Bishop Creek Canyon

Fish & Trail Report

7-21-21

It was a pretty exciting week in the BCC with some crazy nice weather, and some just plain crazy weather. A few days of shine, a few days of rain, a touch of marble sized hail and some big old thunderboomers made for some variable hiking conditions. Having said that, even on the worst days the hiking conditions were quite good early in the day and with the majority of the days being sunny and free from rain, its spectacular in the high country.

Traffic isn’t quite as heavy as we expected but it’s very much summertime. Plenty of thru hikers on the JMT, PCT and Sierra High Route. Sabrina basin is awesome for those looking for a little less traffic.

 

The wildflowers are still in full effect and the periods of summer rain have really done wonders at keeping the forest from being too arid. The mosquitoes have mellowed out a bit, although they’re still around so be prepared.

We still have a few different bears around camp, mostly in the late evening or early morning hours, but folks should be bear aware. Don’t risk damage to your car or your person by being careless.

​

A quick reminder to overnight folks to please adhere to posted parking signs so there is enough room for day hikers and anglers.

​

They finally reduced the flows in the middle fork of Bishop Creek below Sabrina. It’s still very much fishable but more akin to fall flows than summer.

The South Fork on the other hand is still flowing at a steady summer flow, especially with the rain adding to the mix. Most of my favorite spots are fishing their best right now.

A steady bite on small wild trout for the fly guys and a slow pick on pan sized rainbows for the lure/bait folks. The upcoming dose of Idaho fish should get things rolling again shortly.

 

The DFW stopped by with 1200lbs of 10-14” Rainbows this week which was a nice surprise. Fishing is always good but the catching has been hit or miss depending on who you talk to…but that dose of fish certainly helped a bit. Some people are catching like crazy and some leave with a skunk stripe. More fish on the way from Idaho should hopefully get things rolling over there. Aside from stocking day, fishing is generally best from a boat so you can access the inlets or troll to cover more water.

The lake level is actually on the rise a bit with the summer rain combined with reduced flows. This is excellent news and our fingers are crossed that this will continue a bit longer to hopefully extend the boating season over there.

​

No Reports.

 

The DFW reportedly stopped here as well to plant a load of stocker Rainbows although reports have been few and far between.

The spillway project slated for August has been rescheduled for another year, so we all dodged a bullet there. Should be good access with periodic DFW stockings here into September.

 

No reports and no fish stocking that we know of.

 

Low and slow….and not in a good way like BBQ. Not much going on up at South right now.

​

We DO NOT plan on having any boat rentals up at South Lake for 2021. It’s a bummer. We are lobbying water managers to store extra water over at Lake Sabrina and pull extra water from South Lake so one of the two reservoirs is close to normal, but so far we haven’t seen any changes.

 

Backcountry fishing is still the highlight of many anglers’ trip. Brookies, Browns and Rainbows with the occasional Golden are hitting flies and artificial lures. We recommend practicing catch and release on all the wild trout. If you do plan to keep some for dinner, keep the Brook Trout since they are plentiful.

 

If you want to get more information on how to responsibly access and be successful catching these wild trout in backountry waters, resort staffers Jared Smith and Seth Blackamore have written some guide books called “Fishin’ Trails” and “Fishin’ Trails 2” available at businesses and tackle shops all up and down Hwy 395….and of course here in our gift shop.

 

The fish are deep but still biting. Absolutely worth a shot for the folks who usually stick to the alpine lakes and want to try something a little different.

 

DFW has been stocking Intake 2 and Sabrina on a fairly regular basis. Idaho fish are on the way!

Due to a last minute cancellation due to the fires up north we have a couple cabins open this weekend. 760-873-4177 to book.

 

Sierrally,

The Parchers Crew