17 minute read
EASTERN SIERRA’S DELAYED TROUT PREMIERE
BETTER LATE THAN NEVER!
Fishing returned to Convict Lake and other Mono County trout waters on May 23, about a month later than usual due to COVID-19 restrictions. Angling pressure was far less than usual for a Saturday on Memorial Day Weekend. (ALICIA VENNOS/MONO COUNTY TOURISM)
QUIETLY, MONO COUNTY BEGINS DELAYED TROUT SEASON
By Chris Cocoles
Asense of normalcy returned to Mono County with the May 23 delayed trout opener, though it was anything but routine.
“I counted 10 boats when we got on the water around 6:30 and there were 25 boats on when we got off the water at like 11,” local angler Jeff Simpson says of his experience at Bridgeport Reservoir. “Usually we’ll have a couple hundred on the water.”
Given that daily life and activities in the Eastern Sierra are still limited due to the statewide COVID-19 shutdown and the quick announcement on the trout opener, which was delayed from its usual last-Saturday-in-April start, the lack of angling pressure was understandable.
“For the most part, it was just locals. I think the quick decision by the state didn’t allow for a lot of people to plan ahead,” says Simpson, who works for the Mono County Economic Development Department in Mammoth Lakes. “Most people out on the water were either locals or drive-ins from Nevada – within a couple-hour radius.”
Indeed, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife put out a press release on May 22 – Mono County sent a letter to CDFW to request the season beginning before the original May 31 target date after the delay – and then announced fishing could begin the following day of Memorial Day weekend.
The short notice was among the reasons why the trout opener wasn’t heavily fished. Campgrounds and lodging were closed throughout the long holiday weekend, as were
These Silver Lake boats were beached for what would have been the first month of fishing season, but the hope is that with the water now open, they will get more use in summer. (MONO COUNTY TOURISM)
several boat launches, including the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power ramp at popular Crowley Lake. The following week private campgrounds and RV parks reopened in Mono County, though a decision regarding the reopening of area lodging was postponed at press time.
“I think there were a lot of people upset because they didn’t get a heads up, tourist-wise. There were a few local businesses that were caught off guard. And I think there were businesses that thought this was a great idea,” Simpson says. “It’s like with everything going on right now,
people think we’re either going too far or not far enough one way or the other. So it’s kind of mixed feelings.”
AS WITH THE LONG-TERM impacts that the virus will have on our lives, the prospects of summer in the Eastern Sierra are unknown. Surely more and more visitors will find a way to make the trip to Mono County – neighboring Inyo County also announced it would be open for fishing on May 28.
There are several scheduled derbies throughout the summer calendar, and while the plethora of events that were scheduled for the opening weekend in April, Simpson says all tournaments and derbies are tentatively on for now.
“I think (event officials) want to hold on as long as they can and see what the regulations are from the state and see if they can still move forward. Obviously you can still socially distance when you’re fishing,” Simpson says. “But I think if there’s a dinner afterwards or a weigh-in ceremony (it could be problematic). So at this point derbies are still on the books for the summer with the asterisk that that can obviously change at every minute.”
Simpson expects fishing to be
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solid throughout the Eastern Sierra. Many of his trips will be hikes into the backcountry to fish remote lakes for wild trout. Meanwhile, Mono County still plans to follow through with a delivery of hatchery trout from Oregon’s Desert Springs Hatchery that will be stocked in 18 drive-in county fisheries.
“We’ll start doing that in phase 3 in the governor’s plan, which is as soon as lodging is open. We’ll start bringing fish down right away and spend $100,000. That’s what we always do and again will this year,” Simpson says. “We’ll have mixed size – so anywhere from 2 pounds to 6 pounds – and mixed loads.”
Everything is looking solid in terms of water levels, considering two of the last four winters have featured heavy snowfall.
“The runoff is already happening at the West Walker River, so that time when the water gets super muddy has already passed,” Simpson adds.
When California hits phases three and four and restrictions begin to be lifted fully – much of the state remains between phases one and two – you can expect the usual summer rush of fishing fanatics that the local businesses desperately need. But it’s
unclear just when that will be.
“The word’s out that the fishing is open again, so we’ll just have to wait and see. I think I have a good mindset on what’s going to happen with this situation, which is unprecedented in every manner,” Simpson says. “So we really don’t know what the consumer behavior is going to be like. All the intricacies that COVID has interrupted have changed for everyone.”
FOR THE LOCALS WHO got back to fishing on that warm May Saturday, it was cathartic. The Simpsons – Jeff and his father John – are longtime residents of Mono County who have been fishing together on opening day for the better part of 30 years.
“It was fantastic. It was also eerie, because there wasn’t that mad rush of people lined up at the launch trying to get their boats in the water,” Jeff Simpson says. “We were the only people there and we could take our time backing in and launching and making sure everything was fine. You weren’t worried about where you were going because there weren’t many boats in the water.”
While trolling, John caught the first couple of Bridgeport Reservoir brown trout. Finally, Jeff bounced
Kayak anglers like this one at Bridgeport Reservoir had a lot of space on opening day, but locals hope it will be safe enough to attract more out-of-town visitors as summer approaches. (JEFF SIMPSON/MONO COUNTY TOURISM)
back with his first brownie of the season, and the guys caught and released a few more fish before the heat of late May finally chased them off the water around 11 a.m.
“You get that first hit when you’re trolling and it’s game on – that rush of catching your first fish of the season,” Simpson says. “And it was a brown of about 2 pounds – all of the first we caught were of really nice size.”
For the scattering of fellow anglers on Bridgeport and fishing other local lakes and rivers that day, this was just one step in a process that everyone is going through these days.
