Fishing the Eastern Sierras

We've had an interesting 10 days (with more to come). I'll split this into separate messages for different areas. I'll also be filling in the gaps as I reflect on the trip &/or refer to my notes.

We left home with the intent of fishing the Truckee river, which runs approx 115 miles from Pyramid Lake to the California border. Our first stop was Sparks, NV. A big mistake, because the Truckee isn't really fishable in this area. We should have stopped closer to the CA border, but maybe we'll catch it on the way home or on another trip.

Beyond Sparks, access to the river is limited due to private land, although I did maage to find a few spots.

Next stop was Yerington, NV on Hwy 339 and Hwy 208. We stayed at Greenfield RV Park in Yerington, an OK park with full hookups, but they lack the motivation to repair broken power breakers.

This is a big off-road area in the desert, so don't expect a lot of peace and quiet.

Driving south on 339/208 through the Wilson Canyon revealed several areas on the Walker river that are fiishable. There are plenty of opportunities to park alongside the river and, in some cases, to boondock.

Further south, near the small town of Smith, is the Walker River resort. They have a large campground with dirt sites. They also have a 1-mile private stretch of river.

Bridgeport, CA offers some blue ribbon fishing. We stayed at the Bridgeport Reservoir RV Park, conevneint for fishing the reservoir or the river.

Folks were limiting out every day on Bridgeport Reservoir, a shallow body of water, using power bait and worms.

I headed to the East Walker River that flows downstream from the dam. Easy access to the river through several miles of fields. Wading is required in some areas. This river holds some big browns and they're a challenge to catch. Several perennial fishermen told me it takes them 3 or more days to figure out how to fish this river every year.

The area around Mammoth Lakes, CA in the Eastern Sierras, has many good waters for fishing. We opted to camp at Brown's Owens River Campground, on the banks of the Upper Owens River that flows into nearby Crowley Lake. Driving south on CA hwy 395, just past the airport turn left at the green church onto Benton Crossing Road. The campground is on your right approx 7 miles from 395 and just after you cross the bridge at Benton Crossing.

The section of Upper Owens immediately adjacent to the campground (downstream of the Benton Bridge to the Momument) is closed until May 23 in an attempt to protect spawning fish..

Upstream of the bridge has restrictions, including artificial lure with barbless hooks, a maximum of 18 inches, and only 1 fish in possession. A catch-and-release fisherperson's type of water. This section holds some large browns, but they spook easily.

From the Monument downstream to Crowley Lake holds numerous browns and rainbows. No restrictions of bait or fish size, and a daily limit of 5 fish.

Access to the river above Benton Bridge is via a dirt road that runs for several miles, starting immediately after the bridge. From the dirt road, take any of the dirt access roads down to the river. If you stay on the "main" dirt road, you'll eventually encounter a series of metal gates with requests to close them after you.

There are similar dirt access roads to the section below the monument down to Crowley Lake.

Since the river meanders through miles of open meadow, there's no cover. So, careful approaches are necessary to avoid spooking the fish.

Fly patterns for the Upper Owens include caddis in various forms and streamers worked under deep cut banks.

There are numerous nearby streams and lakes, some of which I've fished in the past, including:

• Crowley Lake.
  
• Convict Lake is a small lake just 2 miles from Hwy 395. There's a nice NF campground there with lots of sites, but most are limited in size and are far from level. The wind can whip across this lake and make it tough for float tubers and float boaters.
  
• McGhee Creek, located a couple of miles south of the Benton Crossing turnoff on hwy 395. There's a small campground on the west side of 395 with stream access. The main access is across the highway; Park your car and take a long walk.
  
• Hot creek, accessible via the Hot Creek/Hatchery Road exit from hwy 395 near the Mammoth airport.
  
• San Joaquin River, accessible by taking the hwy 203 exit from hwy 395, go through the town of Mammoth Lakes and follow the signs to the Mammoth ski area and Devil's Post Pile.
  
• June Lake Loop.
  
• Twin Lakes.
  

More details on these fisheries can be found on the Sierra Drifters web site.

Continuing south on hwy 395, there's access to Crowley Lake and Hilton Creek.

Further south is access to the Owens Gorge and Lower Rock Creek.

The Lower Owens flows past the town of Bishop. Talking to a local guide, the flow in the river was too high.

There are several nearby creeks in addition to Pleasant Valley Reservoir.

Today I took a beautiful drive following the Kern River from Lake Isabella in Kernville, CA upstream for approx 30 miles through the canyon and up to Giant Sequoia National Monument. The high flow in the river meant that it was running too fast and too deep to wade and fish. The upper reaches and tributaries would have been fishable. Although I didn't get to fish today, I have a much better understanding of the river and have it earmarked for another visit.

There are numerous private and National Forest campgrounds along the river, in addition to countless places to just pull off the road and fish if flows were lower.

Note that this road is narrow and very twisty. As it goes over the mountain, there's also a steep dropoff. I would not recommend driving a motorhome or towing a large trailer to Giant Sequoia NM on this route.

We're camped at Rivernook RV Park, near the small town of Kernville. A large park with many sites alongside or within easy walk of the Kern. Our main purpose for this stop was to spend some enjoyable time with forum members Tim and Marsha Lassen who recently moved to Kernville.

The Lassen's oldest son is a fly fishing nut with local experience on the Kern, and I gained a lot of knowledge from my all-too-brief conversation with him last evening.

