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Alpers Fall Fest
By Dave Finkelstein
This 10 pound stringer which weighed over 50 pounds was caught by the author and Marlon Meade in mid-October over 2 days.
When you’re living in Southern California there are some things we have come to accept that are slightly different than other parts of the country. Those of us that have migrated from the eastern U.S. will fondly remember the changing of the fall colors and the crispness of the air as winter’s calling card soon approaches. I have lived in Southern California since 1976 and truly miss the changing of the guard in our seasons here. You cannot take the easterner out of me and when late September starts to roll in , I like to travel up to the eastern Sierras .
I am an avid fisherman since the age of 5, who will find any opportunity to travel for the sake of catching fish. Ironically, I’m not alone in this concept and over the last 15 years , I have found myself fishing in the Sierra with renouned angler Marlon Meade. Over the years Marlon and myself have become great friends and we look forward to fishing up in the Sierras especially in the Bishop Basin when fall comes around every year. I like to keep in tune with nature and there is just something about being up in the mountains when the colors of the Aspens have begun to change hues of yellow and gold that just plain inspires me to try and decide whether I need to grab my cameras or fishing rods. Sometimes, its just too hard to decide. The fall colors and mountain scenery have brought almost as many photographers up to the Sierras, as anglers these days. The Bishop basin offers four breath- taking lakes and two magnificant streams that are stocked with the hard fighting Alpers trout. Add to that, the state has weekly stockings of rainbow trout . The fall weather also has a reputation for making the large trophy brown trout become more active and susceptible to being caught if an angler is lucky .
Marlon and myself generally have come to accept the fact that the weather up in the Sierras can change at a moment’s notice so making plans to fish a certain lake can be frustrating at times. The lakes are at approximately 9700 feet up and it can be sunny and cool one minute then blowing snow sideways in another. If the wind is blowing , then a different strategy may have to be used if you want to fish. Luckily, the North and South Bishop creeks offer some truly pleasureable angling even when the wind is present.
Cardinal Village pond Tuesday October 10, 2006
One of our favorite fishing holes is South Lake on the South Bishop Fork. The lake is stocked weekly by the Parcher’s resort throughout the summer months with Alper’s trout ranging from 2 to 8 lbs. These beautifully colored, hard fighting trout are raised locally by Tim Alpers . His hatchery raised fish are full finned and unmistakeably identified as Alpers when caught. Catching an Alper’s trout on light line can be quite a task, especially if caught on 2lb test but catching a 5 plus pound Alper’s trout in the streams can be the experience of a lifetime . I know, my biggest was 9 lbs and it nearly straightened my hook out by the time I netted the fish. It takes skill and some luck to get these fish but what many anglers don’t know are these hardy trout have certain habits that once known can help increase an angler’s catch ratio.
Like all animals, these trout have places they like to visit during certain times of the day. Alpers trout will cruise areas of shade during the middle of the day but become active feeders in the early and late light of the day. Another behavior of these fish is that they tend to cruise within 20 yards or less of the shoreline . This behavior may come from the fact, that the canals of the hatchery are not extremely deep and they seem to mirror their swimming habits around the way they were raised.
Marlon is known as one of the best mini tube jig fisherman in the western United States. He was voted by his peers to be one of the top 30 anglers on the west coast by Western Outdoors Magazine. Over the years, I have learned many of his techniques using this lure. Minijigs are one of the more successful lures used for catching trout especially Alpers trout.
During the early grey light of the day , tossing a pearl white jig on 2lb. test would be a good choice in lures. Using a white minijig with a Berkley 3" orange or red power worm trailer accounted for Marlon’s and my 10 fish combined stringer weight of 50.7 lbs caught in 2 days. This was the largest stringer weight of trout to come out of South Lake this year according to Jered, owner of Parcher’s resort just below the lake. All our fish were caught on minijigs and using a quality 2lb. test line. My line preferences are Maxima ultragreen and Izorline XXX supermono clear or grey line. One thing we both have in common is that we both use high quality drag reels with at least 3 or more ball bearings .