Simpson recognized so many faces in the boats he and his dad passed on the lake. Everyone was practicing social distancing, so the communication among them was lots of waves and hand gestures of how many fish were caught.
So given the turmoil of recent months, is there some optimism for the first time in a while?
“I think so. I think everyone is looking forward to getting back to normal and having a nice summer season,” Simpson admits. “It was good for my mental psyche. Just being out on the water and doing a normal activity was absolutely incredible.” CS
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SOCIAL DISTANCE SOLACE AT MOHAVE
A SOLO TRIP TO THE COLORADO RIVER RESERVOIR FEATURES EPIC SMALLMOUTH AND LARGEMOUTH FISHING
By Todd Kline
Like many California sportsmen, I have been on lockdown, social distancing for about 45 days during the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.
I have been spending time with my family and staying close to home, plus all my nearby Southern California lakes were closed. So I was itching to get out and clear the mind.
I needed a trip badly and wanted to get out to the Colorado River. I was waiting for the hotel to reopen at Katherine Landing at Lake Mohave Marina so I could stay there, as it is a great location. Once the lodge reopened, I reserved a room and prepared to head to the desert.
I got a room with a kitchenette so that I would not have to leave the room once I arrived to avoid contact and still practice social distancing. I packed my Igloo cooler with some food and hit the road.
LAST SPRING, MY SON and I did a trip to Katherine Landing (928-754-3245; katherinelanding.com) and we said we would make it an annual trip. Unfortunately this year with the pandemic, my son’s school is now online and he is doing more work than ever. So he was not able to join me and make the trip.
Upon arrival, I noticed that all the staff members were wearing masks and
Lake Mohave, an impoundment of the Colorado River downstream of Hoover Dam, was a great place for author Todd Kline to socially distance on a solo bass fishing trip recently. The fish were biting. (TODD KLINE)
Katherine Landing is a popular boat launch for accessing the reservoir. (TODD KLINE)
You never know what you might be sharing the area with – even some burros. (TODD KLINE)
The Lake Mojave Lodge at Katherine Landing, located just across the California border in Bullhead City, Arizona, is a great base for exploring what the area has to offer. (TODD KLINE)
The water clarity makes for a fascinating bass fishery to explore. (TODD KLINE)
I was assured that they were making sure that the facility was very clean, which made me feel comfortable and that I could relax in my room.
This resort rocks; the ramp was literally about 400 yards from my room. Once checked in, I launched and stayed local for the afternoon, as it was very windy. The moon was full and I expected to still see some fish on beds. But it wasn’t the case.
The fish had spawned already, but the fishing was great. The water temperature was about 68 and the lake was as clear as ever. I decided to target postspawn smallmouth, and on the first day I caught all smallies and no largemouth. I targeted them with Coolbaits, drop-shot Roboworms, and an Ima Flit jerkbait in bluegill color. I was looking for bass in areas where they would have spawned and main lake points. They were there.
ON DAY TWO I woke up early and hit the water. The wind was blowing once again and I decided to target largemouth. I would fish for them near the coves.
In the morning I caught some nice largemouth, again using the Ima Flit jerkbait in bluegill, and I landed a few more on the Ima Finesse Popper in baby bass in the back of the coves that were protected from the wind and would allow the popper to work right.
By midmorning the wind died down and the lake went glassy. I relocated and found a flat with grass in about 8 to 12 feet. I threw the baby bass popper over the grass and got on one of the best topwater bites I have had for smallmouth.
In a few hours, I caught about 15 solid fish. It was sick! With many of the bites I could see the smallie get under the bait and then smash it. It was epic.
The lodge’s moonlight view wasn’t too bad either when Kline rested after a long day of fishing. (TODD KLINE)
Kline used a swimbait to entice this nice smallie. (TODD KLINE)
The frog setup the author fished with slayed plenty of bass. (TODD KLINE)
“I needed a fishing getaway like this in a big way during these crazy times,” Kline writes. (TODD KLINE)
Both largemouth and smallmouth were hitting the swimbaits and frogs Kline was chucking from his boat. (TODD KLINE)
I started to work my way back in the afternoon towards the ramp and fished outside points. I was able to sight fish cruising smallies while throwing a 4-inch Desert Craw Roboworm on a drop-shot rig to catch them. This was also super cool to watch them eat.
ON MY FINAL DAY, I decided to try some frog fishing and see if I could catch some nice largies. I ran areas that had structure in the water, whether it was wood or tules. My first fish of the morning was a decent largemouth that came on a shaded bank. The second bass was a major surprise. I caught a solid smallmouth next to a tree on the frog. At the time, that was the only smallie I had ever caught on a frog and I was so stoked.
That day I caught two more smallmouth on a frog. One of them was when I started to burn the frog back to the boat and I saw the fish come flying out at the bait. I stopped reeling and popped it once. Boom! It was killer.
As the temperatures really heated up, I ran areas that had shade pockets and kept throwing that frog. It was a slow grind, but I caught about 15 largemouth throughout the day.
The frog bite is the holy grail for us anglers and I was stoked to catch bass on the lure. There were a couple of times a bass would show itself but not eat the frog. I would quickly grab my rod rigged with a Yamamoto Senko and toss it to the same area. This put a few more fish in the boat.
AS THE SUN SET, I headed back to the ramp. I stayed the night and then hit the road in the morning after a good night’s sleep. I appreciated the staff at Katherine Landing for making my stay relaxing, safe and a great trip. I needed a fishing getaway like this in a big way during these crazy times. CS
Editor’s note: Todd Kline is a San Clemente-based fishing guide who can be reached at toddklinefishing.com and (714) 333-8576.
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