Following an enjoyable lunch with Tim and Marsha, we headed around the lake and down Kern Canyon, following the Lower Kern River, towards Bakersfield. There were some stretches that were fishable but most, like the upper Kern, were running too fast.

Talking with a guide in Kernville, it appears that the river is in its maximum runoff state in May and June. Spring and Fall are the best times for fishing both the Upper and Lower Kern. It's on my list of rivers to fish.

Tom said:

like the upper Kern, were running too fast.

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Tom,
Just mentioning the  Kern River gives me shivers.  I had a near death experience, river rafting on the lower Kern River.  Next time you see me, let me show you the scares on my right hand from grabbing any brush overhead to keep me from drowning downstream. I'll not visit that river ever again!

We did however enjoy the Giant Sequioa National Park when we went cross country skiing  there many moons ago.

Betty

Loving life

A big OUCH! Betty. If you remember, I declined to join the rafters at Moab; I have a lot of respect for the power of water, and have seen and heard too many stories about things going wrong on rafting trips. The Kern and several other rivers I can think of are considered tough in rafting circles.

Chris and I are long time boaters who have experienced far worse ocean conditions than you'll find in most rivers, but you won't find me on a raft.

Speaking of fishing, do you have to get a fishing license in every state you visit? I just got a lifetime fishing license in Colorado (one of the benefits of being blind....guess they figure the fish are safe from me) and wondered if it would be ok to use it in other states. Not that I have the slightest idea how to fish 

Wendy
Cortez CO

Wendy,

Most states require that you buy their license because it funds their DFG programs, but I don't know if that applies to all states.

Usually, there's one license fee for state residents, and one or more different fees for non-residents. Sometimes the non-resident licenses are for 1-3 days or a week. I recently purchased an annual non-resident license for Nevada.

Reading through prior topics, I came across this photo posted by Tim Lassen. It's the cover of a magazine featuring Chris, the Lassen's oldest son, fishing the Kern.

Betty Brewer said:

Tom,
Just mentioning the  Kern River gives me shivers.  I had a near death experience, river rafting on the lower Kern River. 

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Kern River gives me shivers, also.  When I was about 10 years old, my uncle (my Mom's closest brother) drowned in the Kern River on Memorial Day.  He was a non-drinker, a swimming and diving champion; the last person who ever should have drowned in a river.  It's an absolute treacherous river in the spring.  Not only does the current take you, it pins you under debris and holds you there.  Merle Haggard, a Bakersfield native, wrote and recorded "I'll Never Swim Kern River Again".  Neither will I.

Margi

Margi,

Apologies if my story brought back bad memories for you and Betty. The last few days I've told Chris that I wouldn't put a foot in the river during these high flows. The river is flowing fast and deep, and there are countless large boulders throughout the river.

However, we saw a lot of rafters and float boaters.

Tom said:

Margi,

Apologies if my story brought back bad memories for you and Betty. The last few days I've told Chris that I wouldn't put a foot in the river during these high flows. The river is flowing fast and deep, and there are countless large boulders throughout the river.

However, we saw a lot of rafters and float boaters.

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Certainly no need to apologize, Tom.  If Betty's message and mine keep just one person from entering the Kern River in spring time, especially during snow melt season, it's possible a life or two could be saved.  You mentioned the boulders, Tom.  That brought back a memory of the grown-ups, at that time, saying "probably pinned under a boulder."  They never did find my uncle's body despite rescue/recovery efforts by our little town (Coalinga) both immediately and in the fall when river levels were at their lowest. 

The most improtant message to convey:  it's a mean-dude river.  Don't mess with it during snow melt! 

Margi

Margi

...  it's a mean-dude river.  Don't mess with it during snow melt!

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That was certainly my impression Margi, and the main reason I didn't attempt to fish it this trip. The campground where we stayed, and others we visited along the river, clearly attracted large numbers of families on the weekend. Presumably, during summer months it's also true during the week. I commented to Chris that I sure wouldn't want to stay there with kids as IMO it's way too dangerous.

The Kern River is definitely at its best during the Spring run-off.  The upper Kern is rated as one of the top class 5 rivers in the US and the far upper reaches are rated as Class 7.  Rafting should only be attempted with commercial guides.  Most people havea hard time understanding the power of a river particularly in Southern California.  The death toll of the river and numerous signs as you drive along the river attemp to convey its dangers to the inexperienced.  I no longer remember the exact statistics, but in the 90 percentile range of all accidents are from those who raft or swim on their own with little or know experience.  The commercial rafters in Kernville are highly experienced and depend on the high flows for their livlihood. Very seldom are there any serious accidents by the commercial guides.  We have gone on several trips both low and high flows without incident.

Weekeenders account for most problems as they try tubing with a six pack, particularly as the weather warms up.

Our other attractions are miles of hiking being at the Southern edge of the sequoia NF,  fishing all of the feeder streams, and our own Micro brewery which is owned and operated by the Silver medalist in Kayaking during the last summer olympics.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention an excellent book I purchased on our recent trip: Fly Fishing The Sierra Nevada, by Bill Sunderland. This book is very well written, easy to follow, full of great tips, and well illustrated. I wished I'd bought and read this book prior to our trip.

I previously acquired a copy of Bill Sunderland's book Fly Fishing California Stillwaters, which is equally well written and illustrated. This copy was an unsolicited gift from the author several years ago and has a nice hand-written note on the inside front cover.