SIERRAS REPORT

12-12 brown taken by veteran big fish hunter Rago PAT McDONELL/WON Staff WriterPublished: Jun 24, 2009

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Grant Lake gives up Sierra’s biggest fish to date with a trolled No. 18 Rapala doing the deed JUNE LAKE –— Two big fish came out of the Sierra last week — a 12-pound, 12-ounce brown trout at June Loop’s Grant Lake caught by Big Pine resident Jerry Rago on a trolled No. 18 Rapala. The other big fish for the week was down the line in the Bishop area as a 10-pound class rainbow was caught and released in the south fork of Bishop Creek by Arthur Lai of La Verne. There was little other information at press time on the fish, but the biggest news was that the Sierra waters and its businesses — and anglers — finally enjoyed traditional summer weather of clear skies. The month-long stint of mid-day and afternoon thundershowers finally abated by Father’s Day weekend. “We’re seeing a lot of nice stringers, some big fish, better weather finally and it’s all coming together for us up here,” said Ron Scira of Creekside Resort on Bishop Creek. “It’s Father’s Day up here, fathers and daughters and sons are up here, and what we’re doing here with Alpers plants and from Adopt-A-Creek and DFG plants that are now coming weekly, it’s working.” Some nice fish came out of the Bishop area. A 4-0 tagged Alpers trout for the derby that runs to the end of the month was caught by Lucas Wonnacott of Temecula, who also caught a 4-0 in the same spot on the creek. A 5-0 was weighed in by Tim Carnahan of Sky Valley on the Owens River on a white Stinger, and Bishop Creek turned up a 3-0 for Lancaster’s Charlie Green on orange garlic Power Bait. In other areas of the Sierra: BRIDGEPORT: Little change was reported at Bridgeport Reservoir as the water continued to rise and the crowds came and enjoyed the better weather without the thundershowers, said Jeff Wenger at the marina. Salmon eggs, ’crawlers at the inlet and near the marina are working well, and flyfishers are working the mosquito and midge patterns. Trollers are using the Needlefish, he said, because weeds are starting to show and it’s cleaner than using the Rapalas. At Upper Twin, stillfishing has been excellent all around the lake. The usual bait are working, said marina sources, and trollers have been doing well on the red and gold Thomas Buoyants, Roostertails and Needlefish. Jim Reid at Ken’s Sporting Goods in Bridgeport told WON the East Walker River continues to be epic, and Robinson Creek is doing well on the planted fish on the usual baits. Tioga Pass is open, of course, and access to the Tioga Lakes is excellent. Check ahead on the Saddlebag Lake road. It was due to be opened, but there was no word as of last weekend. At Virginia Lakes, Carolyn Webb at the resort reported the biggest fish were caught by 8-year-old Alyssa Aguilar of Ontario with a 4-pound, 3-ounce Alpers on gold chunky cheese and Ron Marquardt of Riverside who caught a 3-4 ’bow on a Thomas Buoyant. Top lures she said have red/gold Buoyant and Panther Martins, black with yellow dots. Flies tossed by tubers and boaters were mainly red-throated olive matukas, olive/black Woolly Buggers, small mosquitoes (18), Griffith’s gnat (16), Adams female (18), gray hackle peacock, scuds, EC emergers and various small nymphs in the light gray/tan range. CROWLEY/CONVICT/ROCK CREEK LAKES: Rock Creek’s Danny Vest at the resort said limits were the rule at the lake for shore anglers, boaters and tubers with several nice fish brought in, including a few 4 to 5 pounders, which are Alpers fish planted by the county. The west shore, inlet and Windy Point areas are the top spots lately, he said. The word from Convict Lake was that 340 pounds of Alpers were brought to the lake the beginning of last week, and that spurred the big-fish bite with trolled streamers at the inlet getting limit-style results, while inflated ’crawlers and the usual lures worked well. Top recorded fish at the lake store was a 4-8 rainbow by Roy Gioya of Lomita who used ’crawlers at the back of the lake for that fish and others. The resort’s first tagged fish derby ended last week, and the top fish out of 60 winners was a 5-4 rainbow by Harley Wallace. However, the contest wasn’t about big fish, the tags all were coded to numbers for various prizes. The steady bite should continue as plants by Alpers or the DFG should come weekly. At Crowley Lake, a 3-9 cutt by Len Taylor of Taylor Tackle in Glendale, a 4-1 bow by Ed Lisbok of Whittier on an inflated ’crawler and a 3-11 rainbow trout at McGee Bay by Larry Pointer of Santa Ana on a ‘crawler were the top fish weighed at the Fish Camp. The Sacramento perch were solid hitters at Crooked Creek and Leighton Springs, with 30- to 50-fish days recorded on the minijigs. MAMMOTH LAKES — The season is in full swing with lakes George and Mary turning up the best stringers, reported Rick’s Sporting Goods in Mammoth Lakes. The Alpers fish were slamming the Power Worms, the inflated ’crawlers and Thomas Bouyants on the troll or cast from float tubes. The Red’s Meadow area with the San Joaquin River and Sotcher and Starkweather getting some attention, and it is expected the two lakes will be getting planted soon either by the county or by the DFG. The top flies on the river have been Prince’s Nymphs and mosquito-pattern flies. It is that time of year, so bring quality repellant. JUNE LOOP LAKES — The biggest news is, of course, the 12-pound, 12-ounce brown trout caught on a customized No. 8 Rapala by Jerry Rago, who has built a reputation for hunting down the big browns. The even more exciting news concerning Grant Lake is that it’s still rising, perhaps as much as 20 feet since opening day. June Lake, Gull and Silver have been solid due to county plants and DFG’s regular deliveries. Andrew Jones at Silver Lake Resort told WON the bigger fish showed up with the Alpers fish plants. Nothing huge, he said, but 2 to 3 pounders mixed in on the stringers. Evan Sandison of Laguna Niguel used a Kastmaster to catch a 3-13, while a 4-13 rainbow was caught on a ’crawler by Scott Anderson. And a 3-6 rainbow was weighed in by Dave Helpusrt of Northridge who used Power Bait. June Lake’s waters turned up some nice fish, with the action centered on the reed area for stillfishermen, and trollers with lead core continuing to score on the better fish. For example, a trolled Needlefish enticed a 51⁄2-pound rainbow offered by Ed Guthrie of Lake Forest who weighed it in at Big Rock Resort.