TROUT CACHE IN WATERS OF TIOGA PASS; FANTAIL LAKE WORTH THE TRIP.

Byline: Jim Matthews Special to the Daily News

From the time the first snowplow clears the road over Tioga Pass into Yosemite National Park each summer, straight through to the Oct. 31 close of trout season, anglers hammer Saddlebag, Tioga and Ellery lakes and Lee Vining Creek on a daily basis.

And for good reason. Each of the waters has strong populations of wild brown, rainbow and brook trout, and bi-weekly plants of catchable trout are made by the Department of Fish and Game to ensure the fishery remains healthy.

However, if you come to the Eastern Sierra for solace and a pristine mountain experience, that isn't what you'll likely find at these intensely popular roadside jumping-off spots.

The good news is that solitude is just a short walk away, at Fantail Lake - a backcountry brook-trout nirvana that is accessible to anyone willing to carry their gear on their backs for 1-1/2 miles.

Retired Department of Fish and Game biologist Phil Pister used to say that the limit on brook trout at Fantail Lake and the surrounding area should be ``all you could carry'' because of their propensity to overpopulation in these high-elevation lakes.

At his prodding, under a special bonus limit, 10 brook trout measuring less than eight inches could be kept in addition to the regular five-fish limit. That means anglers can keep 15 brookies per day, and 15 would just about make a decent meal for a hungry fisherman who's made the walk into the Mine Creek drainage that is home to Fantail Lake.

(As of March 1, the size maximum was raised to 10 inches; the brook trout special bonus limit applies to the entire Sierra Fishing District.)

The trailhead to Mine Creek, the former mining site of Bennettville and Fantail Lake, is found at Tioga Junction Campground off Highway 120, about three miles north of Tioga Pass and the eastern boundary of Yosemite National Park.

Five minutes up the trail to Bennettville, visitors will be in quiet forest and away from the bustle of the roads and campground. Once the restored site of Bennettville at about the three-quarter-mile mark, it's just a short way to Mine Creek and the first in a string of small lakes in this small, understated valley. The trail follows the creek and the shorelines of each lake. A few hikers might be spotted on weekends. But if you fish on a weekday, you are likely to have the whole area to yourself.

Shell Lake is the first in the series, and there is some deeper water along the southwest shoreline. Most of the lake is shallow and the brook trout cruise these shallows feeding on just about anything that falls in the water. A small ant pattern fished on fly tackle or on spinning tackle behind a bobber will catch dozens and dozens of the small, colorful fish. A tiny spinner, like a Panther Martin or Roostertail, is also very effective.

At 9,842 feet, Shell Lake is typical of most high elevation Sierra waters. It is packed with very small brookies. Because the growing season is short and trout have few natural predators, the brookies have a tendency to overpopulate the lake and rarely get more than six inches long. They do provide great action on light tackle, and Shell is just the first of three waters in Mine Creek valley.

The next lake up the trail is unnamed and about a third the size of Shell. It, too, is packed with fish, but far fewer because it is more shallow and might see a die-off over some winters.

But above the unnamed gem is a stretch of stream with big pools packed with trout. Try fishing your way up the valley and into the outlet of Fantail Lake, the biggest of the lakes in the vicinity. This lake is just inside the Harvey Monroe Hall Research Natural Area in the extreme northern end of the Inyo National Forest.

Most of Fantail is shallow and fish are spread throughout the lake - most abundantly at the inlet and outlet and along the deeper water on the south shoreline.

From Fantail, Mine Creek heads west up a steep slope to Mine Creek headwaters in Spuller Lake. You can fish all the way up to Spuller or hike over the saddle due north of Fantail and hike down the ridge dividing the Mine Creek and Lee Vining Creek drainages, and then fish Lee Vining Creek back to where you parked. That whole loop measures just more than three miles round-trip. The hike up to Spuller adds nearly two miles to the hike.

Standing on the upper end of Fantail Lake and looking to the southeast, one can see the Dana Plateau and 13,053-foot Mount Dana.

From this vantage point, you will find it difficult to believe there are strings of cars bustling up and down a road just a couple of miles away and crowds of fishermen struggling to catch a few trout on roadside lakes. All the while you catch brook trout after brook trout.

IF YOU'RE GOING ...

Fantail Lake is west of Lee Vining, north of Highway 120 and just east of Yosemite National Park in the Eastern Sierra. It's about six or seven hours by car from Los Angeles.

Take Highway 14 and Highway 396 and, just south of Lee Vining, turn left on Highway 120 to Tioga Pass.

At Tioga Junction Campground, situated at the junction of Highway 120 and the Saddlebag Lake road, is a small parking area near a historical marker about Bennettville, a mining boondoggle. Park here and load up your day pack and fishing gear. Walk across the bridge spanning Lee Vining Creek into the campground and take the hiking trail to Bennettville. Watch out for cars.

Snow update: Officials in Lee Vining note that Highway 120 and the trail to Fantail Lake are free of snow but that the lake is ``about 97 1/2 percent iced over.'' But things change quickly in the Sierra Nevada, and it could break open anytime.

Maps: Tioga Pass 7.5-minute series topographic map or Tom Harrison Cartography's ``Trail Map of the Yosemite High Country.''

Day-trippers only: Fantail Lake is located within the Harvey Monroe Hall Research Natural Area; camping and fires are prohibited.

Information: Mono Basin Scenic Area Visitors Center, [phone].

- Jim Matthews

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos, Map, Box

PHOTO (1--Color) Situated one drainage west of Lee Vining Creek, Fantail Lake (pictured here in September perched under Mount Dana) is a 1-1/2-mile hike from Tioga Junction Campground.

(2--Color) Brook trout provide nonstop action for fly-anglers who hike to Mine Creek above Fantail Lake.

Jim Matthews/Special to the Daily News

MAP: (Color) TIOGA JUNCTION

Dionisio Munoz/Daily News

BOX: IF YOU`RE GOING . . . (see text)