Cairo’s snowy trip to the Sierra in July…2023

Cairo and his Mom and Dad along with his GMa on Aimee’s side, ventured up to the Eastern Sierra in early July 2023 after the wettest year since 2017. There was still a tremendous amount of snow piled up in the higher elevations around Bridgeport, CA…

Cairo prepping with his new sleeping bag…

…and his Patagonia “puffy”…

Some casting practice with Dad at the Pasadena Casting Club after having his bubble filled…

…like a Pro…

Virginia Lakes Resort, still not open on July 1, 2023…

Portions of the parking lot have over six feet of packed snow…

…early dinner at the campsite…

…then some fly and bubble tossing at Little Virgina Lake…

Little Virginia Lake…very cold water…

…another view from where the boats and float tubes launch…

With Mom at campsite…

…Sunset at Little Virginia Lake…

Big Virginia Lake…

Blue Lake Brookie…

Roaring falls in the backcountry…

Rainbow for Cairo…

…it tasted real good…

Cairo preparing to trek…

Michael and Cairo in the aspens and mule ears…

On the trail to higher elevations…

The meadow at Green Creek…

A roaring Green Creek…

On the trail…above Parker Lake…

Parker Lake…

Michael packing Cairo in a snowfield with avalanche downed trees…

A waterfall coming off a snowfield above Parker Lake…

Coming back down the trail from Parker Lake…

…another waterfall coming off a big snowfield…

At the campsite with Mom and Dad…

Strawberries and pancakes…

On an after dinner hike with Dad and Bob…Mono Lake is the the background…

Taking care of business…

Watching Dad cast at Blue Lake…

Michael working the water for Brookies at Blue Lake…

Intensity with a snowbank in the background…

The dudes at the Jolly Cone in Bridgeport…

Nightfall above Bridgeport, CA…

 

NEXT…Montana, August-September 2023…

 

 

PT/TB

 

 

 

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PT and the GANG…Lakin’ the Sierras…2015

What a trip ! Michael flew out from NYC for some time in the Eastern Sierras with me, his sister Ally and HERO the DOG…Oh… and Nick too! This is where we went…and what we experienced…

Bridegport, CA and surrounding area…

One knows they are well out of Los Angeles when arriving at Red Rock Canyon, on both sides of Hwy. 14, outside of Mojave, CA…

…and this would be Little Lake, CA…

The volcano, at the entrance to the Owens Valley and Fossil Falls, just to the right and foreground of the mound…Me and the kids have spent a lot of time wandering around that cinder cone, looking’ for stuff…

On this trip, Michael and I did not make the usual climb up to the portal at Mt. Whitney, so we let Ally, Nick and Hero do that for us on their trip up to meet us three days later…

This is Eastside Sports in Bishop, CA. I make a point of frequenting this shop every time we hit the Sierras…never know what I might find and then need. These are the hats that Michael was going through for his wife Aimee…

Wait !…Michael got one for himself and me to keep the sun off of the back of our necks while fishing the lakes…

One just does not go through Bishop without stopping at Mahogany Smoked Meats…It’s more important than Sierra Trout Magnet (The Fly Shop), across the street (sorry David !)…

Then the quest to pick up some of these...the MOST RIGHTEOUS peppers on the planet…normally, MSM’s carries these but they were (horrors!) out of stock and nobody else had them in Bishop either…that, required a quick phone call to Ally to implement plan “B” and she picked them up at a shop in Lone Pine on the way up. F.Y.I. these are going to be difficult to get for the next year because of a crop failure on the other side of the Sierras during the growing season…

Mono Lake, about 35 miles South of Bridgeport, CA where road repairs required us to wait, while only one lane of traffic was open at a time…This is where brine shrimp are cultivated for use as fish food in aquariums. At one time, an interesting group of native Americans, known as the “fly eaters” dwelt on this lake’s Eastern shore. It is too salty to support any fish populations…

I get to say, “Are we there yet?”…

Yay !!!…The Walker River Lodge … I have been staying here since 1974, when I first brought my Father up to Bridgeport…

…time for dinner at the Bridgeport Inn…

The “Virgin Mary”…extra spicy…

…and garlic bread, of course !

