Owens Valley, CA

I got up early yesterday (11/06/08) morning and drove up US 395 to the Owens valley. It's a 2 1/2 hour drive for me to get to water. The season ends on Nov. 15 so I wanted to check it out.
Arriving in the Lone Pine area I first drove up to Cottonwood creek. Very small trickle of water and no fish evident so I drove on to Lone Pine creek, Tuttle creek and Georges creek. Same thing. Little water, no fish. However, the weather was beautiful and the scenery was nice. I was also getting some exercise walking the creek banks, climbing down and back up the large boulders and walking back up the grades to my car.
I drove on to the Owens River below Tenemaha Res. dam. There were several men fishing there so I watched for awhile. They were throwing spinners but not getting any action. One fellow commented that a trout was chasing the spinner but not taking it.
Back in July there was a bad mud slide that took out the races and settling ponds at the Mt. Whitney hatchery in Independence. It also took out some resident's houses. That killed thousands of trout and put a big dent in the stocking program the rest of the summer in the Owens Valley.
I said my howdys and toodle dos and drove on up to Big Pine. The mountain tops were covered with a smattering of snow from last weekend. I made a decision to not drive up to the creeks above 8000 feet elevation. I stayed in the valley but the creeks in that area looked like the rest and still no fishes.
Heading North to Bishop was my next plan. Arriving there I had a quick lunch at a drive through and headed on to Pleasant Valley.
At Pleasant Valley there is a 4.4 mile section of the Owens River that is designated a wild brown trout, catch and release area. Only barbless artificial lures are allowed. It is fenced off and can only be accessed on foot from a well maintained gravel road. There are V gates every 300 feet or so along the road.
I parked at one of the pull outs, got out my 7' 4 wt and a box of drys and took a walk. I hiked along the river for about an hour and a half stopping at clearings along the bank to cast. Cast, strip, walk, cast, strip, walk. I brought one small brown to hand in all that time.
The river here is real crooked and brushy. Lots of cat tail, small trees, sage and clumps of grass.
By now the temperature was in the low 70s, no wind and not a cloud in the sky. Although I had seen several vehicles parked along the road I did not cross paths with any other anglers. I was alone in paradise and really having a nice time. I walked back to the fence, found a gate and got on the road. It was 15 minutes to my car and as I strolled along I saw a few hawks on the wing, a lizard or two and some ravens. A few people drove by and waved and one lady on a bicycle with a dog on a leash stopped and we talked for a minute about the weather, the fishing and her dog.
I left there and drove out to 5 Bridges road, onto hiway 6 and exited at Laws crossing. From there I went south to Poleta rd and back to the river. I took a left onto a county gravel road west of the Owens and drove along that, stopping to check the river and make a cast or two. There was a lot of bugs flying around but no fish rising. By now the wind was blowing about 5 to 10 mph but it was still nice. After about 4 stops and casts I came out at Warm springs road. I made a left and stopped on the east side of the stream. I took my gear and walked a quarter mile south and fished my way back. Still no fish rising and I considered streamers but there is a lot of junk in the river there so stuck with the drys. A small herd of cows grazed on the grass along the river. Deer tracks were everywhere and the beaver had been busy since the last time I walked there. I strolled back to the car, split my rod and put it in the case.
I slowly drove back to the 395, turned left and headed toward home. Stopping in Lone Pine for a bite to eat, I chatted with a few people who had been fishing all day and were frustrated with it all. I smiled and told them my worse day fishing was a lot better than my best day doing almost anything else.
Looking back over the day on the drive home I realised I am indeed a lucky fellow. I got to do what I live to do. I got exercise, good for my mind and heart. I got closer to God, good for my soul. Saw some beautiful country and critters.
The three hour drive back was uneventful. Getting home, my wife was happy to see me. My dog looked at me suspiciously, like where have you been and why didn't I get to go. Showered up, slept good. What a life. Jimsnarocks

Jim -

Neat account of your wandering the Owens Valley in search of trout water.

Didn't do any fishing back when I used to wander through that part of CA occasionally. Would probably still get distracted by the Sierra Nevada on one side and the White Mountains on the other !!

Can you get to Onion Valley this year, or is the road already closed ?? Golden Trout Lakes and the trailhead for the hike to Kearsarge Pass. Two different routes to paradise !!

And if you throw in the trail to White Mountain Peak ( 14,236' ) or the trails to the forests of Bristlecone Pines in the White Mountains ......

John

Thanks for the report. The Eastern Sierra was my old haunt before moving north. Good times.
I used to have good luck on the wild trout section with a big nasty wooly bugger cast across the current to the far bank and instantly strip like mad. The big browns didn't get the opportunity to inspect the fleeing fly so they pounced before it got away.