Rainbows Always Add to the Color of an Opening Day

The forecast is for cloudy skies and cool temperatures throughout the Eastern Sierra on April 28, opening day of the general trout fishing season.

So pack your shades and bring plenty of sunscreen.

As veteran opening-weekend anglers know, long-range forecasts--even short-term ones-- are meaningless.

But one thing is certain: There will be no shortage of rainbows for the Southland hordes ascending to mountain locales from Big Pine to Bridgeport.

Though sometimes affected by weather, Department of Fish and Game stocking schedules are a little more predictable.

For example, this month alone, 73,000 pounds of catchable rainbow trout, or about 146,000 fish, will be dumped into Inyo and Mono county waters by personnel aboard DFG hatchery trucks.

By season’s end Oct. 31, those trucks, on weekly planting forays, will have released 799,200 pounds of trout, averaging a half-pound apiece, into waters of Inyo and Mono counties, and a small portion of Madera County.

These don’t include the pre-opener plants of Alpers Ranch-raised rainbows into streams between Big Pine and Lone Pine, and in Bishop Creek, the Lower Owens River, Convict Lake and Pleasant Valley Reservoir.

Nor do they include releases of site-raised fish at June Lake and Bridgeport’s Upper Twin Lake.

Included on the DFG’s April schedule are 7,600 larger trout, weighing one to two pounds and wearing gill-plate tags with DFG insignias, “to let people know of our efforts to enhance the angling experience with the larger fish,” says Mike Haynie, the DFG’s senior hatchery supervisor in Bishop. “They’re welcome to keep the tags; they’re just to let people know where the fish came from.”

They were grown at the Mt. Whitney-Black Rock hatchery complex near Independence, Fish Springs Hatchery near Big Pine and Hot Creek Fish Hatchery near Mammoth Lakes-Yosemite Airport.

The centerpiece, of course, is historic Mt. Whitney Fish Hatchery, the state’s second oldest, constructed in 1916, amid the pines beneath majestic Sierra peaks, with granite boulders and a red Spanish-style roof. (The oldest is the hatchery at Mt. Shasta, built in 1888.)

The DFG scheduled the Whitney hatchery’s closure in 1996 to cut costs, but strong opposition caused the department to reconsider and form a strategic plan to “sustain Mt. Whitney Hatchery as a working hatchery and preserve the historical significance of the hatchery facility and its place in the history of the area and state.”

While it no longer grows fish for planting, Whitney’s broodstock produces millions of eggs annually for Black Rock and other state-run hatcheries.

On April 27, one of the busiest days of the year on U.S. 395, the DFG is conducting a 3 p.m. rededication ceremony and offering free tours of the facility beforehand at noon, 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. Details: (760) 878-0084.

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Crowley Lake, a sprawling fishery that will float nearly 10,000 anglers on opening day, is not on the DFG’s weekly stocking schedule. Rather, the Crowley Plan features an annual late-summer plant of 450,000 sub-catchable rainbow trout.

The annual allotment includes 100,000 Kamloops-strain rainbows, 150,000 Coleman-strain rainbows and 150,000 Eagle Lake rainbows.

The Kamloops stocked last year should weigh between three-quarters of a pound to 1 3/4 pounds on opening day. They “respond more quickly to angling,” Haynie says, meaning that of the trout stocked last summer, more Kamloops will be caught than any other strain.

The Coleman rainbows generally cooperate later in the season and the Eagle Lake rainbows typically hold over a season. Thus, most of the larger fish caught on opening day will be Eagle Lake trout stocked two summers ago.

To make matters more confusing, the DFG added 15,000 Lahontan cutthroat trout to the mix late last summer and will stock 30,000 more at the end of this season.

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Bridgeport Reservoir, though a solid six-hour drive from Los Angeles, is an opening-day mecca in its own right, though on a much smaller scale.

But with the concessionaire having gone out of business and the fate of a dilapidated marina facility in limbo during most of the off-season, many fishermen undoubtedly set their sights on other waters.

The situation is finally resolved, however. The owners of Twin Lakes Resort, Steve Marti and Lori Eitel-Marti, were awarded the marina concession Monday by the Walker River Irrigation District and are scrambling to get things in order.

A new fleet of boats has been ordered, and new docks are under construction. A fish-cleaning station--something lacking under the previous concessionaire--also is being built.

The bad news is that the boat order probably won’t be filled until early May, and it remains unclear whether the docks or even the fish-cleaning station will be available come opening day.

The tackle shop, public launch ramp and about 20 RV spots, with full hookups, will be operational. And anglers with their own boats should find conditions to their liking.

