Opener So Close, You Can Taste It

Ask any fisherman who spends much time in the Eastern Sierra about Alpers trout and you’ll get the same reaction.

“Awesome,” says Matt Eoff of Mammoth Lakes. “It has flesh like salmon. We serve it pan-seared with a garlic chardonnay sauce, with sun-dried tomatoes and scallions . . . and we top it with toasted almonds.”

OK, so you’ll get a slightly different reaction from Eoff, who also happens to be head chef at the Restaurant at Convict Lake, an upscale eatery that features

Alpers-raised rainbow trout as a specialty.

But nearly everyone is in agreement that trout raised by Tim Alpers in dammed ponds along a tributary of the Owens River, which runs through his 210-acre ranch, not only taste better than your average hatchery-raised rainbow, they are a little feistier and at 5 to 15 pounds much heavier.

And with the opening of trout season only a week away, it may interest those planning a fishing trip sometime before the last Saturday of October that Alpers’ operation is expanding to include Mono as well as Inyo County this year.

“We’ll be stocking basically every lake in [Mono] County--both Twin Lakes, Virginia, Lundy, the June Loop . . . you name it,” Alpers said the other day.

He wasn’t able to sell his trout in Mono County last year because he was on the Board of Supervisors, which decided it was a conflict of interest for him to profit from the sale of his fish within Mono County.

“They never thought that before last year, but all of a sudden they changed their minds,” Alpers said the other day.

After nine years on the board, however, Alpers has given up his seat to “focus more on my bread and butter.”

That would be his ranch and the nine cabins he rents along the productive upper Owens, his float-tubing pond, and of course the colossal trout he raises, which are as much a mouthful as they are a handful.

RISING STOCK

Alpers trout are only part of the reason this should be an exciting season.

The DFG, by turning out batches of catchable rainbows by the thousands, and by occasionally turning loose large brood stock, should get most of the credit, despite budget-related cutbacks in productivity in recent years.

But some credit should also go to local landing operators, such as those at South Lake above Bishop and Twin Lakes in Bridgeport, who are growing their own trophy-sized trout in rearing pens to supplement DFG plants.

Indeed, Eastern Sierra trout-stocking operations have come a long way over the years.

Many don’t know it, but there once was a time when all that swam in the Owens River and its tributaries were suckers, chubs, speckled dace and pupfish, small native fish that provided no sport and only a small measure of sustenance for Native Americans in the Owens Valley.

As for streams within the Mono Basin to the north, they supported no fish at all, perhaps because volcanic activity years ago may have poisoned the water.

Dave Babb, a range and wildlife specialist for the Department of Water and Power, researched the beginnings of trout-stocking that today have the beautiful, little game fish teeming in 900 miles of icy rivers and streams and dozens of pristine lakes and reservoirs.

Trout first appeared in the Owens Valley in 1872. Big Pine pioneer J.W. McMurry transplanted two dozen fish from the South Fork of the Kings River on the western slopes of the Sierra into the ponds on his property at Fish Springs.

In the summer of 1873, A.B. Kitchen, tapping the same source as McMurry, planted 60 fish in what is now Independence Creek. So excited were locals at what seemed the beginnings of a recreational trout fishery in the valley that the Inyo Independent editorialized:

“It is hoped that for the next two years any individual disturbing [the trout] will be immediately reduced to bait for the benefit of the fish remaining.”

Later that summer, Kitchen used pack animals to haul an additional 200 rainbow trout from the South Fork of the Kings to Big Pine Creek. Only 80 fish survived the 58-mile journey across the mountains, but Kitchen, who was paid $1 per fish by community leaders, nonetheless figured he was onto something.

“You have to realize that $80 was a lot of money in those days,” Babb said.

That fall, rainbow trout were planted in Baker, Tinnemaha, Red Mountain, Oak, Independence, Shepherd, Bairs and Georges creeks. Bishop Creek was later planted with trout from the Carson City area and small-scale stocking operations sprang up and continued sporadically until the state took over after the completion of the Mt. Whitney Fish Hatchery near Independence in 1917.