…up at 6AM and a visit to Nugent’s Bakery, before heading up the mountain…

…main street, Bridgeport CA at 7AM…not too alive…

…the arrow designates the way South to Conway Summit and the turn off to Virginia Lakes…

…along Hwy. 395, headed South…The peaks to the left, in the photo are our destination…

…getting closer…Michael wanted to pull off the road to make a call back East to his wife…the bars indicated service…

…my phone does not get service ( thanks, unmentioned carrier) up here so I used it for some photos…Looking South towards Mono Lake…

Little Virginia Lake…our first spot on the Itinerary…

…The “Old Guy” in a reverse view…Virginia Lakes closes up for boat rentals at 11AM on Tuesdays so that the staff at Virginia Lakes Resort can go down the mountain to Bridgeport or Mammoth Lakes for recreation and taking care of personal business…be aware if ya’ don’t take some other type of water craft with ya’…

…so Michael and I headed over to Trumbull Lake to fish from the shoreline…a trek through the “Mule Ears”...

Trumbull Lake, looking East…this lake has Browns, Rainbows (planted) and Brookies. The Rainbows are the most plentiful. I have seen a 7 lb. + Brown taken from this lake and there are probably some larger ones in here as well…

…on the far side of the lake, by the scree and talus…one of my favorite spots, here…

…Michael slackin’ off with his new brim…

…looks like a rise to me…

…yep…

…a typical Trumbull Rainbow…

…and another…

Trumbull Lake… approaching sunset…

…a rise in deeper, dark water…

,,,a beaver lives just below that fallen pine…

...A Callibaetis Spinner Michael picked off the surface film…

…down the mountain for dinner at the Virginia Creek Settlement…

…what’s on the menu ?

…well, this is just part of what is offered…the Italian servings are great and so is the pizza…

…after dinner moon…

…the following day, back at Little Virginia Lake with the “Old Guy” rowing…

…Michael nails a 2lb. / 10 oz. Rainbow on an Owens “Offender”…The overall fishing on this trip was difficult. Normally, we catch and release a lot of Trout when visiting these lakes. Jim Reid, owner of Ken’s Sporting Goods in Bridgeport, had some thoughts on just why this was occurring this season. I will not go into his explanation – but I do concur…

This is the East Walker River, an Eastern Sierra classic, “Blue Ribbon” water. Because of our current drought, the water flows are very low and warm. The river is choked with weeds and algae and the mosquitoes are out for blood…Michael and I left our favorite river – alone…

…more East Walker, close to the Nevada state line…

…looking downstream…

…another downstream view…

…Bridgeport Reservoir …the source for the East Walker River and the lowest I have seen it since it was drained in 1987…

…one fellow, working the river below the dam. Michael watched him take a 18″ Brown from this section…like I said, I leave it alone…

…this is Lower Twin Lakes, outside of Bridgeport. The level is down 15′ and we took photos rather than fish it…

…another view, looking Southeast…

…Upper Twin Lakes…more water, deeper and colder…there were only two boats out on the lake when we passed here and we did not fish it…I visited again with Ally,Hero and Nick on a very wet evening, a few days later…

…exploring time for Michael…what follows are some places and images that Big Moo documented while Pop pounded the water with a gazillion fly patterns…

..Red Lake…

Red and Copper…

Carolyn Webb told me there was a submarine sized Brown in here…haven’t met ’em…yet…

…more Red Lake from the non-red side…

…patterns in the water…

Summit Pass …11,100’…

…more form and texture from Summit Pass…

…Alpine flora…

…something for Nadia’s next kitchen counter project…

…and Koi Pond…

Alpine trickler…

Lone Pine by the lake…

Big Virginia Lake and the WALL…sit over there in the evening with a float tube or pontoon and use beetle and flying ant patterns…

…looking back towards Big Virginia Lake…

…a good casting location which Michael always seems to find…

…another view from the Summit Trail back towards Virginia Lakes…and Nevada in the background…

…another lake I don’t know the name of..way up there…

Peak scenery…

The Jolly Kone in Bridgeport…the burger and hot dog palace, which appears to have a new offering…

Nope, don’t see it on the regular menu…

Enough food…back up to Little Virginia on an overcast day which was marked by thunder and showers…

One of the locals (Scud) that motored by our boat just as the rain stopped…

Then, Michael added this to his tippet…

…and BAM !!!

Michael brings the Trout up to the Lodge to have Carolyn put it on the digital scale…

Carolyn lets Michael know the scale is off by 2 ozs. under…

…almost ready for the report photo…

Carolyn shoots…

Michael goes on the board a second time…

Pop shoots Michael for posterity…this is the largest Trout he has landed, to date…

…and who shows up moments later…ALLY !!!

…and Hero…

Meanwhile, back on the lake, I pick up…

…a few Brook Trout…

…using this little red peacock soft hackle…

Pretty little guys…

Back down the mountain to celebrate with pizza at the Virginia Creek Settlement…

Thanks Nick !!!

