Countdown To The Trout Opener: Fishmas Preview In The Eastern Sierra
We’re counting down to Saturday’s statewide trout fishing opener with some trout pieces from our April issue. Today: Weather will be a key factor in determining Fishmas in the Eastern Sierra.
By Mike Stevens
So much of how the Eastern Sierra general trout season plays out is based on the prior winter and the snowpack it delivered, but the Fishmas opener itself isn’t as sensitive to that particular factor, for the most part.
Of course, a couple years ago the preceding winter was such a monster and it lasted so long that there was barely any open water to fish even at the lowest Mono County lakes on opening day. Thankfully, the fishing faithful kept tabs on the situation and most sat that one out. As someone who covers the event every year, however, I wasn’t going to miss it (and likely will never see it like that again), and the craziness I saw included guys ice fishing 200 yards from shore on Crowley Lake and an angler taking it upon himself to swim across the patch of open water by Convict Lake’s outlet to break up the ice with his own body weight. It was surreal.
Other than that, using the last decade or so as a sample, we’ve seen a storm dump
30-plus inches of snow in Mammoth Lakes on Fishmas Eve, snow on opening day itself and high winds, but most opening weekends are clear with some manageable chill that gives way to T-shirt weather by early afternoon. Indeed, Saturday’s forecast is expected to have some snowy conditions.
Opening weekend itself usually isn’t going to be affected by huge snowpack winters – other than the aforementioned extreme – or a dry winter, for that matter. It’s too early for the snow to melt off and blow out creeks and dinge up lakes with frigid water. Anglers don’t feel the effects of weak snowpack until summer, so the opener is pretty dependable in terms of what waters will be open and what the lake conditions will be.
This year had all the indications of a weak winter, but the arrival of a “Miracle March” served as a bailout of sorts. On February 1, snowpack in the Southern Sierra, which for these purposes includes the Eastern Sierra, was only about half of normal for that date. At the time of this writing in mid-March, it was up to 84 percent, with more on the way. According to Colin McCarthy of U.S. Stormwatch, “If California sees a wet March and the (statewide) snowpack reaches 100 percent by spring, this would be the first time in the 21st century that California has had three winters in a row with a snowpack at or above 100 percent of normal.”
When it comes to the Eastern Sierra trout opener (the last Saturday of April – the 26th this year), anglers are looking at four general areas to target.
OWENS VALLEY/BISHOP
Anglers can plan on full access to the Lower Owens River (pay attention to flows, though – they could be too high to fish, if not dangerous) and Pleasant Valley Reservoir – these are year-round waters, anyway – being fully accessible and stocked on opening weekend. Creeks flowing out of the Sierra into the valley and to the Owens are also open year-round for the most part, but check California Department of Fish and Wildlife regulations via either the CDFW website or signs posted near the water in question, as they changed a few years ago. A lot of the creeks are fishable all year now but have zero-limit, barbless-lures-only restrictions, and the regs change back to normal on opening day.
In Bishop Creek Canyon, Intake II should be open and stocked, but anything up the hill from there is a question mark. Access to North Lake should be impossible, and Lake Sabrina and South Lake will likely be difficult to access – due to ice – if they’re fishable at all. The availability of those lakes on opening weekend won’t be locked down until just before the opener.
CROWLEY/CONVICT/MAMMOTH LAKES
Crowley Lake and Convict Lake – save for that one zany year – are very dependable spots in terms of availability for the opener.
“I think the opener will be pretty standard this year, but with the recent snowstorms, the higher- elevation stuff like the Lakes Basin in Mammoth will be inaccessible,” said Doug Rodricks of Sierra Drifters Guide Service (sierradrifters.com). “But lower-elevation lakes like Convict and Crowley should fish pretty good right out of the gate, as they didn’t freeze completely, and the fish had all winter to feed and grow a little.”
Rodricks also said the upper Owens River may see some cutthroat move up into the river from Crowley early this year for the spawn.
The Mammoth Lakes Basin being closed on opening weekend, if not well into spring, is nothing new. Over the last decade-plus of covering the opener in person, it’s been open once. But know this: When it is open, it’s unbeatable. No one is up there and you get the lakes almost all to yourself.
JUNE LAKE LOOP
All the lakes in the June Lake Loop should be fully accessible for the Fishmas opener. A last-minute cold spell might ice up a couple lakes on the back of the Loop, but nothing to put the brakes on fishing.
“I expect it to be good,” said Jeremy Ross of Ernie’s Tackle (760- 648-7756) in June Lake. “June and Grant have been ice-free most of the winter, and Gull and Silver should be fine unless it gets really cold and there’s a bunch more snow. Ice-off could create great fishing, and our stocking program will be putting a load in each lake prior to the opener. With the plants late last year by the state, we should have a lot of fish. While the weather is always the wild card, the usual crowd will be here come hell or high water.”
Per the latest update to the regs, Rush Creek is no longer open for the first few weeks of the season so as to protect brown trout spawning grounds. It reopens the Saturday before Memorial Day, and it is heavily patrolled by local CDFW wardens.
BRIDGEPORT AREA
The “big lakes” around Bridgeport – Upper and Lower Twin Lakes, Bridgeport Reservoir – will be open for opening weekend business, and one of them is always a good bet to kick out the largest trout of the weekend.
“I think the opener is looking great as long as the wind doesn’t show up,” said Austin Byers of Mono Village (monovillage.com) on Upper Twin Lake in Bridgeport. “Last fishing season closed out strong, so hopefully that carries over into the 2025 season. Upper Twin Lake is full and completely ice-free.”
It’s not a lock, but the smart money is always on a big brown to come out of one of those lakes, and it’s almost always caught on the troll.
“Also, the East Walker River may be a really good bet,” said Rodricks. “Flows are low right now, but if they come up just slightly to 200 cfs or so, that will move fish around the river, and the fish will be very eager to bite since they haven’t seen anything all winter.”
While those lakes will be open, some of the Bridgeport-adjacent waters that are popular summer spots will still be frozen at some level. These primarily consist of Virginia Lakes and Lundy Lake, which might be reachable by road, but fishing opportunities will be very limited.
Ice fishing is popular at Virginia Lake, but it’s very important to get clued in on the conditions before trudging onto the ice. I recommend contacting Beaver’s Tackle (760- 647-6406) in Lee Vining and Ken’s Sporting Goods (760-932-7707) in Bridgeport. They are great places to get the latest intel. CS
Editor’s note: For more information on opening weekend fishing derbies and events, check out the Mono County Tourism website (monocounty.org/things-to-do/fishing).
