April 22, 2001
OPENING DAY
I hadn't been able to sleep for about 2 days. I kept thinking about this day...the crisp, cold morning air cleansing my smog-polluted lungs, incredible
vistas of the White, Glass, Ritter, and Sierra Nevada Ranges satisfying my eyes,
and the silence of the mountains purifying my entire being. And now it was here.
Morning dawned early today...too much adrenaline, and it was cool...24 degrees.
A hot cup of coffee would taste great and hopefully return my body temperature to something close to normal...it did.
Camping in the Eastern Sierra in April is definitely a gamble with the weather.
It was breezy this morning and cool, but at least it wasn't snowing. I knew that as soon as the sun crested over the
White Mountains the temperature would rebound some so I wasn't worried. We
rushed to the truck, quickly took inventory of our fishing gear, and, with boat in tow, started out for our
destination...Crowley Lake. It was only a 10 minute drive from our campsite in French Camp to the gate at
Crowley, and we were lucky enough to be one of the first ones there...third in line!
Short naps, a thermos of coffee, a box of cold donuts, and a lot of talk about high expectations occupied our time.
By the time they opened the gate three hours later, the line of trucks and boats seemed endless.
After launching the boat and parking the truck, we engaged the motor and started
out across the lake. What a feeling! I drove as my partner set up his pole.
He chose a Frog Super Duper, one of my favorite lures. My hands were cold so I put
on a pair of neoprene gloves. Once he was set up, he drove the boat and I set up
my rig. I chose a red/gold Thomas Buoyant. Both of us had had great success with
these lures in the past. Five minutes later we dropped anchor. From another boat
some distance away I heard, "FISH ON!" as I made my first cast of the season.
I varied the speed of the retrieve, jerked the pole slightly to give the lure some
action, and just as a began to see the flicker of the lure in the sun's rays, I felt a tap, then a tug as my pole tip bent, my drag began screeching, and...
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GREETINGS Eastern Sierra fans!! I hope my little story started the juices flowing!
As you probably know, opening day of the 2001 Eastern Sierra Fishing Season is next Saturday, the 28th of April.
My rendition of it is probably a bit
incorrect, as I've never actually experienced an opening day myself. However,
I'm sure that the feelings that I created regarding catching that first fish are
RIGHT ON.
The weather in the Eastern Sierra has been variable, changing from cold and snowy to warm and dry and back to cold again.
The region is beginning yet another warm-up starting today that is expected to continue for most of the week.
The low temperature at Rock Creek Lake this morning was 6 degrees, but as soon as the sun came up the temperature quickly increased, peaking at a high of 45.
Both low and high temperatures are forecasted to be on the increase for much of this week, plateauing on Wednesday or Thursday.
Right now, the weather forecasted for Saturday is cooler and breezy, but dry.
As you know, that can change radically in 6 days, so use Rock Creek's weather page to stay up on it...
http://www.rockcreelake.com/weather/
The Real Audio Forecast link is especially useful if it is updated.
Aside from the passes, most roads in the area are expected to be open by next weekend.
According to CalTrans, the road from Lake Sabrina to Aspendell is currently closed, but I would be very surprised if it is not open by next
weekend. The reason I think this is that Rock Creek Road is open all the way to
the pack station, and the elevations in the two areas are similar. The road into
the Mammoth Lakes Basin is typically closed for the opener, and will be closed again this year.
It will probably be open by Memorial Day. The June Lake Loop is open.
Haven't heard anything from Virginia Lakes or Bridgeport Twin Lakes, but the road to the Twins is usually not a problem by opening day.
Can't say the same for Virginia Lakes. Of course, Tioga, Sonora, Ebbetts, Monitor, and all the
other major Sierra passes are closed, except for Carson, Donner, and Echo Summit, routes that remain open year-round.
The road to Reds Meadow is closed.
Many of the lakes in the Eastern Sierra are thawing quickly. Convict, June,
Gull, Crowley, Grant and Bridgeport Reservoir are all ice-free. I assume the
Bridgeport Twins are ice-free as well. Rock Creek Lake is still frozen, but the
ice is rotten in many areas. Ice fishing there is not advised. If you plan to
attempt ice fishing next weekend, please be VERY CAUTIOUS!! If you're not comfortable with how the ice looks or feels, you should probably follow your
intuitions and not attempt fishing there. There is some open water at the inlets
and outlets of most frozen lakes. Try dragging a lure or nightcrawler off the
ice and see what happens.
Snow is minimal below the 8,000 foot level in many of the areas, excluding the Mammoth Lakes Basin.
In the basin, snow is still deep in comparison to most other areas in the region.
However, compared to other years the snow in the
basin is less. The snow in Rock Creek never approached normal this winter,
finishing at 37% of the yearly average.
Most of the campgrounds in Rock Creek will be closed for the opener, but French Camp and Tuff will be open.
The exact opening date of those campgrounds is unknown, but I assume it'll be the middle of this coming week.
I will update the camping page once I receive information about ALL the campgrounds in the canyon.
I've been hearing that the fishing at Pleasant Valley Reservoir has been great, so if the weather ends up turning for the worse next weekend, you may want to
consider checking out Pleasant Valley.
One last thing...last summer there were several fatal traffic accidents on highway 395 in the Owens Valley.
I witnessed the aftermath of one such accident. Speed and illegal or careless passing has led to most of these accidents.
Please, if you're planning a trip to the Eastern Sierra anytime, be aware of other drivers, drive defensively, and PASS WITH EXTREME CAUTION.
Don't trust other drivers. Of course, that's a good rule to follow anytime, but especially when driving on a two-lane road like many sections of 395. I'd like to see you
as a statistic on a fish board, not the obituaries.
That's about it for this newsletter. If you're planning to head up for the
opener have a great time, and good luck with the angling. Let me know how you
do. Thanks to my friend TJ for much of the information on this page regarding
ice, snow, and road conditions. IT'S SPRING!!!!! Take it easy and THINK
CREEK!!!!!!!!
Tim