Back to the Walker River Lodge and some work for Michael…

Michael cleans a Big Trout…

Step #.1, – with a good sharp knife…

Step #.2, all the way up to the initial cut…

Step #.3, take the gills and entrails rearward…use  finger nails to remove all veining and blood…

Step #.4, breathe…place in freezer…get ready for yer’ last day…

…first on the lake, early in the AM on a day that did not see much action…

Dinner and not mint juleps on the veranda at the Bridgeport Inn. Michael left the following morning to pick up his wife in Reno and spend a few days with her family up in Lake Tahoe…

So it’s Ally, Hero and Nick. I got him started with a fly and bubble on a rainy day. Nick’s fishing experience on freshwater lakes was, shall we say…limited. He got a nice huge strike on a Tan Seal Bugger but did not set the hook in time – doh…

…and I was having this kind of day…

…while Ally, Hero and Nick went looking for Frodo and Mordor…

…Nope, not here…

…getting wet…

Ally and Hero up there…

A short trip up to Upper Twin Lakes in the rain…

At the marina…

Ally and Hero … posing…

Boats at rest…

The cafe at Annett’s Mono Village where Michael swears he had the best cheeseburger ever…( kid was delusional )…

Last sunset before leaving Bridgeport…

Since Nick had never been here, we made a point of stopping at the Mt. Whitney Fish Hatchery which I have been visiting since 1952…

The brood stock pond…the race ways, where large Brook and Rainbows were kept, were destroyed in a flood in 2008…they have not been replaced…More HERE…

When I was a little kid, my Dad would bring my brother and I here. There were thousands of Rainbow, Brown, Brook and Tiger Trout in the metal rearing pens inside this structure…

Bring your kids too !!!

Yep…Ally and Michael have been coming up for quite awhile…

Ally, 1995, by the raceways that were destroyed…

Michael spies some Brook Trout…

Why I love this place…

No story is complete without an ending…and nothing goes to waste…

Michael does filets…

Marinate for a little while…

Grill…

Add the sides…

Enjoy !!!

A little paddling on Lake Tahoe…and there’s the hat Michael got Aimee…

Until next time…

NEXT:…

…more of patterns tied on these…

PT/TB

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SOFT HACKLES…STILL WATER…(DONE)

These are some patterns that we use up on high elevation lakes in the Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains. I put together some simple little soft hackle ties that work extraordinarily well for me and my guys. I generally use these  fly patterns in sizes #12 – #18 and vary the retrieve based on what the Trout are liking at any given time…I also used some other patterns that I have wanted to try out on this trip, in a lake. Those will be included in my next post . The largest fish I took, on this trip was 4lbs.(end of post). I won’t go into numbers, but I caught more fish in a day and a half of fishing than I have EVER caught on Little Virginia Lake…

Little Virginia Lake, Bridgeport, CA…

…and they all got tested out this weekend (Aug. 1-3)…

 

BOX…done…

PHEASANT TAIL & PARTRIDGE / PEACOCK HERL & PARTRIDGE…TMC 5262, #12-#18/Daiichi 1560, #12-#18…

Materials PHEASANT TAIL & PARTRIDGE…

PT’s & PARTRIDGE  Soft Hackle – Natural… 

HOOK: TMC 5262, #12 – #18

THREAD: Tiemco 16/0, Dark Brown

RIB: Ultra wire, Gold or Copper, SM or xsm

ABDOMEN: Pheasant Tail, Natural

Hackle: Partridge

These are one of the soft hackle patterns, including the one next to it, that have probably taken more Trout – world wide – than any other soft hackle patterns. I never have enough and #16 was what worked on this trip up to Bridgeport…

Materials PEACOCK HERL & PARTRIDGE…

PEACOCK HERL & PRATRIDGE(s) SOFT HACKLE …

HOOK: Daiichi 1560, #12 – #18

THREAD: Tiemco 16/0, Black

ABDOMEN: Peacock Herl, 4-2 fibers, twisted around thread for durability

RIB: *Optional. Gold, Copper or Red wire , SM or x-sm

Hackle: Partridge

These are a required soft hackle pattern for anyone’s boxes. They just plain work…EVERYWHERE..#12 was the ticket for this trip to Little Virginia…

Michael and Aimee on Little Virginia Lake…she’s using a PT & Partridge…

ALLY’S RED LAKE SPECIAL SOFT HACKLE …

HOOK: TMC 5262, #12 – #16

THREAD: Veevus 16/0, Black

RIB: Ultra wire, Hot Orange, SM

ABDOMEN: Pheasant Tail, Brown

THORAX: Peacock Herl, Strung Red, 4-2 fibers twisted around working thread for durability

This is another pattern that there was not enough time to use in it’s intended destination – Red Lake…I give this a shot next time…

Materials ALLY’S RED LAKE SPECIAL..

