MORE TO OPENER THAN JUST TROUT.Byline: BILL BECHER MAMMOTH LAKES - It's not just about the fish. That's what I learned at my first Sierra season opener Saturday. Craig Schoulda came all the way from Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas, 18th-largest city in the United States[1], and voted one of "America’s Most Livable Communities. , to be with his best buddy for the first day of fishing season in the Eastern Sierra, a popular destination for Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, anglers. He's with his friend of 48 years, Wayne Bradshaw of Redondo Beach Redondo Beach (rĭdŏn`dō), city (1990 pop. 60,167), Los Angeles co., S Calif., on the Pacific Ocean; inc. 1892. Once a commercial port for Los Angeles, it is a residential and resort city with a protected harbor and an excellent marina. , who says he hasn't missed an opener in 10 years. As someone who's fortunate to be able to fish at least 60 days a year, I've always avoided fishing the first few weeks of the season - like someone who goes out all year and stays home on New Year's Eve. But Saturday I fished at Hot Creek Hot Creek could refer to one of a number of streams or rivers, including: United States
``I caught the biggest trout I ever caught on opening day, a 17-inch rainbow,'' says Denny Doyle Robert Dennis Doyle (born January 17, 1943 in Glasgow, Kentucky) is a former Major League Baseball second baseman who played for the Philadelphia Phillies (1970-1973), California Angels (1974-1975) and Boston Red Sox (1975-1977). He batted left-handed and threw right-handed. of Alpine, here with his brother Jim James Gilles (b. 1962), better known as Jim Gilles or more commonly Brother Jim, is an American evangelist whose ministry is concentrated on college campuses, particularly in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, and surrounding areas. from Mojave. ``It surprised me.'' I'm surprised at how easy it is to catch fish that haven't seen a fly or an angler in six months. Hot Creek is a zero-limit, catch-and-release, artificial-flies-only spot, which means no worms and you can't fry what you catch. But it's a beautiful spot, with a backdrop of snow-dusted mountains, the Sierra range to the west, and the aptly named White Mountains to the east. Farther downstream, natural hot springs heat the water to near boiling and attract bathers and form a fish barrier that keeps the fish concentrated in a few miles of the stream. But I'm not here to soak; I'm after the colorful rainbow and brown trout brown trout 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. that live here above the springs. My first fish of the season is a small rainbow that is fooled by a fly I've tied out of thread and the feathers from the hindquarters of a duck. I land the fish and admire the crimson lateral line that gives the 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. its name. I manage to fool more fish with flies that imitate the bugs found at Hot Creek this time of year: tiny mayflies and midges midges see ceratopogonidae and culicoides. . I know there are larger fish in Hot Creek, but it seems that the smaller fish smack my flies like hungry teen-agers after a pepperoni pizza. I land a bigger rainbow, about 15 inches long and fairly fat despite the lack of food in winter, and take its picture before putting it back in the creek. ``It's cold but it's a beautiful place. I love it here,'' says Mike Bereny of Westlake Village, who's fishing with friend Sung Lee of Agoura Hills. Both are having a good day. Lee says he's landed 10 fish in an hour and a half. As the sun warms the water, aquatic insects emerge from the creek bottom, and the trout start feeding on the surface with gentle ``ploops,'' as my wife calls them. I switch to a dry fly that floats and am rewarded with a sudden take. But I'm rusty from not trout fishing much this winter, and I miss the fish. I get the timing down and soon a rainbow leaps out of the water with my fly in its mouth. It's another beautiful fish, with copper-colored gill plates, dark spots and the crimson stripe. I'm a convert. While it's a happening, a family reunion and a celebration of fishing, opening day of trout season also is a terrific day to catch fish. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) A fisherman toting his early-morning catch walks over rocks at the Convict Lake on the opening day of trout season in the Eastern Sierra. John McCoy/Staff Photographer |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion