The secrets of the sierras

[steveooo]

Are my gift to you

I’m a little addicted to fishing. Freshwater, saltwater, anywhere there is water I will try to fish (swimming pools, bathtubs). Having a kayak has exponentially increased both my time on the water, as well as how many fish I catch.

Every year in the last weekend in April we plan a trip to go up for the Eastern Sierra Season Opener. Although this is typically the most crowded weekend, there is something special about being on the water at 5:30 am, throwing a lure at fish that haven’t seen a fishing line in several months.

We usually stay in the June Lake Loop. There are 4 lakes in the loop, with countless little streams that feed the lakes, that are packed with native fish. The June lake loop is only about half an hour away from Mammoth, and about Half an Hour to the back entrance to Yosemite. It is free to park and launch a kayak at most lakes in the Sierras, and many times, you will be the only one on the water.

It is about a six-hour drive from my house, but my favorite part of the trip is fishing my little secret “honey-holes” on the way up Hwy 395. It is not uncommon to catch 30-40 fish on the drive up.



It was a little slower this year, but we still caught our fair share of fish. Species # 1



We found some wind


I will never get tired of driving up to the base of these mountains



We go up with a few other couples. We rent a nice condo, right on June Lake. This is my favorite painting in the condo. Little bears getting freaky.



The first day we decided to fish June Lake. It was the maiden voyage of the new yak, and I couldn’t think of a better place to spend it.



Opening morning we caught our fair share of beautiful healthy rainbows, keeping only enough to make a nice dinner out of.



The weather is not for the faint of heart. It is about 20- 25 degrees outside. The eyes on your rod tips freeze as you reel in each cast. Every drop of water freezes pretty quickly. Hard to tell, but this is all frozen



I did a true through hull transducer on the new finder. I was very impressed. Every time I would see one of these



I would catch one of these



Later that day we decided to go for a drive up to Virginia Lakes to do some ice fishing



The hike in



Two more months and this will be a lake again



While fishing we watched two back-country skiers create a decent size avalanche. Pretty gnarly



I caught a nice brook trout through the ice. Species # 2



My wife is hardcore. 7 months pregnant, and hiking in to a frozen lake to ice-fish at 10,000 feet. She caught a few too. She’s pretty awesome.



Ice fishing is fun. The fish have been under ice for many months with little food. There have been times where we could not have a lure in the water for more than 10 seconds without being smashed by a trout



We went back to the loop, and I fished off the Kayak until dark, for only a few fish.
The beginning of a nice dinner



The next morning I fished silver lake. I was on the water at dark, and was rewarded with a nice cut-throat trout. Very pink meat, tastes like salmon. Species # 3




The fishing was very good for a little while, but it may have been that I had the entire lake to myself for almost an hour. I could do this all friggen day



Later that day we went up to Lee Vining to do some stream fishing. Any chance to catch more fish than my buddies, and rub it in is o.k. with me



Any hunters out there? Count the deer in this pic. These were does, but I have seen some very nice bucks up there.



On the drive home we stop at a few more secret spots. Very beautiful brown trout are thick in these streams that hardly get fished. Species # 4



Not easy to get to, but well worth it





I also found a snake in my best honey hole. I was so focused on moving him away from the only place I could cast from, that I almost stepped on another.







Overall, it was a very fun trip. I try to get up there a few times a year. The fishing can be phenomenal towards early fall. I will try to spearhead a camping trip for whoever is interested later this year. Here is one on my favorite pics from silver lake, not this trip, but later in the season when the colors turn. Such an awesome place.




Steve