ALLY’S RED LAKE SPECIAL SOFT HACKLE(s)…

PEACOCK RAINBOW SOFT HACKLE …

HOOK: TMC 5262, #14 – #16

THREAD: Tiemco 16/0,Black

ABDOMEN: Midge Diamond Braid, Peacock

THORAX: Multihued Rainbow Brass Bead, Sized to hook

HACKLE: Partridge

I put this pattern together with Trumbull Lake, in the AM, specifically in mind…never got over there so the testing on this fly will have to wait…

Materials PEACOCK RAINBOW SOFT HACKLE…

Over the PEACOCK RAINBOWS…

PURPLE PEACOCK & PARTRIDGE SH …

HOOK: Daiichi 1560, #12 – #18

THREAD: Ultra 70 Denier, Purple

RIB: Lagartun Silver wire, Fine or X-Fine

ABDOMEN: Purple Iridescent Peacock Herl – Spirit River

HACKLE: Partridge

This was the first pattern I tried out starting around 1:00PM on Friday afternoon…Yeah it worked, in #12 –  consistently.. .but I had more flies to test…

Materials PURPLE PEACOCK & PARTRIDGE SH…

PURPLE PEACOCK & PARTRIDGE SOFT HACKLE(s)…

Ally…early in the morning at RED LAKE…

RUSTY ORANGE SOFT HACKLE …

HOOK: TMC 5262, #12 – #18

THREAD: Abdomen- Tiemco 16/0, Brown / Thorax forward – Veevus 16/0, Orange

RIB: Ultra wire, Gold, SM or x-sm

ABDOMEN: Midge Diamond Braid, Rust

THORAX: Orange Iridescent Peacock – Spirit River

HACKLE: Partridge

I took some nice (12″-16″) Rainbows on the fly early in the AM on Saturday morning then, the bite just turned off on these guys. I was using a hand twist retrieve with them…

 

Materials RUSTY ORANGE SOFT HACKLE…

RUSTY ORANGE SOFT HACKLE(s)….

HARE’S ICE DUB (Hare’s Ear) DAZZLE BEAD & PARTRIDGE SH …

HOOK: Alec Jackson Phantom Covert Nymph Hook, #11 – #15

THREAD: Tiemco or Veevus 16/0, Brown

RIB: Ultra wire, Copper Brown, SM

ABDOMEN: Hare’s Ice Dub, Hare’s Ear

THORAX: Dazzle Bead Metallic Pheasant Tail, sized to hook

Hackle: Partridge

I took a few Rainbows on this pattern. It occurred to me…later,  that for lakes, using Peacock Hare’s Ice Dubbing might make a better choice…Oh well…

Materials HARE’S ICE DUB (Hare’s Ear) DAZZLE BEAD & PARTRIDGE…

A BATCH OF THE ABOVE…

RED PEACOCK & HEN SH…

HOOK: Daiichi 1560, #12 – #18

THREAD: Veevus 16/0, Red

RIB: Ultra wire, Metallic Blue, SM or x-sm

ABDOMEN: Peacock. Iridescent Red – Spirit River

HACKLE: Hen Neck, Furnace

I was really looking forward to trying these out after the sun had set behind the mountain and the lake goes calm with a mirror surface. Unfortunately, I had to have the boat back in by 7:00PM and it wasn’t going to happen on this trip..maybe later when it sets sooner…

Not DARK enough…

 

 

 

Materials RED PEACOCK & HEN…

RED PEACOCK & HEN SOFT HACKLES…

Ally… goofing off on Little Virginia Lake…

YELLOW PT/QSB/STARLING SOFT HACKLE …

HOOK: TMC 5262, #14 – #18

THREAD: Tiemco 16/0, Lt. Cahill

RIB: Ultra wire, Gold, Sm or x-sm

ABDOMEN: Pheasant Tail, Yellow

THORAX: Hi-Lite Glass Bead, Quicksilver, SM or x-sm

Hackle: Bleached Ginger Starling

I used these in the morning, on the second day, fishing over the weed beds on Little Virginia…Oh Boy! I haven’t caught so many Brookies in years, along with a bunch of Rainbows. I was stripping them moderately fast with some added rod twitches…

