Silver Lake June 2017

[ful-rac]

This trip has been in the making for a long, long time...after seeing Jim Salazar's posts about the giant crawdads that live in silver lake. I've been wanting to go up there and try my hand at this incredible crawdad fishery. I bought some crayfish/crawfish traps last year in anticipation of a trip that never materialized. So late last year Roby and I made reservations finally. Hoping to have a larger group we got 3 sites. Unfortunately there were people that committed to going, but backed out at the last minute or that had to work that weekend. So we ended up canceling one of our sites for that reason. But no matter we were going to fish for crawdads come hell or high water! Lets go on this journey!

All I know is we better catch something to cook with this stuff! With assurances of a crawfish bonanza I put together all the elements of an excellent BOIL'!



I put together 3 different trap types for a total of 15 traps. From left to right the Bullard, Promar and Trappy. Which one will rein supreme...? I just hope we catch something...Seriously!



With all our gear packed, we start making way toward mammoth. A beautiful, scenic smooth ride up the 395.



Getting closer fueling up in Bishop.




Quick stop by highly reccomended Mahogany smoked meats. Picked up several packs of Louisiana hot links for the boil' that I really hope happends...these were also highly reccomended. What an incredible little meat shop! Good sandwiches too! unknown to me at the time this would be the last time my truck ran normally...




Making our way up the big hill...I felt a slight miss coming from my engine, followed by a flashing check engine light, which indicates a misfire. Ok no big deal, I'll take care of it when I get back home...it's probably a coil pack going out on me.... no problem...

We make it to the top of the hill past Mammoth and finally after a long journey from Orange County we arrive at the absolutely gorgeous June lake loop.



We finally reach our destination the Silver Lake campground! Lets have a beer! Also to note there were several waterfalls that were flowing at full blast for the duration of our trip, an amazing sight!



Finally getting ready to drop the gear! I'm excited! will it be a bonanza? Will we catch nothing? stay tuned...



We finally get out on the lake I peddle out to an unbelieveable view of heaven on earth.




After setting out all of our gear back at camp....chef Roby is making something to eat.... WTF is it? A hot dog? a burrito? A taco? A Vietnamese sandwich?




In the evening the wind was crank'n most of the time, lucky we had some trees and bushes to serve as a wind break, but was still a pain in the ass. We had deer around us constantly...I'm sure if you looked around for them you could see them anytime during the day. They would walk through camp in groups of up to 10 or so. I think they mistook the campground for santas village....



After an all night soak...we woke up to a smooth glassy and cold morning on the lake. Will we get'm?



Annnnd....



I can't say that it was a bonanza...it was down right tough fishing for these things...but we made enough for lunch. Which trap reigned supreme....? I would say on this trip neither...they all caught approximately the same amount...but the compactness and affordability of the promar trap are huge advantages that might outweigh the advantages of the other more expensive traps. I did have one of the main zippers on the promar trap fuck up, which rendered it useless...but hey it was the cheapest of the 3.



Finally for the long anticipated crawfish boil'...or "bawl'" my turn to cook. I've been waiting to do this...! Hope it comes out right!




LOOK OUT ITS THE CRAWFISH PADDLE!



AMAZING! I was a bit sceptical of whether these things would be good until I tasted one...as yani would say...OH MAMA! They were good! The crawfish, the corn, the potatos the garlic, sausage, mushrooms, all came together perfectly!



We did find some crayfish that were loaded with eggs...Well one of us was excited, and it wasn't me...




Well I set the gear once again in the evening to pull the next morning...so I got up real early the next day to pick up my gear and pulled up only 6 crawfish in 15 traps...significantly less than yesterday...I'm sure the slow fishing was due to the cold icy water flowing into the lake constantly from all that snow we received this year...water temps were 43-46 degrees at silver the whole time. So I rolled up the gear for the last time and headed back to camp and was in time for breakfast made by Camp Chef roby, pancakes, pork chops bacon eggs and hash browns... We slowly packed our gear and headed for home, but made a few stops on the way...

Hot creek fish hatchery...



BBQ Joint in Bishop...


Manzanar...



And...an unexpected stop in the desert where my truck stalled out on a hill out in the middle of nowhere. Long story short...lost 3 out of 8 cylinders but was able to limp it home. Got the truck back to my shop, did a compression test and revealed no compression on 2 cylinders and low compression on one. Looks like it's motor time!...especially with 225,000 miles on it. Surprising, especially since I take good care of it.

Engine replacement...? I'm on it!




All this for crawdads? And a little bit of adventure?

