Golden trout

[Tom Petterson]

Anybody ever caught a Golden trout? Or gone on a pack/hike in trip around the june lake loop or above Bishop CA. I want to go and catch some fish but I dont know how far or where ecsactly to go. Any info would be helpful to help me get a good idea of what to do. Are the fish eazy to catch or hard fly or spinging gear? What should I do how far should I try to pack back in on foot? Thanks

[hronk]

Hi: I do quite a lot of hiking and fishing west of Bishop, behind South Lake. Treasure lakes are about a 2 hr hike from the South Lake parking lot. The fish and game has netted the Goldens (don't get me started) in the upper Treasures, there were 6 with fish until 2 yrs ago. The lower 2 still have a lot of fish, but these are mostly hybreds.(Golden/Rainbow) The lakes in Dusy basin and clear down to the Kings river are all full of Goldens but rumor has it that all of these fish will also be removed to protect the Yellow legged Frog (I'm starting to get pissed again) If you want to catch Goldens anywhere in the Sierra besides the Kern Plateau, you better do it in the near future or they could be gone....Email me when you get your plans made.....hronk

[SPOONY SLAYER]

the first goldens i ever caught were in montana, a place called grasshopper lake. its a glacier run off lake, and you could litterally watch the schools of fish cruise around the lake. almost everytime your fly hit the water, a fish would take it. all of them were 2-3 pounds, and between me, my brother, and father we probably caught about 100 fish in a day. this was in the early 90's. about two years ago, we hiked to the same lake(8 mile hike)... i caught one fish that was about 10 inches long, and that was all. there was trash all over, evidence of campsites all around the lake, we were disgusted to say the least... as for california, i believe there is a place called golden trout wilderness, or something like that just above bishop. i couldnt tell you how to get there since ive only been there once, and it was a few years ago. but there is a stream there with goldens, that did at the time take the fly good. the biggest you'll see will maybe be 10-11 inches at most. hopefully some of the local guys can give you some more info.

[DKScott]

The Golden Trout Wilderness is in the Southern Sierra and is located on portions of the Sequoia and Inyo National Forests. Cottonwood Lakes is where the DFG "raises" GT. Haven't been there in years, but it used to be a C&R setup and I think a couple of the lakes were closed to fishing. These are pure strains with no other species having been introduced to the lakes. Apparently GT hybridize with rainbows easily and few people have seen pure goldens, though many mistake hybrids and even Cutthroat and Brook trout for Goldens. They are native only to the Sierra, but have been transplanted to other places

The GT Wilderness includes the Upper Kern and the Little Kern rivers. The Little Kern has its own strain, but there are also Rainbows that interbreed and Browns that eat them. I was talking with the local DFG Biologist about them awhile back and there is some concern that they will eventually be hybridized out of existance, at least in the rivers. He advised that I C&R the Goldens and keep the 'bows and especially keep the Browns, which they would like to see removed from the drainage.

Here is a link to an article by Ralph Cutter who wrote an excellent book on Goldens (I hope whoever I lent it to and never returned it enjoys it as much as I did)

Golde Trout (http://www.flyline.com/golden_trout.htm)

You generally need to hike in at least a couple miles (though the Little Kern is accessible by 4WD), its worth the effort to go fishing for them. They aren't big, but they are gorgeous and they are found in beautiful places. Good luck

[Backcountry]

I've spent a lot of time on the east side, mostly in and around Mammoth, but ranging from Carson Pass down to the Palisades (west of Big Pine). I've caught Golden Trout in Arrowhead Lake (in the lakes basin above the town of Mammoth Lakes) and Second Lake above Big Pine (MAGNIFICENTLY GORGEOUS!). There's a lot more lakes that hold goldens, because I've seen the fish but wasn't able to connect. If you want a "Grand Slam" (rainbow, brook, brown, and golden), Second Lake is the place, but you need to be in shape to hike there.

FYI, CA-DFG is gung-ho about turning the lakes in the Big Pine Creek drainage into better habitat for goldens (by eliminating rainbows I believe).

http://www.dfg.ca.gov/hcpb/conproj/big_pine.shtml

Good luck!

Backcountry

Second Lake from the east
http://community.webshots.com/s/image2/7/2/21/43470221dZMiSe_ph.jpg

[T F Coyote]

I've caught golden-rainbow hybrids in Hilton Lake out of Tom's Place. But the best pure golden fishing I've found is the Cottonwood Lakes--especially Lake #3. It's all C&R with single, artificial, barbless lures.

Good luck.

[Loye]

My dad and I want to plan a trip to the Cottonwood Lakes this summer,heard its not a hard hike. Is it hard to get one of those wilderness permits ?

[Tom Petterson]

Thanks for all the feedback and information I thought I would be lucky to get one response if that this site really is great http://www.jesseshunting.com/forums/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smiley-bowdown-purple.gif

[T F Coyote]

I was at the Cottonwood Lakes in October. During that time of the year, the permits are self-issued at a kiosk outside the ranger station in Lone Pine (or was it Independence?).

I think you get the permits at the same ranger station for the summer months, but there are fewer permits available, so they are issued first-come, first-served. You might be able to get them through the mail, as I did for a different wilderness area this past deer season. Look at the web site for the natioanl forest.

Either way, reserve the permit early.

[sksman]

I am not sure if we are talking about the same kind of fish but I cought a yellow trout at Santa Ana Lake and 5 regular. They are all stocked fish. The funny thing about that lake is there is a big Levitz sighn, you can see and hear the freeway. But theres fish and its close.

[DKScott]

Not the same at all. Those are some kind of trout farm Frankenfish created for commercial put-and-take lakes.

[paulc]

I used to do alot of backpacking above bishop, big pine etc. I caught an 19" golden up above Mcgee creek trail. there was a little lake off the beaten path and the fishing was good.