Materials YELLOW PT/QSB/STARLING SOFT HACKLE…

YELLOW PT/QSB/STARLING SOFT HACKLE(s)…

Little Virginia Lake…way up there…

BROWN PEACOCK & PARTRIDGE – 

HOOK: Alec Jackson Phantom Covert Nymph Hook, #11 -#17

THREAD: Tiemco 16/0, Brown

RIB: Ultra wire, Copper Brown, SM

ABDOMEN: Peacock, Iridescent Brown,- Spirit River

HACKLE: Partridge

These guys took a number of Rainbows, stripped FAST, in 6″ bursts, in the late afternoons of both days…

Materials BROWN PEACOCK & PARTRIDGE…

BROWN PEACOCK & PARTRIDGE SOFT HACKLES…

OLIVE PHEASANT & PARTRIDGE …

HOOK: TMC 5262, #12 -#18

THREAD: Tiemco 16/0, Olive

RIB: Ultra wire, Chartreuse, SM or x-sm

ABDOMEN: Olive Pheasant Tail fibers

HACKLE: Olive Partridge – Hareline

This pattern worked well for me on the trip, fished near and over weed beds and stripped at a moderate speed, on an intermediate line with a 12′ leader and tippet…

Materials OLIVE PHEASANT & PARTRIDGE…

OLIVE PHEASANT & PARTRIDGE SOFT HACKLES…

Pop and his rower…on Little Virginia Lake…

BLACK PEACOCK & PARTRIDGE …

Add Contact FormHOOK: Daiichi 1560, #12 – #18

THREAD: Tiemco 16/0, Black

RIB: Ultra wire, Silver, SM or x-sm

ABDOMEN: Peacock, Iridescent Black – Spirit River

HACKLE: Partridge

An alternative to the standard Peacock and Partridge, fish it in lakes with a hand twist retrieve or stripped. The Trout will let one know the speed at which they prefer the pattern stripped…

Materials BLACK PEACOCK & PARTRIDGE…

BLACK PEACOCK & PARTRIDGE SOFT HACKLE(s)…

 

Nah, they don’t work AT ALL…

Ally at Trumbull Lake, with Michael, expressing her opinion on Dad’s Trout…

 This one Ally took home…to eat…

 

NEXT: ME, ALLY & HERO – lakin’ it…

 

PT/TB   

 

 

 

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BRIDGEPORT,CA…

I have been Fly Fishing in the Bridgeport, CA area since late 1974. It has always been one of my favorite spots in the Eastern Sierras to visit

Back in the day, there were no shoulder to shoulder crowds – one could have the East Walker River to themselves… Then came “THE MOVIE”. There are still many places to find solitude if one is willing to walk…what follows are some photos, through the years, of me and the kids and some places we wet our lines…

Bridgeport, CA…a gem in the Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains…

Michael, working the willows with a RAM Caddis, along the bank of the East Walker River on a hot August day…many years ago…

The wee tyke Ally, hanging with the fellas on the East Walker River…just over her right shoulder is the little island that no longer exists in the meadow section…

Ally, getting mentally prepared for a day on Little Virginia Lake..fly and bubble or just a fly rod?…

Ally, looking down the mountain towards Bridgeport in the East at twilight in the Fall…

Bridgeport Res. in the background after a day on Trumbull Lake…

Looking West towards Nevada from a high vantage point off the road to Virginia Lakes…

Virginia Creek canyon in the Fall, lots of Brookies and Mule deer in here…

Seal Bugger and Bubble day on Little Virginia Lake,,,we were the ONLY people there that day…late Fall…

Michael, changing patterns on the East Walker River…

Michael, learning how to roll cast his nymph inches off the bank and under the overhanging willows…where the “BIG BOYS” lie…East Walker River…

Michael, up in the canyon on the West Walker River…Burke’s Aggravators # 10, punched ’em here…this day…

Hello Mr. Trout…

A Chart. Seal Bugger, Rainbow and PT…

Michael re-rigs on the West Walker River…

That looks like some nice water!!!…

So…Michael prepares to drop his fly into it…

If one is fortunate enough to visit this area, I highly recommend contacting the fellows at Ken’s Sporting Goods in Bridgeport. Jim Reid, the owner and operator of that emporium, has been a good friend for a very long time. It is also possible to follow his FB Page for updates on conditions and good places to fish…the East Walker Forum is currently shut down…Also visit my good bud, Carolyn (a Fly Tier par excellence) at Virginia Lakes Resort, …

PT/TB

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