Water Conditions HIGH
SURFACE TEMPERATURE: LOW
61°F VISIBILITY
63°F 5'–20'
Though the surf won’t be much to write home about, bright sunshine and warm temps will prevail through midweek at the local beaches. With breezy afternoons and a moderate tide swing, diving visibility will be better in deeper water and before the next swell arrives on Saturday. Boaters should keep an extra eye out for divers near the reefs and chan- nel edges and divers always mark yourselves and area appropriately.
Visibility based on existing conditions and NOAA predicted swell and weather conditions at press time. Check up-to-date daily visibility/ conditions at the San Diego County Lifeguard info line: 619-221-8824
Moon Calendar SUNRISE
APRIL SUNSET
THUR 21
6:11 19:24
LENGTH OF DAY 13H 13M
SAT 23
6:09 19:25
13H 16M
MON 25
6:07 19:27
13H 20M
WED 27
6:05 19:28
13H 23M
2015’s opening-day blizzard kept the big ones away
water levels, and surprise opening-day snow storms dampened dreams of double- digit lunkers. Ernie Cowan, an Eastern Sierra ambas-
sador of sorts, through his columns in Western Outdoor News, reported a couple weeks ago at a club meeting of the Senior Anglers of Escondido that many of the lakes from Bishop to Bridgeport are ice-free, and last year’s post-season trout plants should increase the fishing fun, if the good weather holds out. Going up Highway 395, south to north,
Cowan reports: above Bishop, South Lake and Sabrina, almost dry last year, have had good snow runoff and the lake levels will allow boating and shore fishing. Flowing down from Crowley Lake, the
South Owens River will not be very fishable this spring. Snow runoff is causing heavy flows, around 350 cubic feet per second.
“Too fast,” said Cowan. But Crowley Lake, the big reservoir built in the 1940s for a thirsty Los Angeles, is the highest it has been in the past four years. Above Crowley, fishing the Upper O
will be just a scenic day for most. Although some of Crowley’s big fish have migrated upstream, “Only the very experienced will be able to catch anything,” said Cowan. “If you throw something they’re not used to, they won’t bite.” Convict Lake, the eastside’s most scenic, is well stocked and completely ice-free. The Mammoth Basin: Twin Lakes, and
Lakes Mamie, Mary, and George will still be iced over. “Depending on the weather between now and then, ice fishing might be possible,” Cowan advised. On the June Lake Loop, June, Gull, and
Silver, are full of water and fish. Grant Lake, the last lake on the loop, is one of the Sierra
LOOK FOR HALIBUT BEHIND THE GRUNION
Inshore: La Jolla is still going off for the kayakers on a good 20 to 30 pound grade yellowtail and occasional white seabass to over 60 pounds, when weather permits. Bluefin tuna and a few yellowfin in the mix are providing the ½ and ¾ day boats with an option other than their normal rockfish and sculpin trips for this time of year. Halibut are showing well behind the grunion spawns in the sandy cuts between the reef rocks just outside the surf line to 60 feet of water. Barracuda are showing up just off the
What do brown trout eat? Small rainbows!
siphoning-off points for Los Angeles water. After four years of drought, it will take sev- eral years of average snowfall for Grant to be full again. This year at Silver Lake the Jones Fam-
ily will celebrate 100 years as being the old- est fishing resort in the Eastern Sierra. All the June Lake area resort operators, along with Mono County, supplement govern- ment plantings with three- to ten-pounders from hatcheries in Oregon. “There’s a lot of hold-over fish from last year,” said Cowan. Virginia Lakes, at 9770 feet, are the
highest in elevation along the Highway 395 corridor. They will be completely iced over and not fishable unless there’s a warm streak between now and opening day. Bridgeport’s Twin Lakes and the
Bridgeport Reservoir are ice-free and mostly full. The Bridgeport Marina went completely dry last year, and reportedly the landing was
kelp beds at La Jolla and Point Loma with a lot of legals over 28 inches and a few ‘log-sized’ fish to over 36 inches in the mix.
Outside: Stiff winds driving a healthy bump on the outside kept most of the overnight or longer trips along the coast or at home. That said, the schools of bluefin tuna are being found close enough to the coast that even the ½ day boats have a chance at them, as did the New Seaforth on an afternoon trip April 11th that boated 6. Spotter planes have sighted large schools of bluefin off the coast from just a couple miles out to the 60 Mile Bank. Yellowtail are chewing on the surface iron when found from
going up for sale. The owners have been encouraged to stick it out now that water levels have risen. Good news for those who chase the big
browns. Last year, under budget restraints, California’s Department of Fish and Wild- life began stocking smaller rainbows, only six to nine inches. “What do big browns eat?” questioned Cowan. “Small rainbows!” shouted a member of the club. This year, there’s a region-wide contest
with a top prize of a $10,000 boat, motor, and trailer. Weigh-in stations will be at Ken’s Sporting Goods in Bridgeport, Ernie’s Tackle in June Lake, Rick’s Sport Center in Mam- moth, and the Bishop city park. This will be the writer’s 16th opener.
You’ll find him on the shore of Silver Lake by 4:59 a.m. — one hour before sunrise — the official 2016 trout-season start time. — Ken Harrison
San Clemente to midway down the Baja peninsula’s Pacific coast.
4/10 – 4/16 Dock Totals: 1,405 anglers aboard 66 boats out of San Diego landings this past week caught 293 bluefin tuna, 4 yellowfin tuna, 642 yellowtail, 74 calico bass, 44 sand bass, 1,975 rockfish, 16 lingcod, 476 sculpin, 15 bonito, 41 sanddab, 170 barracuda, 1 halfmoon, 3 sheephead, 2 whitefish, 22 mackerel, 2 bocaccio and 6 halibut.
Scheduled fish plants (lbs): 4/20 Dixon, trout (4500), Wohlford, trout (1500), 4/26 Cuyamaca, trout (1100), 4/27 Poway, trout (1500)
Y-STUDIO/ISTOCK/THINKSTOCK
San Diego Reader April 21, 2016 47
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