Will year-around Eastern Sierra
trout fishing go away or stay?

By JIM MATTHEWS
Outdoor News Service

BRIDGEPORT – Three of the finest trout fisheries in the Eastern Sierra Nevada will not close to fishing when the general trout season winds to an end Nov. 15 this year.
Jump at the opportunity before it’s gone.
The East Walker River, Hot Creek, and the Upper Owens River will remain open to fishing Nov. 16 through the last Friday preceding the last Saturday in April. Then they will be open against from the last Saturday in April through Nov. 15 next year. That may sound confusing, but it just means the waters are going to be open to fishing all year.
There are special barbless hook, artificial lure, zero-limit regulations in affect during this late fall through early spring season on all three waters. While this is not a change for Hot Creek, the Walker and the Owens have different regulations during the regular season.
The Department of Fish and Game (DFG) quietly looked at the scientific data and proposed the change last year, recognizing that allowing no harvest fishing all year would have no impacts on the fishery while allowing greater recreational opportunity in what has historically been “the off season.” The move would also lessen the fishing pressure on waters in the region that were already open to fishing all year.
Seeing the sense in the proposal, the Fish and Game Commission (FGC) adopted the rules without much fanfare. But change is like a spinning fan, and there’s always someone ready to hurl something into the whirring blades. What seemed like a good idea to the Commission suddenly seemed like something else and it was hitting the fan. There was panic.
Ever the political body, spinning however the wind blows, or reacting to whatever is splattering off the fan, the Commission has agreed to revisit the year-around fishing issue on these popular waters because some people raised objections – most having no basis in science, local economics, or common sense.
But many Mono County folk haven’t made it into the 21st century yet. While the rest of the state cheered our centennial in 1950, Mono County cheered our 50 years of progress. This is a place that still hasn’t figured it out.
A few years ago, when the close of trout fishing season was extended from Oct. 31 to Nov. 15, to simplify regulations across the state, Mono County officials howled about the change. Did they have any valid reasons for resisting the change? It would give local businesses two more weeks to have fishermen in local shops, motels, and eateries. It would have no impact of the fisheries, according to the DFG. So, ummmmh, why did they howl?
Well, it was just different and different was wrong – even if it made more sense. Or maybe it was the 200 brochures leftover in the chamber of commerce office that would have to be reprinted.
The FGC, ever the political body (did I mention that already?), actually changed the rules back to Oct. 31 for a couple of seasons before finally recognizing that was stupid, and now we have a Nov. 15 trout season closer pretty uniformly throughout the state.
But now those same people from Mono County are howling again about opening catch-and-release waters to year-around fishing. There were all sorts of arguments made:
-- “The trout were too stressed to be caught in the cold, low water of winter.” Well, no, they are more stressed in the warm, low water of summer – during regular fishing season – and more likely to die then after being caught and released. Winter fishing is safer for the trout.
-- “Wading anglers will trample through spawning beds, ruining crops of wild trout.” Actually, browns mostly spawn in October and November and rainbows spawn in late April and May, when the regular trout season is open. If that was a legitimate concern, we should close trout waters in November and May (which some states actually do to protect the spawners).
-- “It’s more dangerous for anglers to be out that time of year.” That is absolutely true. We are in grave danger because of skiers driving 90 mph on icy Highway 395 that time of year, but the actual fishing activity is safer than skiing and we won’t be in the way of any avalanches. And the stress relief and solitude of winter fishing is worth the risk.
-- “The fish need a break angling pressure.” That’s my favorite stupid argument. The trout are pursued by predators every day of their lives. Fishermen wading around in their streams might actually give them more of a break than no fishing because we run off everything else. We’re easy to elude.
But the FGC is ever the political body (in case you’ve forgotten). This is group that once adopted and then rescinded a tree squirrel hunting season in Southern California in less than six months because of – no, not science – but political pressure. You could fill a book with Commission wafflings like this.
Mono County residents and officials are a formidable force. The FGC has to listen to their concerns, no matter how moronic, because that’s what we do today. (Instead, the Commissioners should ask something sensible but politically incorrect like, “Are you on crack or just mentally challenged?”)
It’s so wearisome to always having to battle against stupid ideas, regulations and laws, while fighting to retain and incorporate the good ones. We have to do it over and over again.
A dozen or so years ago, a Mammoth Lakes fly-fisherman by the name of Dick Dahlgren discovered that while trout season closed on October 31 (back then) in Mono County, it was not against the law to fish for Sacramento perch year around. There were Sacramento perch in Crowley Lake and the Owens River, and if you caught a trout accidentally on purpose, you simply had to release the trout.
We had spectacular catch-and-release trout fishing that year. The rainbows were strong and healthy. We caught them on dry flies in the Owens River in what is called the Hot Fingers stretch of river, below were Hot Creek’s warm water dumps into the Owens, kicking water temperatures into the 50s. Early spawners out of Crowley migrated out of the 40 degree lake water and stacked up in those warmer, ideal flows. I remember one morning in early March where three of us caught at least a dozen rainbows each, all were over 15 inches and all were on dries.
I can only assume the stodgiest of Mono County officials and residents heard our whoops of glee, and when the game wardens wouldn’t arrest us, the progressive thinkers in the Eastern Sierra lobbied the Fish and Game Commission to close Mono County to ALL fishing when it was closed to trout fishing.
Dahlgren, and a few others of us, made a run at getting year-around fishing back then on a few catch-and-release waters. We even had the Fish and Game biologists on our side back then (like now). But we were making our case to the Fish and Game Commission.... Have I mentioned how political this body is? We lost our year-around fishing.
So it is with this history that I recommend you plan your trips to the Eastern Sierra this winter to fish the East Walker, upper Owens River, and Hot Creek when a blanket of snow is on the ground and the trout are rising in fleets to midges and small caddis flies. It could be an opportunity that is gone as quickly as it appeared.