“I think it’s going to be a great opener because the water level was so low last year after Labor Day that nobody could launch,” says Clint Koble, manager at Twin Lakes Resort and the new Bridgeport Reservoir Marina and RV Park. “There was very little fishing pressure last fall.”

Twin Lakes Resort can be reached at (760) 932-7751. The on-site phone at Bridgeport Reservoir will be operational Tuesday: (760) 932-9292.

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The East Walker River has been closely watched since a Dec. 30 spill sent 3,600 gallons of low-viscosity heating oil into a 10-mile stretch of river below Bridgeport Reservoir.

Though long-term effects on the prized fishery won’t be known for months, if not years, short-term effects were minimal.

Jim Reid, owner of Ken’s Sporting Goods in Bridgeport, said “there shouldn’t be any signs that anybody was even down there” and added that opening-day anglers “could run into only minor amounts of oil” clinging to or between rocks in the area between Murphy’s Pond and the Nevada state line.

Cleanup crews were commended for removing about 1,800 gallons of oil that spilled when a truck overturned on the adjacent highway. The 50% removal rate was well above the 5% to 10% associated with most spills.

During the cleanup, about 40 dead trout were recovered, but it wasn’t clear whether the spill was directly responsible.

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Back to the weather: A wintry storm is expected to sweep through the Eastern Sierra tonight and Saturday, but below about 8,000 feet it isn’t expected to cause significant changes in a mostly snow-free landscape.

“We’re raking lawns and might even have to mow them before the opener,” says David DeSurra, owner of Convict Lake Resort.

The higher lakes such as South Lake atop Bishop Creek Canyon, and nearby Sabrina and North lakes, remained frozen over but anglers should seek the advice of experts before venturing onto the ice.

In the Mammoth Lakes area, Lower Twin Lake has some open water but Upper Twin remains iced over. Rock Creek Lake is iced over but auger-toting anglers will have to walk or ski about a mile to get there. Farther north, Virginia Lakes and Lundy Lake are iced over as well.

NEWS AND NOTES

* Saltwater fishing: The white seabass fleet got off to a great start this week, netting limits or near-limits of 14- to 25-pound fish through Wednesday at Santa Barbara and Santa Catalina islands, but Thursday the westerly winds returned and today and Saturday looks to be a washout. Until the winds cease and winter truly gives way to spring, local fishing is going to suffer.

* Day at the Docks: The San Diego Sportfishing Council’s annual festival, kicking off the spring season, is Sunday from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. at the sportfishing landings in Point Loma. The Farrior Collection of antique fishing gear, including rods and reels used by Zane Grey and Ernest Hemingway, will be featured but the event also includes casting contests, boat rides, tours of the sportfishers and tackle displays. Admission is free and parking is available at Harbor Drive and Scott Street. Details: https://www.sportfishing.org.

* Skiing/snowboarding: The major Southland resorts are expected to remain open at least through the weekend, but probably not much longer as conditions remain unseasonably good but interest is waning.

Mammoth Mountain, scheduled to remain open at least through Memorial Day weekend, is holding its Spring Snowsplash festival this weekend at Canyon Lodge. Live music, product demos and pond-skimming contests are on tap. Details: https://www.mammothmountain.com.

Bill Messori of Palos Verdes Estates was honored April 12 as the season’s millionth visitor to Mammoth’s slopes. Passing the 1-million mark placed the Eastern Sierra resort among the top five in North America in terms of skier-snowboarder numbers.

WINDING UP

Annie Oakley, Calamity Jane and Belle Star will star in the 20th End of Trail Wild West Jubilee, April 27-29 at Raahauge’s Ranch in Norco.

Women of the Wild West is the theme of an event billed as the nation’s oldest and largest Cowboy Action Shooting competition and Wild West festival.

More than 750 authentically dressed competitors will vie for the World Championship of Cowboy Action Shooting. The festival also features a Wild West Show, historical reenactments, educational seminars, stunt shows, trick roping and pony rides.

Admission is $10 for adults and free for children 12 and under. Parking is $2. Hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Details: (714) 694-1800 or https://www.sassnet.com.

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Trout Season Facts

* What: Eastern Sierra general trout season.

* When: April 28-Oct. 31.

* Required: 2001 California fishing license, $29.40.

* Bag limit: Five trout daily, 10 in possession after opening day.

* Special restrictions: Too numerous to mention. Consult with local tackle store clerks or Department of Fish and Game sportfishing regulations booklet, available at tackle stores and DFG offices, or online at https://www.dfg.ca.gov.