Snap, Crackle, Pop Go Great With Trout

To anyone who has ever walked onto a frozen lake, the sound of crackling of ice is as eerie as it gets.

But to Heather Topp, it’s music to the ears.

“We had our first good fracture this morning,” she said Tuesday, “and all you need is one good fracture.”

What Topp was referring to is a 1,000-foot break in the ice at Crowley Lake, a sprawling reservoir just south of Mammoth Lakes.

It couldn’t have happened too soon, what with opening day of the Eastern Sierra general trout season only a week away.

Topp and her husband, Jeff, are concession managers at Crowley, always the most popular reservoir on opening day.

And with the apparent breaking up of the lake’s icy surface, and with warmer days in store, it figures to be one of only a few ice-free fisheries come sunrise on April 25, when thousands of eager anglers will begin an onslaught from Bishop to Bridgeport that will last until Oct. 31.

What a difference a year makes.

Last year, Crowley was free of ice by early March. On opening day, the trout were easy to fool and lively on the hook. By day’s end, thousands of unsuspecting rainbows and browns had been gutted and grilled.

This year, even if the fish are biting, they figure to be listless.

“Once the ice starts to break up and the wind blows, the lake can open up very quickly--even in one day,” said Curtis Milliron, a DFG biologist in Bishop. “But then it takes several nice, warm days to get the fish stimulated.”

Still, Crowley, the recipient of 350,000 rainbow trout courtesy of the DFG late last season and 200,000 bought by the Topps, will be in better shape than most.

All the lakes in the Mammoth Lakes basin will be iced over on opening day, and town merchants are hoping that some of the anglers are also skiers.

At nearby Convict Lake, just below Mammoth, David DeSurra said he is hoping for the best but fears the worst.

“I won’t be putting my boats out if there is any ice on the lake,” he said Tuesday morning. “It’s too dangerous.”

It would take a major heat wave to melt all the ice on Convict. And even if it breaks up, there’s so much snow around the lake that shore fishermen will have restricted access as well as cold feet.

At June Lake on the scenic loop off U.S. 395, about half an hour north of Mammoth, they’ve been using Crowley’s rescue boat as an ice-breaker, and it appears to be working.

They had 100 acres of ice-free water on Tuesday and, with a little help from Mother Nature, should be ice-free on opening day.

If not, June Lake Marina won’t be allowing any boats out, either.

How dangerous can a little ice be? Perhaps not “Titanic” dangerous, but dangerous nonetheless. A group of private boaters learned this the hard way in 1995, when gusts of wind sent chunks of ice slamming into their aluminum boat, capsizing it and spilling them into the icy lake.

One of the landing’s boats also capsized. Nobody was seriously injured.

Nearby Gull Lake was partially open at mid-week and there figures to be at least some ice on opening day. Grant Lake will be ice free and Silver Lake, the fourth lake on the loop, is mostly iced over.

“If I could say something about the opener, it’s that everyone be very careful wherever they go,” said Mickie Frederickson at June Lake Marina. “The ice may look thick enough to walk on, but that’s not always the case.”

They’ll be walking on water at the high-elevation lakes above Bishop. At midweek there was three feet of ice covered with two feet of snow at South Lake. “With the browns we released in November, it ought to be awesome ice-fishing,” said Gary Olson of Bishop Creek Lodge, trying to muster some business, but cautioning that South Lake anglers will have to hike nearly a mile in the snow to get there.

In fact, Bishop Creek might be one of the better places to fish on opening day. It’ll be loaded with trout that might have otherwise been put in South or nearby Sabrina, and running at a slow enough pace, what with the snowmelt yet to seriously begin.

However, those who don’t mind driving a little farther might want to consider the Bridgeport area. Lower Twin produced the biggest trout in the Eastern Sierra last opening day, a 13-pound 10-ounce brown.

Upper and Lower Twin, as well as Bridgeport Reservoir and Kirman Lake, have been ice free for more than a week, giving the trout plenty of time to wake up. And the popular East Walker River might give anglers even a little more than they bargained for.

“They caught fish last year up to 10 pounds,” said Rick Rockel at Ken’s Sporting Goods. “But you have to be lucky to land a 10-pounder in that river.”

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Eastern Sierra Trout Opener

* When: Half an hour before sunrise April 25.

* Where: All fishable waters from Bishop to Bridgeport (the waters below Bishop were opened to trout fishermen last month).

* Bag limit: Five trout per day.

* Special restrictions: Too many to list here. Regulations booklets can be obtained at any Eastern Sierra sporting goods store.

* Needed: A valid California fishing license by anyone 16 or older.

* Closes: Oct. 31.

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