I guess! We had a great time! There were small trout, multiple equipment losses, unintentional freezing cold lake entry, near drownings, almost died stories, mountain climbing, roadside auto repair, fear factor moments that I didn't cover but you'll just have to come to the next Team Sewer campout to find out.

[blitzburgh]

Great write up Tony! Looks like fun, even with the trouble at the end. Awesome pics

[StumpFisher]

Great report! Thanks for the great pics

[GTboosted]

Amazing. Everything looks so green vs when i went in April this year. Can't wait to be back for 4th of July.

I remember being there about 5 years ago in late May and it was 40mph winds with freezing temps. What a difference lol

[Saba Slayer]

WOW...Great Report Tony...
Those Crawdads are the best tasting critters!
I'll be up there on Sunday...we'll be leaving as soon as the Tournament is over and we can get repacked and the trailer hooked up.
I think I'll try Gull Lake since the water will be much warmer over there and that should get the Mud Bugs crawling and looking for a meal.

I can't wait to fall asleep to the sound of a roaring waterfall and see those snow covered mountains...!

[WARRIORMIKE]

Nice write up for sure.

[MrPukaShell]

Great trip thanks for taking the time to share. When stopping by Mahogany Smoked Meats don't pass up their jerky or bacon. Actually all of their stuff is top notch.

[hiramehunter]

Thanks for the great report! I'm going up this Friday and I can't wait!
Taking the kids and a few kayaks!

Tony, what did you use for bait for the crawdads?

[FISH11]

Great write up Tony. Great pictures and looks like a great crawfish boil. Sorry for the car problem, at least you made it home before having to deal with it. Yeah the colder water temperature sure slowed down the fishing, I had no idea there was such a thing as too cold for trout. There was a lot more snow on the ground than the last few years. When the wind blows up there, it's a bitch. Super cold and if on the water it's large white caps and fast moving drifts. Looks like you all still had a great time, thanks for sharing.

[StinkyMatt]

Great story and photos Tony!


Man, I miss you fuggers!


Miss the camp meals.

[ful-rac]

Cat food...but mainly mackerel.

But make sure that you don't drop your gear at silver right now...water is too cold. Check gull or june...make sure that your water temp isn't too low otherwise it's gonna suck like it did for us. It was 66 at gull the other day vs 42-43 at silver...so you want to at least try the other lakes right now.

[ful-rac]

Originally Posted by StinkyMatt

Great story and photos Tony!


Man, I miss you fuggers!


Miss the camp meals.

Yeah Matt you missed it...But so did Jorge and Greg...
Would have been nice to hear some more bullshit stories from you...


Now back to rebuilding my engine...

[Saba Slayer]

Originally Posted by hiramehunter

Thanks for the great report! I'm going up this Friday and I can't wait!
Taking the kids and a few kayaks!

Tony, what did you use for bait for the crawdads?

I'll be up at Silver Lake from the 11th thru the 20th...stop by at campsite 23 or 24...we have two sites reserved.
Freezer burned Chicken lasts forever as bait and a cheap can of cat food is the most important part of the whole deal. Really anything works as bait for those cockroaches del mar....hot dogs, that hard oily salami, any leftover meat or fish...you Cannot use trout or parts of trout.
We'll probably set our gear at Gull since the water at Silver is so cold.

[Andy]

As if I needed another reason to head up to the sierras...but after the crawfish boil I have to do it again! Thanks Tony for hooking it up.

[YakHanded]

Looks like a killer trip! I would think the engine having issues doing something like that would be a lot less frustrating than going to the grocery or work ha!

Never done a crawfish boil, but I am hungry now and v'curious.
Thanks for the write up

[FullFlavorPike]

Super fine scenery!

How was the food at the barbecue place in Bishop? I mean to stop there on my way to mammoth at some point, unless it sucks.

[FISH11]

I never get tired of this scene, especially if on the water at silver Lake. Three weeks ago when I was there on one of the days with the right angle from the sun I could see ski tracks down the chute in figure 8's. If I still had the knees and legs I had 17 years ago I would love to ski it.

[roby]

The crawdad boil was the main event and it did not disappoint. Tony put together a great meal. I plan to get some Promar traps for my next trip up in the Sierras.

As for the fishing report...

The lakes are murky. It may be the run-off from the snow melting. Overall, it was slow at Silver Lake, but we managed a few at Gull Lake. On the last morning, John Ruiz and I fished Convict lake. Between the two of us we caught 7 brown trout trolling Thomas Buoyant lures. We missed about 6 other hits that didn't stick. Most fish were suspended. 3-4 colors on lead core did the trick.

[ceviche eater]

great report! I love it up there!

[fishing md]

Great report tony!!! And thank you for the invite. it looks like a great place to wet my fly's. Btw work sucked!!!!