going to mammoth any advice (1 Viewer)

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going to mammoth before the season opener to fish and play in the snow. any advice on where to fish-I know the lower owens, hot creek and pleasant valley reservior are open all year. what are the regulations? what flies or lures to use-I am not a flyfisher though.

any trails I should check out? my rig is stock, no lockers, no lift. we will be traveling with another family plus kiddies. we have done san jaoquin ridge and almost all of laurel lakes in the past. anything else fun and kid friendly?

thanks for any insights.
 
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going to mammoth before the season opener to fish and play in the snow. any advice on where to fish-I know the owens upper and lower, hot creek and pleasant valley reservior are open all year. what are the regulations? what flies or lures to use-I am not a flyfisher though.

any trails I should check out? my rig is stock, no lockers, no lift. we will be traveling with another family plus kiddies. we have done san jaoquin ridge and almost all of laurel lakes in the past. anything else fun and kid friendly?

thanks for any insights.

I highly suiggest stopping buy the Trout Fitter on Main and Old Mammoth behind the gas station...They can answer all your fishing questions.

I don't know if the guy at Napa Auto parts still is part of the mammoth 4wheel drive club but someone ther might be able to get in touch with him or a club member and steer you towards a trip...When you going??
 
thanks for the posts
we will be there the first weekend of april-this coming weekend

just learned upper owens is open all year-I hope the fishing is good
 
I fished the lower Owens back the first week of march...below the power plant / Chalk Bluffs and had really good luck...I will be back in town the 9-12 and hope for the same kind of luck...

I fly fish so it is open all year and I did see several people fishing the upper while I was there...good luck and enjoy your trip...
 
Brian is the name of the owner at the Napa Auto parts store....he is a great source for info. If you go tell him DJ from the So Cal 80's sent you.

At the ranger station you can get a trail map for offroading. There is a small loop just South of Mono Lake that is fun for the family.

When will you be there? We are heading up 4/9-13....

If you have time go through Alabama Hills on the way up or down. It's in Lone Pine 1.5 miles west on Whitney Portal Drive. Great place to stop and let the kids run around.

have fun,
David...
 
If you're going before the season opener (last Saturday in April), and you're not a fly fisherman, I'd recommend the top end of Pleasant Valley Reservoir for fishing. There's some parking available near the Control Gorge Power Plant, and it's not too long a walk to some pretty good fishing spots. I've caught some nice ones in that area on various spinner lures, Thomas Bouyants, Kastmasters, and of course night crawlers, salmon eggs, and flavor of the day Powerbait. There's a great tackle shop at the north end of Bishop, left (west) side of 395. I think it's called Barrett Outfitters. The owner, Don Barrett, used to own one of the tackle shops at Lake Mary and he knows the area very well. He'll help set you up with tackle appropriate to your skill level/experience.

There's a County campground at the south end of PVR, Browns Upper Owens River Campground (east of 395 off of Benton Crossing Road, and Browns Town down at the south end of Bishop, There are lot's of great campsites all over the mountains - but I'm not sure what will be open that early in the year. There's also primitive (no facilities) camping on the BLM land east of 395.

I haven't yet done any wheeling in that area, so I'm sorry I can't be of much help in that area. I hope you have a great time!
 
dirtyrice joe
thanks for the scoop! I will make that a must do on our list.
I will take some pics as well.
thanks
 
dirtyrice joe
thanks for the scoop! I will make that a must do on our list.
I will take some pics as well.
thanks

My pleasure. I thought of a couple of "kid-friendly" activities (at least my kids enjoyed them).

1) There's a turn-off to the east from 395 that I think is called "Big Springs". Big Springs is (along with Deadman Creek) the headwaters for the Owens River. It's pretty neat because you actually see water just flowing from between the rocks. Since it's a spring, IIRC the water isn't terribly cold - though it's not a hot spring. Water & rocks - what kids wouldn't love that? Just keep an eye on them because of the slipperyness.

2) Keogh Hot Springs - Just south of Bishop, west of 395 - This a developed swimming pool/hot tub area (modest fee) with a very warm pool, home-made PVC hot mist sprayer, etc. Again, kind of fun for the kids, depending on their ages.

As you have probably guessed, I've spent a little time in the area... There was a thread on this forum a short while ago with suggested fuel & food stops that you might want to check. I'd try to find the link for you but i'm running late for a meeting.

Enjoy!
JR
 
thanks again for the info

there is so much to explore and so little time
I would be interested in that link-I'll use the search as well
 
I have fished this area quite a bit with my brother and if you are using lures I would recommend taking as many different colors and patterns as possible. My favorites are Panther Martins but I also have a variety of other brands.

We have literally been using the same lure with a different color and the fish will only hit only the one color (go figure). Pleasant Valley and the lower Owens are one of my favorite areas to fish.
 
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Wow! Tough luck on the HG...
(and the lost trout)...
(and the lost glasses)...
(and the ruined phone)...
(and falling into a cold, swift river while fully dressed)...

Oh well, I'm glad you had a good time! :hmm:

Take care, and best wishes on the HG repair. I hope I'm not next!!!
 
Thanks for the words of encouragement.

With all that bad luck, one can only laugh.
I already went to lens crafters and replaced my glasses.
Had insurance on the cell phone, although the deductible is $50-made my claim-phone will arrive in 2 days.

Paid for Doug's dvd and spoke with a mech that will allow me to work with him.
Hopefully should get things back to baseline soon.
 
Thanks for the words of encouragement.

With all that bad luck, one can only laugh.
I already went to lens crafters and replaced my glasses.
Had insurance on the cell phone, although the deductible is $50-made my claim-phone will arrive in 2 days.

Paid for Doug's dvd and spoke with a mech that will allow me to work with him.
Hopefully should get things back to baseline soon.

And you can probably replace the trout at Alpers Trout Farm! I guess every cloud really does have a silver lining!

Let us know how your HG repair goes.

Take care,
JR
 

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