My, how things have changed in 25 years...

[El Matavenados]

25 years ago, my uncle, my aunt, my dad, 2 of my brothers, and I backpacked 13 miles in to Rae Lake in the Western Sierras (not to be confused with Rae Lakes on the East side). Back then, the lake had decent brook trout fishing. We also hit Lower and Upper Indian Lakes, which had more fish, but not as big.

My brothers and my sister returned there about 12 years ago, and caught big brookies in Rae. We tried to go again 3 years ago or so, but the snow pack was still too heavy in June, and the roads were still closed.

We decided to go again, and this time I was able to go. The scenery on the trail was completely different than what I remember. What I remember as open meadows is grown up into forest! It is a beautiful trail, with streams, trees, and scenery galore. Not much deer sign, but we did see a couple does.



We took it easy hiking in, taking 2 days to do so. As we neared the end of our inbound trek, we came to Fleming lake, and the brookies and rainbows were busting the surface like crazy! They are not very big, but they are plentiful! Here's a fatty 'bow I caught:



After fishing there for a couple hours, we continued to our destination. Rae now seems to have great numbers of rainbows in the 12-15" range, but we didn't catch a single brook trout. When my siblings were there last, there were some REALLY nice brookies in there, up to a couple lbs. Sunrise and Sunset were beautiful:





We had success using almost anything we tried: Phoebes, Kastmasters, Thomas Bouyants, Power Bait, etc. What was interesting was how quickly they caught on and stopped biting. Hit a new spot, and you might catch one on the first cast, but after catching 3 or 4, you had to move on because the bite shut down. Even when we returned to Fleming a couple days later, the spots we had previously fished were dead, but new spots were hot.

It was a great trip, and it makes me wonder what it will be like in another 25 years? Guess I'll have to keep myself in shape so that I can make the trip when I'm 62...

 

[ilovesprig]

Don,

Thanks for sharing......Looks like a great trip......I had some friends in the Sierra's this last week (eastern side/Blue Lake)......They caught lots of fish including brookies, but they looked really skinny..... ???

25 more years?......Heck, I hope I can still make it to the handicap blinds......

 

[Bonejour]

Great stuff Don. Thanks for sharing the good news. Rainbows are aggressive; I suppose they are eating the brookie eggs and fry. But it's good to know there are healthy fish up there.

 

[Baldkrash]

Awesome story! I'm going to Sequoia next week. Im hoping to catch some Brooke's and rainbows myself.

 

[CaptJgray]

Sprig,

One of the issues with the fish at Blue and a lot of the higher elevation lakes for that matter is the abundance of fish and the lack of feed. You end up with a 10-12" fish with a skinny body and a giant head.

I realize the new trend is to practice catch and release, however there is a reason that a lot of those lakes have a 10 fish daily bag limit. You are actually doing the fishery a favor by keeping some. some lakes need to have some fish removed. and with the drought its only going to be worse.

personaly I love to do my part. I love to eat rookies cooked in bacon grease for breakfast. and I always bring a bunch home to smoke. I try to only keep the ones out of the lakes as the ones in the streams seem healthier. I also don't keep 10 from just 1 lake. I try to keep a few here and there.

I must stress that being prepared to keep them is essential. a cloth creel with a frozen water bottle or a couple of ice packs is key to keeping them in good shape. I treat them like I do any fish. I spike them, bleed them, and then cool them down. I also gill and gut them as soon as I am ready to move locations.

Upper elevation brookies, rainbows, and browns are so much better table fare than stocker rainbows. But If you ever have the opportunity I highly recommend trying a Golden trout. they are in a league of their own. Again only harvest when the population can withstand it. there are a few lakes where there are some absolute trophies, but the numbers are not great. try keeping a couple of little ones from a lake that is full of them.

If you are hiking in it is worth the added weight to take a small cast iron pan, a small container of bacon grease, and some seasoned flour. Take some sourdough starter with you as well and make some biscuits...

ok, im hungry and ready to go now....

 

[ilovesprig]

Capt,

Totally agree.......I can barely gag down a stocker.......

 

[TaftHunter]

Having stockers after these guys no comparison!


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[El Matavenados]

I agree with all of you! Unless they are stocked as fingerlings, hatchery trout are lame. I'd rather catch mackerel (they make good bait!). Don't get me wrong, I'll still fish for them when there's nothing else, but I've heard it's like kissing your sister. I wouldn't know anything about THAT.

My brother brought along some lemon pepper and olive oil, and we fried up 3 trout in a pie plate. Had to watch the heat carefully, but they tasted great.

Some of the best trout I've ever had were brown trout caught in a slough off of the Beaverhead River in Dillon, MT. Kept 3 browns, gutted them, sprinkled the insides with garlic salt and pepper, squeezed some lemon on them, threw in some pats of butter; wrapped in aluminum foil and roasted over a camp fire. A lady who doesn't like fish still says (over 10 years later) those were the only fish she ever enjoyed.

 

[NBK]

Great post Don. I haven't been up to the Sierras in years. Guess i am overdue.