Sierra Report - Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge

Saba Slayer · 07-30-2018, 02:57 PM

Did a short 6 day trip last week to Sliver Lake and Trumbell Lake...

Had to stop at Meadow Farms for some smoked bacon for breakfast and Louisiana hot links for the Crawdad boil.

We camped for one night at Silver Lake to drop a few traps for an overnight soak to catch some crawdads for a couple of dinners at Trumbull Lake. Pretty heavy thunderstorm rolled in so I had to haul ass to get those traps in before the lightening came over.

We caught about 150 crawfish for a Louisiana style boil and hoped to save a few for a Udon noodle soup with all the fixings.

Trumbull lake was our destination for the next few days till Saturday.

Trumbull Lakes campground and and the Virginia Lakes Resort are at 9,700' so it's one of the higher drive-to resorts in the Eastern Sierras.
The campground and surrounding areas are filled with Lodgepole Pines and Aspens at that altitude.
Both Trumbull and the two Virgina Lakes are relatively small lakes with lots of stocking from the DFW, the Resort and the Bridgeport Fish Enhancement Foundation.

As usual the crawdad boil was a hit and we fed 10 people...

I worked at trying to get some photos for Bixpy with their new motor...
I'll try again with all that I learned on my next trip later this month.

I really got lucky and fell into some great fish the first day...I had two 4 pounders like this beauty...and lots of stockers released...

Paul and his brother Jerry caught two 4 pounders and a 5 pound fish.
All these fish were stocked and tagged by the Bridgeport Fish Enhancement Foundation so we returned all 4 tags to Ken's Sporting Goods in Bridgeport.

That fish was like Salmon...Oily and Pink meat that was great on the grill with some cherry and mountain mahogany mixed with the coals...

It was pretty damn good smoked too.
I need a bigger net...LOL

erinoo · 07-30-2018, 03:07 PM

GTboosted · 07-30-2018, 04:20 PM

Living the life Jim

ful-rac · 07-30-2018, 05:59 PM

Can't wait to get back up there!

MrPukaShell · 07-31-2018, 07:47 AM

Epic

goldenglory18 · 07-31-2018, 08:52 AM

Fantastic looking trip!

I really miss the freshwater lakes in AZ. I never really hit the high elevation lakes (never figured out the trout thing) but man that scenery is hard to beat.

Congrats!!!!

Hunters Pa · 07-31-2018, 09:03 AM

Beautiful!

I think I know where you can get a net if you need one!

ceviche eater · 07-31-2018, 09:25 AM

Great post !

slobound · 07-31-2018, 10:42 AM

Man! That looks like a great time. We were at Silver this past weekend.

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swinginFish · 07-31-2018, 11:03 AM

Plan to head to Silver/Gull lakes next week, but wondering if the smoke/fire situation impeded things for you at all. Virginia lake looks interesting too - have 21' trailer. Roads/campsites up there accommodating?

Avery

slobound · 07-31-2018, 11:07 AM

We had a really tough time finding a walk up campsite on a Wednesday. Lots of the Yosemite campers evacuated and went to June/Mammoth. We got lucky to snag a reserved spot cancellation on Wednesday night and moved to a walk up Thursday - Sun.

Mornings were clear with a little haze but once the wind started, that smoke came right over for the afternoon into the evening. This happened each day we were there. By morning, we were clear again... rinse and repeat. I’m sure I inhaled my share of smoke through the trip.

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alanw · 07-31-2018, 12:46 PM

That grilled Trout looks amazing

GregAndrew · 07-31-2018, 03:24 PM

Nice trip and pics Jim.

ProfessorLongArms · 07-31-2018, 04:33 PM

Thanks for the share!!! I’ve been meaning to check out the bishop area lakes fishing/camping for a while. These shares are really lighting a fire under me :-)

blitzburgh · 07-31-2018, 05:04 PM

Friggin beautiful!

Saba Slayer · 07-31-2018, 07:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by swinginFish

Plan to head to Silver/Gull lakes next week, but wondering if the smoke/fire situation impeded things for you at all. Virginia lake looks interesting too - have 21' trailer. Roads/campsites up there accommodating?

Avery

The smoke never really got too bad up at Trumbull all last week and we left Silver by 10am on Monday....
The road to Virginia/Trumbull is ALL up hill from Lee Vining...up Conway Summet and then a turn off at the top and more uphill to the campground.
My two friends had a motorhome and a trailer and they seemed to fit fine in the spots....there were lots of trailers in the campground.
Finding a campsite is always easier on Monday and seems to get harder as the weekend approaches. There was no problem getting 3 sites in a row but on Friday I had folks already asking for the site for Saturday nite.

I'll be up at Silver Lake in the June Lake Loop from the 13th through the 26th of August at campsite #21...stop by and say Hi if you're up there.

Biggameaddict · 07-31-2018, 10:42 PM

gotta make a trip up here for sure. Thanks for the report!

iethinker · 07-31-2018, 11:04 PM

That looks tasty from the first picture to the last!

Southman · 08-01-2018, 07:55 AM

I'm hungry.

Great report.

tunaseeker · 08-01-2018, 10:55 AM

Nice report Jim!!

