My grandfather used to hike to these lakes above Silver lake when he was a teenager his father had a cabin on Silver lake this was the 1920's. They would hike up to those lakes above silver he said in those days they could catch a trout every cast. He talked about knowing the Carson family who owned the lodge at Silver lake they were the ones in the late 19th century who planted the trout in those lakes on the Big Pine hiking trail. I remember he mentioned golden trout up there we did fish on Silver and Grant lakes but no way we could hike he was already in his 80's when we used to fly fish which was in the 1980's and 90's. He was born in 1910. Would be cool to hike up to those likes like he did I remember he said the hike was tough 1000 feet up per mile it was 3 miles long that is what I remember. I wish I video taped our trips I was a dumb kid late teens, and early 20's all I wanted to do was go back home and be with my friends now in my 50's I think about those times.
Awesome historical context! Thanks for sharing that. I love it up there. I get the 'dumb kid' thing. I tell stories from when I was younger in my recent Lamarck Lake and Hilton Lakes hiking clips that might make you cringe!
I can't believe how epic this area is. I wanted to hike up to the glacier up there but once I got set up and started fishing I skipped the extra hiking as usual! The hike to these lakes is on my hiking playlist if you haven't seen it and are curious. Thanks for watching the clip.
Rapalas can be really good for browns but I find that they are most effective in lower light situations. Probably because the browns can't see them so well!
I was pleasantly surprised by the brown trout in that lake. I heard from a couple people I passed on the trail that it was all brook trout. I don't think they hit that first lake. I recommend giving it a shot.
@@scottroberts2747 Scott, I fish the upper and lower Owens river with A F5 or F7 Rainbow trout pattern or a brown trout pattern. I use 4 pound P-LINE , make sure you tie the Rapala knot so the lure gets more action. I also use some Smelly Jelly to rub on lure for a good sent. Orange crawdad smelly Jelly. My biggest tip is good knots and sharpen your hooks. Rapala makes a kit with hook sharpener and a line clipper that also has notches on it to fine tune your Rapala. Here is a link for rapala knot. www.netknots.com/fishing_knots/rapala-knot .... here's a link for Rapala combo kit www.ebay.com/p/1800268284?iid=372282476457
Great Video,I'm heading up to Glacier Lodge in Big Pine Ca in June.Will hike to the first lake.What would you recomend?I was thinking of using a Panther Martin lady Bug pattern..
Panther Martins are solid. Maybe some light tube jigs, or flies. I was nailing them on a floating Rapala. There is a lot of action close to shore so be creepy! Good luck!
I only went to the first two lakes and I only saw the Browns in the first lake and Brookies in the 2nd. There are some nice browns in there. I did good near one inlet creek and fairly close to shore once the sun was off the water. If you want to try to get down to fish both of the inlet creeks, I believe the best route is from above at lake 2. I wanted to get back there because it looked really good but it looked like a bit of work so I passed. You can access the one inlet where I get that nice brown in the other clip by simply walking along the shore. I believe that was about a 5 mile hike so it took a few hours with a full pack at least. If you day hike it with a light pack, probably faster. There is a lot of uphill. There are campgrounds below the trailhead if you want to kick back before or after heading up there. good luck.
The group of lakes is called Big Pine Lakes and that is the first one. I believe there are 7 all together. Tough uphill 5 mile hike to the first. I camped at the first. The first three lakes are close to each other. I was too lazy to go beyond lake 2! I have a clip detailing the hike and I talk to hikers about it. Those lakes are amazing in color. Really cool place and I highly recommend it. If you go and are adventurous, you can get to the other interesting looking area of inlet streams into lake 1 across from where I was fishing in my short fly fishing clip if you drop down from above near lake 2. It looked like a lot of work but it was doable. I got that one nice brown on my fly rod at the inlet side that was fairly easy to access. I was surprised by the number of brown trout in there. Skip the countdown rapalas if you go that route because there are a lot of logs near shore. Floating worked great. The town of Big pine is just south of Bishop in the Eastern Sierra and that trail head is a fairly straight 10 miles drive from the 395. Easy to get to. Hope you get a chance to get up there. Thanks for checking out my channel.
