Eastern Sierra Trout Opener is April 30.

4/6/11 April 30

While the well-publicized record snow pack in the Sierras will prove beneficial to the area’s trout fishing and has already officially helped propel California out of “drought” status, the extended winter will also mean tough fishing conditions during the Mono County trout opener which arrives on the last Saturday of this month.

Families have been attending the opener like clockwork for generations regardless of the conditions, so the one thing you can count on at the opener — snow or shine — is crowds. Other than those families that automatically head up every year, there is an even larger group of attendees including those of us who have spent the entire off season pining over maps, message boards and guidebooks as we unsuccessfully try to shake an annual case of highway-395 trout fever.

This early in the season, especially with this much snow, these crowds are going to be converging on to the limited amount of open water available. The entire back country, and even some drive up lakes, are typically not accessible by the opener, or sometimes, the whole first month or so of the season. This usually includes the entire Mammoth Lakes Basin and for sure the areas up around Tioga Pass. The lakes in the June Lake Loop should be very fishable on opening week along with Crowley Lake.

Obviously it’s a popular event, so it’s not an entirely negative experience. It’s just different than heading up later when the hype dies down a bit, the weather warms, and the bulk of the blue specks and lines in your topo map become legitimate fishing options with their newly thawed out accessibility.

The water that is open is chock full of DFG-stocked rainbows as well as trophy fish from the Alpers ranch that are typically a couple pounds on the SMALL end, not to mention last year’s holdover fish that are ready to pig out after over five months of dieting under a dark ceiling of ice.

Spin fisherman should focus on slower techniques like jig fishing with or without a bobber. Spinners and spoons can be effective, but they should be fished slower and deeper than usual. Fly fishermen will probably find the most success drifting nymphs or stripping larger streamers while waiting for a mid-day hatch to occur before switching to dry flies.

It’s a good idea to keep tabs on fishing message boards and related websites right up until the day you leave so you have the latest scoop on the conditions, especially during opening week.