle inventory. Temperature must have dropped 50 degrees between Mohave and Mammoth.


View from Boulder Lodge

Tuesday, Oct 14 - first fishing day. Went to Ernie's to get the intel and lure arsenal. They recommended Thomas Bouyant and Kastmasters for the lakes, as well as garlic or salmon egg power bait; and Panther Martin spinners for the creeks. Tried-and-true favorites that would work this trip as they always have. According to the proprietor, fishing was generally quite good but the fish were on the small side. This, too, would prove correct in my experience.

Started the day fishing one of my favorite bank spots, the fisherman's trail at Gull Lake. A surprising number of people for this late in the season, but hardly crowded. Was glad to see that although the lake was down slightly, the water level still looked decent. Unfortunately I blanked here on both bait and lures. Nobody was doing much, although some guys in a boat were proudly brandishing a good sized fish they'd caught trolling. Tried a few spots for nada and left for greener pastures.

Next stop was Silver Lake. I love fishing the rocky beach at the creek inlet, always a good spot, but frequently windy. I picked up a bait fish here, but after a while it was blowing pretty hard so I moved on to Rush Creek. A party of anglers closer to the inlet seemed to be enjoying a steady pick on bait.

Rush is low and slow, and scoring poorly on fishing reports. Don't you believe it. I caught three more fish here in short order, on panther martins and salmon eggs, before lunch beckoned. The trick is to find moving water deep enough to offer a hiding place. That little area behind the boulder—think there might be a fish there? There is.

After a quick lunch in the cabin, I glanced out the window. The wind was blowing mightily on June below, with massive whitecaps. I decided to head up to the Virginia lakes and see if I could find some shelter there with the mountain backdrop. Trumbull, in particular, can be fishable during a high wind, if not always productive. Unfortunately, when I got there, the turnoff to the Trumbull campground was closed off. I knew it was an easy walk, but not sure if the closure meant "no cars" or "you can't go in, period" so decided to fish Big Virginia instead. Walked around to my favorite shore spot and caught two more fish on the Buoyant before wind conditions gradually became bitter cold and unfishable, around 5:30. Headed back to the lodge to make some venison chili and figure out a new plan for tomorrow.


Icy wind at Big Virginia


Big Virginia rainbow

Wednesday, October 15

The Eastern Sierra weather report called for wind advisories in effect until 11 am. I actually considered this to be somewhat good news, suggesting that the frontal system which was passing through without the decency to offer so much of a drop of rain or snow would be moving on. I decided to head for Mammoth and ask for advice at Kittredge's Sports, which was a good choice. I replaced the lures I'd snagged off yesterday and they steered me to George Lake, a gorgeous bowl of ice-blue water lying under the towering Crystal Crag. I always love fishing there, but here's the thing about George: sometimes it's just unBEARable, if you know what I mean. If you're seeking the Lake Most Likely To Have Your Fish Swiped By An ursus americanus, George is it.


Lake George, beautiful but bear-infested

The wind was quieting down as I arrived, but the back side looked a lot more protected, so I hiked around the shoreline and set up in an area of deep, perfect looking water. Ran into a nice local who told me he'd caught and released several dozen fish at a spot he was kind enough to disclose. I tried a couple of spots for nothing, then headed over to the area the man described. Apparently the two dozen fish all wanted to be caught again, and sent for reinforcements, because the fishing was insane. They hit bait; they hit lures; they might have hit bare hooks if I'd tried that. I took four small fish for the smoker and headed back for lunch. This involved a fair amount of lost-trail bushwhacking and I was exhausted, starving and malodorous when I finally got to Schat's cafe for a sandwich, putting my catch on ice for the trip back to June.


Lake George stringer

By the time I arrived back at the lodge and cleaned my fish, it was getting too late for more explorations but the calm waters of June lake right below beckoned, so I finished the day fishing from the June shoreline. Here too, the fishing was excellent, but only bait seemed to be working. This makes catch and release fishing difficult, so I decided to call it a night and quit while I was ahead.

Thursday, Oct. 16

So far, the fishing had been uniformly excellent—but the fish had been small and all cookie-cutter planter rainbows. I decided today I'd try for a bigger fish, and maybe some exotics.

I don't always get a "big" fish in the Sierra—in fact, two big fish in a lifetime of fishing would hardly qualify as an inspiring record—but these two fish had both come from trolling the deep waters of June, so I decided to spend the morning trolling this lake.

Headed over to Big Rock resort to get a rental boat—a process which was easy, pleasant and quick. The guy gave me an upgraded vessel which had rod holders, swivel seats and marine carpeting—which is a huge advantage on a quiet trout lake like June. I asked about the fishing and he indicated the lake's cutthroat trout had been inactive for a few weeks, but the planted rainbows were plentiful. I asked if any bigger fish were coming in and he said that although they hadn't had any Alpers plants this season, the lake was featuring a similar fish from a premium hatchery in Oregon. He recommended Rapalas or Needlefish to entice these bigger trout.


Needlefish at 3 colors was the hot ticket.

