HOT TO TROUT CROWLEY OPENER EXPECTED TO BE STRONG.Byline: Bill Becher Special to the Daily News An hour before sunrise on Saturday an angler will make the first cast of the trout-fishing season at Crowley Lake Crowley Lake is a reservoir on the upper Owens River in southern Mono County, California in the United States. It was created in 1941 by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (DWP) as storage for the Los Angeles Aqueduct and for flood control. . Chances are good the angler will be attached to a big fish before the day is over. Created in 1941 when the Owens River Owens River A river, about 193 km (120 mi) long, of eastern California rising in the Sierra Nevada and flowing generally southward, formerly to Owens Lake, was dammed by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) is the largest municipal utility in the United States, serving 3.9 million residents in 2006. It was founded in 1902 to deliver water and electricity supplies to residents and businesses in Los Angeles. , Crowley has become, for now, California's best trout-fishing lake. The state's chronic budget problems might change that in the future. Located 25 miles north of Bishop at an elevation of 6,781 feet, Crowley Lake is 12 miles long and five miles across at its widest point. Driving by on Highway 395, Crowley looks like a big puddle in the middle of a pasture. But once you're on the lake in a boat or float tube, the scenery grows on you. To the west, the granite walls of the Sierra loom, still snow capped in spring. To the north, the spiky towers of Devil's Postpile and the ski runs at Mammoth Mountain Mammoth Mountain is a large lava dome complex[1] that lies to the west of the town of Mammoth Lakes, California in the Inyo National Forest. Mammoth Mountain is home to the Mammoth Mountain Ski Area which is notable in that it gets an unusually large amount of are visible. Cattle graze peacefully on the hills surrounding the lake - at least until the last Saturday in April. Then as many as 8,000 anglers invade Crowley with rods, boats and float tubes. They catch an estimated 50,000 fish on the first weekend of the season if the weather cooperates. This year, it looks as if it will. ``We are anticipating another good opener,'' said Curtis Milliron, a fisheries biologist for the Department of Fish and Game (DFG DFG Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Council) DFG Department of Fish and Game DFG District Factor Group DFG Data Flow Graph DFG Difference Frequency Generation DFG Diode Function Generator DFG Dog Faced Gremlin ) in Bishop. Crowley Lake has been ice-free for some time, so the trout have had time to feed and get fatter. There are a lot of trout getting plump in Verb 1. plump in - arrive suddenly and unannounced; "He plumped in on a Sunday morning" arrive, come, get - reach a destination; arrive by movement or progress; "She arrived home at 7 o'clock"; "She didn't get to Chicago until after midnight" Crowley. Last year, the lake was planted with more than 180,000 Eagle Lake trout lake trout or Mackinaw trout or Great Lakes trout or salmon trout Large, voracious char (Salvelinus namaycush) found widely from northern Canada and Alaska to New England and the Great Lakes, usually in deep, cool lakes. , 150,400 Coleman strain advanced subcatchables, 94,000 catchable Colemans strain rainbows, 10,000 Hot Creek Hot Creek could refer to one of a number of streams or rivers, including: United States
Prized and wary European game fish (Salmo trutta, family Salmonidae) that is favoured for food. The species includes several varieties (e.g., the Loch Leven trout of Britain). The brown trout is recognized by the light-ringed black spots on its brown body. fingerlings. The young fish are protected by special regulations at Crowley that limit anglers' take after Aug. 1 to two fish over 18 inches. This means the fish can grow to keeper sizes by opening weekend. Each type of trout makes its own contribution to Crowley's fishery. The Kamloops rainbows are the gymnasts, jumping and running when hooked in an aerial display that would even impress a French judge. Kamloops lurk in shallow water See:
Coleman strain rainbows have been stocked at Crowley for decades and are the fodder for trollers. More pelagic pelagic living in the middle or near the surface of large bodies of water such as lakes or oceans. than the Kamloops, they prefer open water. The Colemans don't return very well the second year after being stocked. Only about four percent of holdover hold·o·ver n. One that is held over from an earlier time: a political advisor who was a holdover from the Reagan era; a family tradition that is a holdover from my grandparents' childhood. Noun 1. fish caught at Crowley are Colemans. That shouldn't matter this season. The extra 94,000 Coleman rainbow trout rainbow trout Species (Oncorhynchus mykiss) of fish in the salmon family (Salmonidae) noted for spectacular leaps and hard fighting when hooked. It has been