07-30-2018, 02:57 PM	#1
Saba Slayer Senior Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Palos Verdes Posts: 1,855	Sierra Report Did a short 6 day trip last week to Sliver Lake and Trumbell Lake... Had to stop at Meadow Farms for some smoked bacon for breakfast and Louisiana hot links for the Crawdad boil. We camped for one night at Silver Lake to drop a few traps for an overnight soak to catch some crawdads for a couple of dinners at Trumbull Lake. Pretty heavy thunderstorm rolled in so I had to haul ass to get those traps in before the lightening came over. We caught about 150 crawfish for a Louisiana style boil and hoped to save a few for a Udon noodle soup with all the fixings. Trumbull lake was our destination for the next few days till Saturday. Trumbull Lakes campground and and the Virginia Lakes Resort are at 9,700' so it's one of the higher drive-to resorts in the Eastern Sierras. The campground and surrounding areas are filled with Lodgepole Pines and Aspens at that altitude. Both Trumbull and the two Virgina Lakes are relatively small lakes with lots of stocking from the DFW, the Resort and the Bridgeport Fish Enhancement Foundation. As usual the crawdad boil was a hit and we fed 10 people... I worked at trying to get some photos for Bixpy with their new motor... I'll try again with all that I learned on my next trip later this month. I really got lucky and fell into some great fish the first day...I had two 4 pounders like this beauty...and lots of stockers released... Paul and his brother Jerry caught two 4 pounders and a 5 pound fish. All these fish were stocked and tagged by the Bridgeport Fish Enhancement Foundation so we returned all 4 tags to Ken's Sporting Goods in Bridgeport. That fish was like Salmon...Oily and Pink meat that was great on the grill with some cherry and mountain mahogany mixed with the coals... It was pretty damn good smoked too. I need a bigger net...LOL __________________ Jim / Saba Slayer Last edited by Saba Slayer; 07-30-2018 at 04:47 PM.

07-30-2018, 04:20 PM	#3
GTboosted Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2014 Location: Lake Balboa, The Valley Posts: 425	Living the life Jim __________________ -Beto

07-30-2018, 05:59 PM	#4
ful-rac Emperor Join Date: May 2009 Location: Buena Park Posts: 3,649	Can't wait to get back up there! __________________ There's nothing colder than yesterday's hotdog.

07-31-2018, 11:03 AM	#10
swinginFish Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 173	smoked fish(ermen) Plan to head to Silver/Gull lakes next week, but wondering if the smoke/fire situation impeded things for you at all. Virginia lake looks interesting too - have 21' trailer. Roads/campsites up there accommodating? Avery

07-31-2018, 12:46 PM	#12
alanw Made in U.S.A. Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Dana Point Posts: 1,625	That grilled Trout looks amazing __________________ Hobie PA 14 ¸.·´¯`·.´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸><(((º> Jackson Kraken ¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·.´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸><(((º> Malibu X-Factor ¸.·´¯`·.´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸><(((º> Malibu Stealth-12 ¸.·´¯`·.´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸><(((º> Its not a spelling B its a fishing B ~yakjoe

07-30-2018, 03:07 PM	#2
erinoo Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Carlsbad,,Halfway up the Hill Posts: 486

07-31-2018, 07:47 AM	#5
MrPukaShell Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Ventura COunty Posts: 521	Epic

07-31-2018, 08:52 AM	#6
goldenglory18 Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: Seattle Area Posts: 861	Fantastic looking trip! I really miss the freshwater lakes in AZ. I never really hit the high elevation lakes (never figured out the trout thing) but man that scenery is hard to beat. Congrats!!!!

07-31-2018, 09:03 AM	#7
Hunters Pa Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Fullerton Posts: 1,359	Beautiful! I think I know where you can get a net if you need one!

07-31-2018, 09:25 AM	#8
ceviche eater Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: Mission hills Posts: 133	Great post !

07-31-2018, 10:42 AM	#9
slobound Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Posts: 61	Man! That looks like a great time. We were at Silver this past weekend. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

07-31-2018, 11:07 AM	#11
slobound Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Posts: 61	We had a really tough time finding a walk up campsite on a Wednesday. Lots of the Yosemite campers evacuated and went to June/Mammoth. We got lucky to snag a reserved spot cancellation on Wednesday night and moved to a walk up Thursday - Sun. Mornings were clear with a little haze but once the wind started, that smoke came right over for the afternoon into the evening. This happened each day we were there. By morning, we were clear again... rinse and repeat. I’m sure I inhaled my share of smoke through the trip. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

07-31-2018, 03:24 PM	#13
GregAndrew Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 2,384	Nice trip and pics Jim.

07-31-2018, 04:33 PM	#14
ProfessorLongArms Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2017 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 401	Thanks for the share!!! I’ve been meaning to check out the bishop area lakes fishing/camping for a while. These shares are really lighting a fire under me :-)

07-31-2018, 05:04 PM	#15
blitzburgh Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Menifee Posts: 2,509	Friggin beautiful! __________________ ”The beauty of the Second Amendment is that it will not be needed until they try to take it.” ~Thomas Jefferson.........maybe

07-31-2018, 10:42 PM	#17
Biggameaddict The Kayak Peddler Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: North Hollywood Posts: 591	gotta make a trip up here for sure. Thanks for the report! __________________ Keep your rod close, your gaff closer, and your paddle on a leash.

07-31-2018, 11:04 PM	#18
iethinker Senior Member Join Date: May 2013 Location: Inland Empire Posts: 370	That looks tasty from the first picture to the last!

08-01-2018, 07:55 AM	#19
Southman Member Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Laguna Niguel Posts: 89	I'm hungry. Great report.

08-01-2018, 10:55 AM	#20
tunaseeker TB Metal Art Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: San Diego Posts: 653	Nice report Jim!!