The hatchery was soon producing more than 3 million trout annually. Fish had become more than a mainstay--they were a main attraction.

Said Babb: “News of the tremendous Eastern Sierra fishery spread rapidly and the region began to boom as a recreation center. In fact, to promote tourism in the region, the Owens River gorge was dubbed ‘The Grand Canyon of California.’ ”

Farther north, in the Mono Basin, the first trout--probably cutthroat--were introduced as a result of a diversion of water from Virginia Creek above the basin into Mill Creek in Lundy Canyon, by a mining company in 1867. Mill Creek drains into Lundy Lake. Walker Creek above the basin also supported native cutthroat.

Not long after the diversion, trout were planted in Rush and Lee Vining creeks. Other plantings reportedly took place in 1895, 1898 and 1903. In 1911, thousands of rainbow, brook and brown trout were stocked in area streams as well as in Gem, Agnew, Parker and Walker lakes.

Today, practically every accessible body of water contains trout at some point during the year. The opener wouldn’t be the same without them.

TROUT FAIR

For the first time, opening-day anglers will have something to do other than fish or hike. Western Outdoor News and the Bishop Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau are putting on a trout fair at Tri-County Fairgrounds in Bishop.

The event, featuring displays, booths, demonstrations, raffles, seminars and a children’s pond loaded with small Alpers trout, will be from noon-8 p.m. April 26. The annual Rainbow Days Trout Display contest will coincide with the fair.

Jeff Irons, a spokesman for Bishop, acknowledged that the fair is an experiment--”everyone should have their limit by noon,” he reasoned--but wanted to point out that Bishop is pulling out all possible stops to make this year’s opener a success.

“This is real big for Bishop,” he said. “The feeling is that the opener has lost a little of its luster over the years. We’re trying to bring the spirit back and make it more fun. We’re trying to bring back that old feeling.”

AROUND THE SOUTHLAND

The Fly Fishers of Orange County are holding their annual free casting clinic Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to noon at William R. Mason Regional Park in Irvine. A women’s clinic will be held at the same location Sunday at 1:30 p.m. Details: (714) 373-2721. . . . Mike Raahauge Shooting Enterprises in Norco is offering a 10-hour hunting safety course Saturday for novice sportsmen interested in obtaining their mandatory safety certificates. Details: (800) 773-4868. . . . Colt’s annual End of Trail Cowboy Shootout and Wild West Jubilee will be April 24-27 at Raahauge’s. More than 400 “authentically dressed” competitors will vie for the world championship of action shooting as part of the festivities. Historical reenactments, stunt shows, trick roping and a chuck wagon cooking contest are other attractions. Admission is $9 for adults and free for children 12 and under. Proceeds go to the Roy Rogers-Dale Evans Happy Trails Children’s Foundation for abused children. Western attire (minus the guns) is recommended. Details: (714) 998-0209.

Staff from the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium in San Pedro will lead a tide-pool walk at the Point Fermin Marine Life Refuge on Sunday and again May 4. The aquarium is also offering “Meet the Grunion” programs Thursday night, May 8 and May 24. Details: (310) 548-7562, Ext. 7017. . . . The Orange County Boat Show, featuring more than 500 vessels ranging from personal watercraft to full-sized cruisers, will be April 24-27 at the Anaheim Convention Center. Cost is $7 for adults and free for children 12 and under. . . . The Marina del Rey Halibut Derby will be held May 3-4 in the Santa Monica Bay. Cost is $40 per individual, $15 per team member for the team division and $15 for the kids’ division. Proceeds go to various conservation groups and charities. Details: (310) 822-7090.

CATCHES OF THE WEEK

Albert James of Torrance was the top angler out of about 1,400 in last weekend’s Santa Monica Bay Halibut Derby. Using an anchovy as bait, James boated a 33-pound 10-ounce halibut. Sara Oudin of Huntington Beach won the women’s division with a 28-pound 7-ounce halibut.