FISHING FOR ... GREENER PASTURES : TINY SAN BERNARDINO MOUNTAINS LAKE CONTAINS FAT ALPERS TROUT, THE ENVY OF SWEETWATER ANGLERS.

Byline: Brett Pauly

The faded snapshots of hefty trout taped to the smudgy windows of the marina and market here read like trophies yanked from Crowley, Convict, June and other famous lakes of the Eastern Sierra:

It said 7.01 pounds, night crawler, 10-12-95; 8 lb., Thomas Buoyant lure, June 13, 1996; 8.25 pounds, green Power Bait, 6-27-96; 9.17 pounds, crappie jig, 8-16-95.

But few anglers have heard of this secluded, blink-and-you'll-miss-it fishin' hole tucked away in a tall, quaint corner of the San Bernardino Mountains. They should.

Like its aquatic brethren to the north, Green Valley Lake is stocked regularly with Alpers trout and is the only body of water south of Lone Pine to have the world-renowned, hand-reared wild rainbows swimming in its confines.

Lake manager Robert Taylor phoned Tim Alpers at his ranch outside Mammoth Lakes for 36 straight days last year trying to convince the trout-husbandry master to plant his beautiful leviathans at the 10-surface-acre reservoir situated between Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear Lake.

``When I want something, I don't stop till I get it done,'' Taylor said. ``He was about to tell me where to go.''

Instead, Alpers looked favorably on Taylor's diligence.

``Robert kept calling, and, being an ex-basketball coach, he reminded me of someone who was down at the end of the bench saying, `Give me a chance, give me a chance,' '' Alpers said. ``He hung in there.''

``The timing was also good,'' said Alpers, who stocks nearly all the rest of his trophy trout in Mono and Inyo counties. ``The funding for some of my larger customers up here was in doubt.''

Alpers, who has raised trout on his ranch for 24 years and stocked them commercially for the last dozen, drove down a truckload for a one-time trial in October. The marriage worked; he is finishing up the first season of a three-year contract with GVL Recreation, the concessionaire of the private lake that is managed by the community's homeowners and open to the public.

``It's a deep lake (averaging 25 feet, with a low point of 52) for a small lake. There are cooler temperatures available to the fish in summer months,'' Alpers said. ``And it is well oxygenated.''

The latest planting took place Tuesday night, and anglers will be salivating to learn there is a greater prospect of landing huge trout here than at those household-name lakes on Highway 395 to the north. The crowds are smaller and the drive is much shorter, too. It's about 120 miles and a little more than two hours to Green Valley Lake from the San Fernando Valley, versus nearly six to Crowley.

``It's quiet, and there's good fishing,'' said Erick Camarena of Pomona, who was fishing the lake from a rented rowboat on Friday and earlier this year boated a 3-pound rainbow on glitter green Power Bait. ``Definitely worth the trip up the hill.''

``We used to go to Big Bear Lake,'' said his Pomona angling buddy Jose Moreno. ``But it got too crowded, especially by the dam, where the big fish are.''

A fishing fee dissuades some anglers, especially during midweek, Camarena said. But it's a different story come the weekend.

Taylor can collect the $7 toll from nearly 300 anglers on a good day, and fishing gets shoulder to shoulder in some areas.

But because of its size - some have dubbed it simply ``the pond'' - the chance for angler success is enhanced, Alpers said.

``In some of the bigger lakes up here, the fish tend to disperse more,'' he explained by comparison. ``They catch them but not as rapidly as at Green Valley Lake. The fish are raised pretty wild, so the more space you give them, the longer they will hold out.''

The method of retrieving these bad boys - some exceed 10 pounds - cover all the bases, but Taylor, the lake's fastidious keeper, estimates that 90 percent of the anglers use processed floating baits. Mini tube jigs - namely Trout Teasers and Strike Master - have a terrific rate of success on the broader specimens. Also popular are worms, fly-and-bobber setups and small lures (1/8- and 1/12-ounce gold and red Super Dupers, silver or gold Kastmasters and Spin-A-Lures and black, green or white Rooster Tails). Even fly-anglers grace the shores occasionally.