I set up two rods dragging a Buoyant on the surface and a Needlefish at three colors on leadcore. The fishing was excellent. I ended up catching and releasing 7 fish during the morning's outing, including one of the premium Oregonian species. This beautiful fish was only slightly bigger than the planters, maybe 1.5-2 lbs, but had a steel-grey complexion like a steelhead and put up a great fight even on the leadcore. The first two fish came on the surface-trolled TB, but as the sun warmed the lake, the leadcore was the way to go. I had my best luck along the south shore near the swim beach corner, in roughly 75-100' depths.


Meter marks in deeper water suggest getting those lures down a bit


Bigger fish on the Needlefish

After returning the rental boat and downing a quick lunch, I thought the one thing that would cap the trip off would be a nice brown. I've had good luck in the past catching browns at Ellery Lake off Tioga Pass, so I headed out Hwy 120 armed with lures that had worked before, as well as the venerable fly and bubble. Upon arrival, though, I saw the lake level was down considerably. The water was clear, but choked with weeds. I gave it an hour, but not surprisingly, blanked. I hope this high-country watershed is restored to its former glory soon.

WIth a little time on the clock, I got some worms at Ernie's and hit Rush Creek one last time. OK, it took a worm, but I finally got my brown. Also had company in the form of several small deer, apparently not at all put off by the thought of sharing shoreline with a guy reeking of venison chili.


Rush Creek brown


Some deer friends


It was a great trip overall and I really recommend visiting the area during the shoulder seasons rather than the prime summer vacation time. The weather was cold in the mornings, but warmed up nicely during the day. The fishing action was superb and in some cases, I had entire lakes (Big Virginia, Ellery) to myself. Hoping a wetter season next year fills the lakes and brings the Alpers trout back.

Missed my dad much, who introduced me to the beauty, culture and fishing magic of the high sierras in 1974, and knew every hidden hole in Rush Creek. If only he'd left a map:)

Suggestions, if you go:

• For maximum success, stay mobile. There are a lot of spots in an otherwise good lake at which you will catch nothing. There are others in which you will pick up a bait fish every hour or so. But there will often be a spot or two at which the fishing defies explanation. Of course, moving to an entirely new lake or stream may be a good decision.

• The latest commercial baits: power eggs, mice tails, etc. may not be as effective in the mountain lakes as salmon eggs, worms and lures.

• Use smaller baits than in southern CA waters like Irvine; the fish are smaller and more tackle-shy. Use light leaders, 2-lb fluoro recommended. Use light to ultralight rods to achieve maximum casting distance with these small baits as fish seem to be fairly far off shore in most cases.

• No need to get up at the crack of dawn this time of year, unless you want to. Fishing remains good through the afternoon for the most part.

[The Walking Trout]

Wow. What a report. It is late and I would like to respond more, but have to catch some shut eye. Awesome report. Thank you for such great information. Excellent and enjoyable reading.

[simijab]

Awesome report and its perfect timing. We leave for silver lake on next wed. Im still waiting for those browns to start spawning in rush. Maybe we will get lucky. Thanks for the update on the area

[scottfishes]

Very nice report, Im heading up Nov. 8,9,& 10th. taking the wife and daughter up for one last trip of the season. I hope to have some good deep water luck! I will be hiking rush creek a lot ( early morning while the girls are still waking up lol) as last time up I had great success in some small pools near a waterfall area. Thanks for the info and tight lines.

[shinbob]

Excellent report and pics! You hit all of my favorite lakes up there, I'm jealous!

Never stayed at the Boulder Lodge -- so can you walk directly down to the lake and fish from the shore there? From what I've seen while on the lake, that section is pretty reedy.

And your FF was indicating a 32 degree temp -- I assume that was the air temp? Brrrrr...

[Olderone]

Great report and lots of good info & tips.
I really enjoy the late season in the Sierras.
Thanks again.
olderone (Bob)

[Fishingdachronarch201E7]

outstanding report!! good stuff and WTG, awesome pics!!

[Mr T-rex]

Nice! just came back about a month ago and feel like making a quick trip before the season finishes

[AnglerBob]

Thanks guys. Shinbob you are correct in that the area around Boulder is generally reedy. However, this late in the season the reeds have shrunk and died back considerably. Also, with the water level down a bit, much more of the lake shoreline is walkable. It would be very possible to walk the entire shoreline from there to the swim beach, tossing a Kastmaster or Thomas Buoyant.

Oh and yeah...the water is NOT 32 degrees. The transducer cable on my portable FF has gotten pretty worn and frayed. Temp probe seems to have stopped working some time ago and now sometimes the depth readings are becoming unreliable as well. Torn between getting a new transducer (the cheap option) or a nice new unit with color and side scanning, so I can see all the fish I'm not catching in glorious detail.

Simijab and Scott, best of luck on your upcoming trips. This is a great time to be in the mountains. The scenery is starting to look a little barren and dry in some places with the drought, but the heavily forested Mammoth area is holding up well. Even those hardy pines will need water soon, though.