There is an old expression that the early bird catches the worms and in fishing, this saying can truly be accurate. It has been through my experience when fishing that some of my best catches occurred at certain times of the day. Very early in the morning and late in the day when the lighting has darkened the skies, has produced more big fish for me than other hours of the day.
This fact has produced some truly epic fishing both in saltwater and especially when trout fishing up in the Eastern Sierra. For many years, my fishing partner Marlon Meade (Berkley Pro Team Member and California fishing Ambassador) and I had spent a week in early October searching out the trophy Rainbow and Brown trout in the Eastern Sierra. Most of the time, we fished exclusively in the Bishop Canyon Basins both in lakes and the North and South Bishop Creeks.
Back in the day, the Chamber of Commerce and the local Bishop businesses were contributing cash toward stocking of Tim Alpers trophy trout through a stocking program originated by Ron Sciara owner of Creekside RV Park located up in the South Bishop Canyon. He had gotten the Triple Deck baseball card company owner to help sponsor this program. Ron and he were good buddies and the program proved quite successful in bringing the fisherman up to Bishop to try their luck at catching for these big fish.
Some of the trout stocked by Tim Alpers were hitting the scales to 12 pounds. They were unmistakable to recognize by their purple gill plates and fighting ability. It took some angling talent to bring to the scales a five pound Alpers Trout and major talent on catching the even larger ones stocked both in the creeks and lakes throughout the Bishop Basin and other Eastern Sierra waters.
Things were exciting back then. We couldn’t wait for our annual fall fishing trips. We had planned out our entire stay for the week in advance for fishing, but Mother Nature always had the upper hand. Some days it snowed buckets on us making us fish in whiteout conditions. Other days it was so cold that our fishing line (2 lb. Test) froze to our fishing rod guides making things tough on us. The worst that Mother Nature threw at us was freezing cold winds upwards to 40-50 mph.
Nothing came easy to us when fishing in the fall months, as the weather was so unpredictable. So, we stuck it out in some of the worst weather that Mother Nature could throw at us, but it didn’t matter because that was what it took, to consistently catch big trophy trout. The key factor to our success was fishing the hours when big trout were looking for an easy meal. That was in the very early gray light of dawn and in the evening as the sun was setting behind the mountain peaks.
We fished hard at those times of the day. South Lake was our favorite place to fish the big ones. Drifting in silence along the shoreline with mini jigs was the secret to our success but when it was windy, things were quite challenging pitching 1/32nd and 1/16th ounce lures and getting them to sink down low enough in the water column to be seen by trout. Learning to adapt to the conditions present was truly a never-ending challenge. We fished until dark during most outings on South Lake. We were the last ones on the water except some crazy guy named Jerry Rago who, dressed in a snowmobile suit, was launching his aluminum boat in search of big Brown Trout. South Lake being in Inyo County allowed night fishing and that’s when the big browns were around. Learning to fish the peak times meant our luck for catching big trout increased a lot. There were days when we had both caught multiple fish ranging from 3 pounds to 8 pounds in just one day. Some days the fishing was spectacular and other days it was tough to get a bite. You just never knew what the day was going to bring.
One trip I caught a nine-pound Alpers trout out of North Bishop Creek. I was using two-pound test and a Trout Teaser mini jig. After fighting that trout for what seemed like a very long time, I knew my line wouldn’t hold up much longer as the fish neared a tree stump in the creek’s rushing water. Without much thought, I entered the creek’s freezing cold water with my fishing rod in one hand, and a landing net in the other. The water was about waist deep when I spotted my prize Rainbow. Holding my line tight, I scooped up the trout and quickly exited the creek. In my net, was a beautiful nine-pound Alpers trout. The hook on my mini jig was nearly straightened out and my decision to go in the creek after him was now making sense but I was freezing to death in the coldness of the day with wet trousers and feet. All I could do to get warm was sit in my car with the heater on full hot.
A little while later Marlon showed up tapping on my window. “How come you're not fishing” he queried. I popped open the remote trunk release and told him to look in the cooler. “Holy Cow, you caught a monster” he yelled out. When he came back to my window, I told him about going into the creek to get my prize and freezing to death, so our day ended on a good note with my catch being big fish of the trip. On an evening visit to North Lake, I caught an 8.25-pound Rainbow trout using a 2-inch Rapala in a Brook trout pattern at the mouth of the creek inlet feeding the lake. It was almost completely dark out when the Rainbow trout hit my lure hard. Using two-pound test I fought the fish very carefully constantly adjusting my drag setting during the battle. Fortunately for me, I had the sense this time to be using chest waiters while fishing so things went a lot smoother bringing in the fish. It was completely dark out walking back to my car about ¼ mile away. There was a definite risk of running into mountain lions that frequent streams and lakes in the evening hours that had crossed my mind while walking. Being stalked by wildlife is something very real that can occur in the great outdoors. It’s happened to me on more than one occasion up in the Bishop Basin. On one particular year in the fall while camping at Intake II with just my dog Daisey, I woke up to find a small deer ripped apart not 30 yards behind my tent by a mountain lion.
At South Lake’s lower parking lot, an angler of notoriety was leaning against his Chevy Blazer truck and pointed out a mountain lion perched on the cliff upon us, while cautioning me to get a firm grip on my dog’s collar. I had just gotten off the lake as it was almost dark out and never would have seen the big cat. The lesson to learn here is with reward come risks when fishing the gray light of day. Always be aware of your surroundings and don’t take chances that you may regret.
Fishing in streams requires a slightly different approach to finding big trout as they tend to blend into the stream’s surroundings. Try looking at pools with active water flowing through them. Generally, the trout like to stay looking upstream just outside the white water. Adapting to the strength of the creek’s water flow may be your key to success by choosing the correct weight lure and swimming action. A gold Thomas Buoyant in the ¼ ounce size may be needed if the water is moving fast. Cast out your lure to the area you think fish might be holding in and with closed bale and line tight,, move your rod tip pointing to the white water and then back out of the white water. Hits are usually very hard so be prepared to fight your fish against a fast moving current. It takes some skillset to get a large trophy size trout from a rushing creek. Be prepared with a landing net close at hand. You may only have one shot netting your prize. Again, very early gray light and close to dusk light conditions are your best bets for landing big trout. When conditions allow, fishing pearl white mini jigs will work well both in early morning and dusk light conditions. Adding a small piece of fluorescent orange plastic worm can also be a winning lure presentation in low light conditions.
If water flow conditions aren’t extreme, the use of a bobber to keep your mini jigs at the depth of choice might be considered. The bobber also aids as a strike indicator. Generally speaking, bobber fishing is overlooked but when conditions are right, use one, as water clarity can vary greatly stream fishing and trout not readily can be seen.
It takes some effort to fish the gray light of day but the rewards can be truly epic. Just be careful and be prepared for catching a big fish. Good Luck