OUTDOOR CALENDAR
OCTOBER 6 HUNTER SAFETY CLASS: A one-day, 10-hour certified hunter safety class will be held at Mike Raahauge's Shooting Enterprises, Norco. Classes are required for all first-time California hunters before a hunting license can be purchased. Cost is $35 per person. Next class dates are October 13, November 3, and Dec. 1. Sign-ups are taken at all Turner's Outdoorsman stores. Contact Raahauge's at 951-735-7981.
OCTOBER 13 SIMI CONEJO FRIENDS OF NRA: Tour the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and hear keynote speaker J.P. Nelson, Western Region Director of the National Rifle Association, at the Simi-Conejo Friends of the NRA fund-raising dinner. Buy dinner tickets before Sept. 21 to receive a free drawing ticket for the new Kimber 84M .338 rifle. Contact Stuart Tapper 805-404-6339 or email Lissa Lee at llee@nrahq.org for an event flyer.
OCTOBER 13 HUNTER SAFETY CLASS: A one-day, 10-hour certified hunter safety class will be held at Mike Raahauge's Shooting Enterprises, Norco. Classes are required for all first-time California hunters before a hunting license can be purchased. Cost is $35 per person. Next class dates are November 3 and Dec. 1. Sign-ups are taken at all Turner's Outdoorsman stores. Contact Raahauge's at 951-735-7981.
OCTOBER 13-14 CONCEALED CARRY WEAPON COURSE: A 16-hour California Concealed Carry Weapon (CCW) course is being offered by Firearms Training Associates at Mike Raahauge's Shooting Enterprises this Saturday and Sunday. Cost is $180 per person. This course meets the state requirement for 16 hours of training to qualify for a CCW. Other CCW classes will be held Nov. 10-11, and Dec. 1-2. Contact FTA at 714-701-9918 or 877-544-4867. The web site is www.ftatv.com.
OCTOBER 14 ORANCO BOWMAN TOMAHAWK SHOOT: The Oranco Bowman will have its annual Tomahawk shoot on Oct. 14 beginning with registration at 7:30 a.m. Shoot starts at 9 a.m. This is a two arrow event with 42 marked targets, half paper and half 3D. More information at club web site www.oranco.org.
OCTOBER 20 INLAND EMPIRE NWTF FUND-RAISER: The Inland Empire Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation will have its annual fund-raising banquet beginning 6 a.m., Oct. 20 a the San Bernardino Elk Lodge, 20055 Elks Drive, San Bernardino. Contact Cameron Hunt at 909-273-1113 or Dave Halbrook at 760-694-1191.
OCTOBER 26 SOUTH ORANGE COUNTY FRIENDS OF NRA: The South Orange County Friends of the NRA will have its inaugural fund-raising banquet at the El Adobe Restaurant, 31891 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano 6:30 p.m., Friday, October 26. Dinner tickets are $85. Drawing tickets are $20 each for the NRA-engraved S&W 460XVR. Contact Carl Crockford at 949-547-4833 or via e-mail at crockford214@yahoo.com.
NOVEMBER 3 HUNTER SAFETY CLASS: A one-day, 10-hour certified hunter safety class will be held at Mike Raahauge's Shooting Enterprises, Norco. Classes are required for all first-time California hunters before a hunting license can be purchased. Cost is $35 per person. Next class date is Dec. 1. Sign-ups are taken at all Turner's Outdoorsman stores. Contact Raahauge's at 951-735-7981.
NOVEMBER 9 WEST VALLEY FRIENDS OF NRA:  The West Valley Friends of the NRA is the final 2007 FNRA fund-raiser in Southern California for 2007. It will be held beginning 6 p.m. Friday, November 9, at the Rancho Cucamonga Community Center, 11200 Baseline Road, Rancho Cucamonga.  Dinner tickets are $45. This dinner will be the last chance to win this year's limited edition firearms, including an NRA-engraved Marlin 336XLR .30-30, Savage .17HMR, SigArms .22 Mosquito, Benelli Nova Pump 12 Ga., and others. Contact Steve Gomez at 909-560-6000 or via e-mail at westvalleyfnra@aol.com.