introduced from western North America to many other countries. planted last year were nearly three times as large as the usual 10-to-the-pound fish stocked in Crowley. ``I think these Colemans are going to be much appreciated by anglers fishing Crowley on Opening Day,'' said Milliron. ``They went in large and they've had plenty of time to feed.'' The real stars of the trophy trout fishery at Crowley are the Eagle Lake rainbows. Eagle Lake trout are the opposites of the Colemans. More than half carry over into the second year after stocking. The sophomore fish average 1.5 to 2.5 pounds and can reach 5 pounds. More sluggers than dancers, Eagle Lake rainbows don't get airborne as often as the Kamloops. Heavily-spotted with big shoulders and small heads, big Eagle Lake trout are the classic football shape. The Eagle Lake rainbows are one of two species of fish in Crowley native to the Eastern Sierra. The other is Lahontan cutthroat trout Lahontan cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki henshawi) is the largest cutthroat trout subspecies, and the state fish of Nevada. It is native to the drainages of the Truckee River, Humboldt River, Carson River, Walker River, Quinn River and several smaller rivers in the , Oncorhynchus clarki henshawi. Before loss of habitat decimated Lahontan populations, they were common in lakes in eastern California Eastern California is not a well-defined term. It generally refers to the strip of California, United States to the east of the crest of the Sierra Nevada, or to the easternmost counties of California:
Lahontans were originally stocked at Crowley Lake as fingerlings, but they didn't survive well, so the DFG started planting larger fish. Cutthroat eggs were gathered at Heenan Lake, a brood stock lake for the fish, and reared at Hot Creek Hatchery hatchery a commercial establishment dedicated to the hatching of bird eggs to provide day old chicks and poults to the poultry industry. hatchery liquid the contents of unfertilized eggs. Used in petfood manufacture. until they were subcatchables - bigger than fingerlings but smaller than the 10- to 12-inch ``catchables'' meant to be hooked immediately after stocking. Between 15,000 and 32,000 Lahontan cutthroats have been planted in Crowley in recent years, and some are now exceeding 18 inches in length. Brown trout also have been stocked intermittently at Crowley, and many reproduce naturally. Although the browns are harder to catch, the lake record trout is a 26-pound brown. It might be better to put the browns and cutthroats back if you catch them in Crowley this year. ``We are not planning on stocking brown trout in the Eastern Sierra this year because of the budget cuts,'' Milliron said. ``This may be the last year for a while for us to stock cutthroat trout, too. Although the cutthroat have been a nice addition to Crowley's the cutthroat we have on hand now will be the last cutthroat that will be stocked in the Eastern Sierra until budget conditions improve.'' IF YOU GO When: Last Saturday in April though Nov. 15. Where: Crowley Lake is between Bishop and Mammoth Lakes east of Highway 395. Headquarters: Crowley Lake Fish Camp at the South Landing offers RV camping, boat rentals, bait and tackle. (760) 935-4301. There is lots of lodging and many campgrounds in the Mammoth Lakes area. Convict Lake, just north, is a beautiful campground. Access: Boats are put in at Crowley Lake Fish Camp. Float tubes or pontoon pontoon, one of a number of floats used chiefly to support a bridge, to raise a sunken ship, or to float a hydroplane or a floating dock. Pontoons have been built of wood, of hides stretched over wicker frames, of copper or tin sheet metal sheathed over wooden boats can be launched anywhere. Most of the gravel and dirt roads around Crowley that branch from Benton Crossing Road can accommodate passenger cars, but some are four-wheel only. Regulations: Crowley Lake from the last Saturday in April through July 31 is general regulations (five-fish limit). From Aug. 1 through Nov. 15, minimum size is 18 inches with a two-trout limit, and only artificial flies and lures with barbless hooks may be used. The Upper Owens River from Benton Crossing to the Crowley Lake Monument is closed to all fishing until the Saturday before Memorial Day. Except for the Owens River, tributaries to Crowley Lake - Hilton, Whiskey, Crooked and McGee creeks - have season- long special regulations that require barbless artificial lures and flies only (no bait) with a limit of two fish over 18 inches. CAPTION(S): 3 photos, box Photo: (1) Crowley Lake will be ice-free for this season's opener, and that should mean bigger catches on opening day, which is Saturday. (2) Anglers have several options, including fishing from the shore, on a boat or with a float tube (above). (3) Pontoon boats keep Crowley Lake anglers high and dry. Bill Becher/Special to the Daily News Box: IF YOU GO (see text) |
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