Watch for boils so massive you'll swear somebody is tossing boulders. Loosen that drag on a 2-pound line, cast your tackle and gear up for a dynamite fight.

My fishing partners on Friday used an irresistible concoction of florescent orange Power Bait wrapped in Velveeta cheese that just slayed the state-stocked rainbows. We kept 10 to 18 inches between the three of us, and that night I baked my pair in a lemon-butter dill sauce . . . um-mmmmm, delish on fish.

Local resident Ralph Lichty has been trolling the lake for 42 years. You'll see him most mid-mornings in his rowboat employing gold Super Duper lures to catch the dinner that he'll barbecue that night. Leftovers are eaten cold for lunch the next day.

``It's become routine,'' said Lichty, 78, a three-time great-grandfather. ``I get my paper and take a turn or two around the lake. If they're biting, great; if not, I get my exercise.''

Most of the time they're biting. He brought two home Friday. His weightiest to date is 3 pounds, but an oversized salmon net is kept on board just in case one of those double-digit Alpers make off with his line.

Dammed purely for recreational purposes in 1926, the Alpine lake - 7,200 feet elevation - is fed by snow runoff and remains stagnant most of the year. An elaborate pumping system provides ample oxygen for trout, bluegill, catfish and vegetation.

Along with regular plantings of Alpers trout, (prior to last fall, the lake's behemoth rainbows came from Whitewater Trout Hatchery near Palm Springs), the Department of Fish and Game provides standard stockers in a matching program. From March through October this year, 9,500 pounds of Alpers and a like amount of state trout will be dumped into the blue-green lake, Taylor said.

Fishing is permitted until the lake freezes (usually between mid-November and early December, though last year anglers were lining its snow-covered banks until mid-January) and after it thaws (early to mid-March).

``It's the best kept secret in the San Bernardino Mountains,'' said Taylor, known to area youngsters as Uncle Robert. ``It's just a quiet little family fishing hole.''

That happens to have some of the most colossal trout in Southern California.

IF YOU'RE GOING

To get to Green Valley Lake, travel east on the Ventura Freeway (101/134) to the Foothill Freeway (210) east to the San Bernardino Freeway (10) east. Drive north on the 215 freeway, east on Highway 30 and north on Highway 330. At Running Springs, head east on Highway 18. A short distance past Arrowbear, turn left onto Green Valley Lake Road.

The lake is private but open to the public daily from sunup to sunset. The fishing fee is $7 for adults and $4 for ages 16 and younger. A California fishing license is required for all anglers 16 and older and state regulations apply. Float-tubing is not permitted.

The only fishing vessels allowed are rowboats that rent for $5 per hour, $15 for half-day (four hours) and $25 all day. Call the marina at [phone] for more information.

Tackle box: The chances of limiting out (five trout) are greatest on processed floating bait, preferred far and away by the lake's anglers. Use a sliding sinker above a barrel swivel on 2- to 6-pound-test line, followed by 2-pound leader and a small (sizes 14 to 20) treble hook.

But the biggest fish are caught on mini tube jigs. Use a light or ultralight 7-foot trout rod with a matching-action spinning reel and 2-pound line. Attach a light jig - 1/32 ounce to 1/80 ounce - directly to the line. Cast the jig (don't worry about distance; this won't toss more than 15 feet, and that's all you'll need) and crank the handle as slowly as possible while twitching (bouncing) the jig on the retrieve to make it resemble an injured fish or insect. Hint: If the jig comes at it sideways, make sure the tail sections are distributed evenly on either side of the hook.

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos, Box

PHOTO (1--color) Green Valley Lake has some of themost colossal trout in Southern California and also has the world-renowned Alpers rainbow.

(2--color)The snapshots of prizes caught at Green Valley Lake resemble those from more famous lakes of the Eastern Sierra.

Brett Pauly / Daily News

Box: IF YOU`RE GOING (see text)