Brown Trout & Cutts are biting even better than Rainbows at Lake Crowley

Crowley Lake - Mammoth Lakes, CA (Mono County)


by Tom Loe
9-19-2013
Website

One day you'll get 50 hard downs while still water nymphing, the next 10. Such is Crowley this year and its peculiar bite pattern. If you ever wanted to catch a brown or a cutthroat on the fly, this is the season & the place. More of these rascals showing than rainbows on my hooks. The north end and McGee Bay are still the spots. 9-14 feet. No algae, although the buds are starting to show again & there is some cloudy water around Sandy Pt. (which is a good spot to hit in transition & can pay-off at times) Chironomids still emerging in force, damsel and perch fry activity lessening; however still a significant part of the larger trout's diet for sure. The bigs are punishing the perch during the low light periods & I suggest you think about tossing or trolling some Loebergs or Punk Perch at these times with an intermediate or heavy sinking tip line. *(We will guide you in float tubes here and instruct you how to get into the bigs this fall.) Fishing from the shoreline in the Six Bays area can also be productive. This area can go off under these conditions and you can use both still water nymphing and streamers while casting from the beach. Gillies, crystal emergers & pupa imitations #18/20-punk perch light or dark #14/16 as uppers. Broken back tigers and zebras, crystal zebras #14-18 near the bottom if you choose to still water nymph below an Under-cator.

If ya'll do not know where the navigation hazards are while boating I suggest you ask. There are some islands and high spots in areas you would not expect. Launch ramp still ok for large boats, it is steep and you will be off the concrete pad. The boating facility closes 10-30 but the lake remains open until 11-15.

Photos:
Pictured Above:
Some nice browns showing on a regular basis this fall. Jim with one that has not missed many hatches
Photo #1: NINTY TWO years of experience and still showing the young whupper snappers how ta do it! God bless ya Jack.
Photo #2: Ronald & I had some fun in the north arm recently. This fish jumped 6 times, quite the acrobat!
Photo #3: First timer & Ronald's bride Grace got the trout grand slam on Crowley, so did Ron. Fun times, thanks kids.
Photo #4: I could swab the deck with the tail of this rainbow Jim caught a bonified broom tailer!