Here is some Rapala advice based on my experience. When I am in a high altitude/Alpine lakes, I typically use the smaller 3"-4" long floating Rapala if there are a lot of trees, weeds, debris, etc. in the water. Floating rapalas will typically do the job because in Alpine lakes. Quality fish are often not too far off shore or too deep. Sometimes I like to reel in a countdown along a deep rocky shore, or deeper water in general, in Alpine Lakes. All types of trout will hit Rapalas once they get big enough. I sometimes get trout that aren't much bigger than the lure. Where it is legal to use them, floating rapalas can be very effective in rivers with deep pools before the sun hits the water. I have caught a lot of really nice brown and rainbow trout using that method and you don't get a lot of snags with a floating presentation of this sort. Stay low and throw the lure in a fan pattern beginning with the water closest to you and be sure not to overlook the cast through the tail end of the pool before you advance and the water along the deep rocky shore. If there is a lot of brush hanging around the water on a stream/River, Rapalas can be snag city! Pitching a spinner under it is probably a better option. Streams/rivers with large pools and clear casting, Rapalas are great. In deeper reservoirs around sundown or early in the morning (when the sun isn't on the water), I like to throw larger floating and Countdown Rapalas (4"-6"). I have seen some people using much larger Rapalas (as well as lures like them) over the years in reservoirs when targeting bigger browns with those larger offerings. A big brown will chomp down on a 10" trout without blinking so that will give you an idea of what might work. I also like to troll Countdown Rapalas behind my small boat while the Reservoir water is still cold from winter because big fish can be grabbed up closer to the surface and I don't need to break out the heavy lead core line to hit the deeper depths. The nice thing about firing a 4"-6" Countdown rapala from shore in deep reservoir water, other than the ability to cast them a mile, is you can fish the water column from shallow to deep as you look for fish. You can reel it in right away after one cast, let it sink a 40 count on the next, and so on. I usually try different depth counts and when I hit a fish I try to stay around that depth to see if more of the fish's buddies are hanging around there. I typically throw lures in a fan pattern from where I am standing to cover as much water as possible without having to move. Not so much for rainbows but for browns, once the sun hits the water the fishing action typically dies pretty quick. That has been my experience but I am not saying not to try it because you never know. I know I threw a lot of stuff in there but I figure others who are curious and haven't used these lures much could use the info too. I hope that info helps you, and anyone else who might read it, more and larger trout. The snow should start clearing out soon so the fishing should start getting really hot and road access to higher elevation lakes should start opening up soon. I hope! My advice to you, get out and fish as much and as often as you can! Makes for a happier soul. Thank you for tuning in and checking out some of my clips. I hope to produce a lot more in the days to come.
@@wildernesswithamani1027 thanks for the reply. I was up there in the fall.. when I saw it I knew I had to return with a rod.. If it’s accessible I’d like to head up in the next few weeks. Would you say the 2 piece is superior to a 7ft telescoping rod?
You can eat them and I'm sure they taste great. I don't cook fish much any more when I'm backpacking. Not into getting fish scent around my camp that can bring bears in. I've had enough close and encounters with bears while backpacking over the years to last me a lifetime! Bear encounters backpacking don't happen often but that time they show up in your camp it sucks! I carefully do it sometimes though. Big Pine Lakes is awesome. Highly recommend that destination. There is a glacier up there too if you are into extra hiking. I was lazy and passed on that adventure.
@@wildernesswithamani1027 Yes....been up a creek solo in upper Kings Canyon and as I opened my food one night I sensed something standing right behind me.....turned around to a true nightmare bear that wanted my food. After a brief argument it retreated about 50 feet and sat there watching me in the dark. Kinda hard to sleep lol. I still eat some trout on the trail but keep sleeping quarters clean as possible for peace of mind.