Alpers trout can take extremely fast runs when hooked, so our drags are set lightly then adjusted several times when fighting these fish by making minute adjustments. Both of us use long light action noodle rods in lengths of 7' 6" or 8 foot lengths. Long rods aid in casting the 1/32 oz -1/64 oz minijigs distances to almost 25 yards or more depending on wind conditions. Another added benefit to using long rods is leverage and control over a large fish. Allow the jigs to drop for 5 to 10 seconds then slow retrieve while lightly moving your rod tip up and down several inches. This imparts a darting action on the minijigs that trout seem to like chasing. Once a fish is spotted chasing your lure, you can slow down or speed up to get the fish to bite. Often times we catch fish on a blind hit without spotting them.
A bite may feel like a snag or bump, so always set the hook when these conditions are met. When using 2 lb.test don’t horse a large fish in. You should wear a large fish down before trying to net them. I recommend that after catching a large fish to retie your jig since there is a fair amount of stretch in light line. When the day is sunny, try tying on a darker colored minijig such as perch green, browns or black with glitter.
When the sky is cloudy, use colors like whites, yellows, light greens or combos of these colors. Adding a Berkley trout worm in different colors like green, orange, red or brown can really help get a trout’s attention. Some other places the trout like to frequent in mountain lakes are the feeder streams early and late in the day. Even very small springs entering a lake are good spots for large fish to cruise. When using a boat , try drift fishing without using the motor along shore areas . Use the wind to push your boat along the shore in silence. Generally, the entire lake’s shore can be fished in this manner and allows you to cover more areas where fish may be holding .
In windy conditions, a one inch white/red shot filled bobber can be used with minijigs or other baits to locate feeding fish. Adjust your bobber to lengths up to 7 feet from your bait or lure then cast out and very slowly retrieve it in. When the bobber is moving sideways or fully under the water, set your hook. Timing can be tricky .
This photo was taken about 5 miles away from Cardinal Village Pond the next day.
Be prepared for sudden weather changes in the Fall in the Sierra.
Fishing the North Bishop Fork side of the basin offers anglers 3 lakes in which Alper’s trout are stocked. The closest from the town of Bishop is Intake II , a small lake beautifully lined with Aspens . Intake II boasted the largest Alpers trout caught in the Bishop area during the opener for 2006. The trout weighed in at over 10 pounds!!
The next lake up the mountain is Lake Sabrina, at an altitude of 9500 feet. With a marina , launch ramp , cafe and rental boats , this lake has produced some monster size trout over the years. There is limited shore fishing and those hardy enough, can walk the lake trail to the feeder streams for great fishing action.
The access road to North Lake is not for the faint of heart nor those that don’t like heights . It’s one lane dirt gravel mix road can be tough to navigate if there is traffic. North Lake is a magnificent high altitude lake stocked with both Alper’s and state planted fish. There is plenty of parking and ample shore fishing areas to wet your line. The lake is not extremely deep but is very popular with fly fisherman and float tubers. The scenery is of course , just breathtaking, and well worth the scary drive up the access road. Marlon and I have caught many large limits of Alper’s trout from this lake over the years. My biggest North Lake Alper’s trout weighed in at just over 8 lbs at this lake several years ago. It was caught at the lake’s feeder stream at dusk, on a Rapala CD 3 in the brook trout pattern.
There are several resorts in the Bishop Canyons that offer lodging. My favorite is Cardinal Village Resort run by Ken and ShaleAnn Cluff. The resort is comprised of the original cabins of the miners from Cardinal Gold Mine. The mine has long been closed but the remnants still remain today . The resort offers housekeeping cabins , a cafe, general store and horseback rides to the old mine.
They also have their own pond stocked with Alper’s trout and the North Bishop Creek runs right through their property. On the South Fork side of the Bishop Basin is Bishop Creek Lodge and Parcher’s Resort. Both establishments offer house- -keeping cabins , cafe and tackle shops. North and South basins have many seasonal campgrounds located along the North and South Fork Creeks.
Fall fishing in the Sierras has long been a tradition with me and for many generations of anglers. Its not hard to be captured by the beauty of the fall colors but catching big Alper’s trout in the fall , just makes it icing on the cake!
Sources:
www.cardinalvillageresort.com / P# 760-873-4789
www.parchersresort.net / P# 760-873-4177
www.bishopcreeklodge.com / P# 760-873-4484
www.bishopvisitor.com / P# 888-395-3952
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