West Walker Opens to Year-Round Fishing March 1 (press release)
MONO COUNTY, Calif., (Feb. 26, 2014) – Early-season fishing is about to get even better in Mono County with the West Walker River opening for year-round fishing March 1.
The West Walker River is located in northern Mono County, just north of state route 108/U.S. Route 395 at the 395 highway bridge to the Topaz Lake inlet. It is one of a handful of rivers that will be open for year-round fishing this winter/early spring. Other spots already open include the East Walker River, Hot Creek, Owens River, and the Owens River Gorge.
Year-round regulations (catch and release on public land with barbless artificial flies and lures only) are in effect until April 26, when the regular fishing season begins. Approximately 1500 pounds of fish will be planted in the West Walker River before it opens March 1.
“We have worked hard to get the year-round fishing of the West Walker River approved by the Department of Fish and Wildlife. This provides a few more months of fishing to our visitors, which we feel will be very successful. We hope that the West Walker River will become a blue ribbon trout stream in the not-too distant future,” said Robert Dunn, one of Mono County’s fishery commissioners.
For conditions or expert advice, check in with Walker River Outfitters or Ken’s Sporting Goods, both located in Bridgeport. Also, the Sierra Drifters website posts frequently updated reports on fishing conditions although this site tends to be more focused on the Owens River and Hot Creek, which are located further south in Mono County.
Located approximately 315 miles north of Los Angeles, and 280 miles east of San Francisco, Mono County accesses the east entrance to Yosemite National Park and beckons visitors in all seasons. Whether taking advantage of convenient direct flights from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to Mammoth Yosemite Airport (MMH) or arriving by car on the all-weather US Hwy. 395, the Eastern Sierra’s vast playground is an easily reached destination. US Hwy. 395, which traverses Mono County from north to south, is a State Designated Scenic Byway offering motorists tremendous vistas right from the steering wheel and side-roads, hiking trails, lakes, and roadside villages and towns to explore. For more information or to request guides, visit MonoCounty.org or call 800-845-7922.
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Been fishing the Sierras for . still great fishing.
like bobk I also believe the small fish are a result of overpopulation. when dfg reduced the limit from 10 a day to five a day and more people were catch and releasing the number of fish went up and the size of the fish went down. if your willing to hike miles up sierra canyons and do some exploring theres still a lot of places to catch BIG goldens, and browns.
Yes still a lot of great fishing left. Dont b lazy and hike. Maybe u can loose a few pounds and not fish.The more u hike the less people.
Be aware that fishing is under threat in the backcountry where frog critical habitat is proposed (much of Inyo county).
Speaking of fishing season,the Southern Inyo season has started…the day before the season started,I noticed Lone Pine Creek was stocked with some really big trout at a spot about 1/2 mile from the Whitney Portal Road turn-off from HWY 395…a spot known as the short-bridge.Problem was,the creek is too low to plant fish that were there that were that big,making it impossible for the fish to move much downstream…leaving a group of big trout trapped in a pool of water.Sadly,come opening morning,when I got to that pool at 5 A.M. and before anyone was already there,only 2 of the smaller fish were able to work down to a rocky area a few yards down from that pool….and evidence that someone the night before…the night BEFORE the season opened, had come by using a fishing net to get the big fish out of the pool.Shame on whoever did that….and shame on whoever stocked that shallow pool with such big trout,having to have known it was going to trap the fish,either not making it much of a sport to catch them,or worse,allowing someone to spot them,and net them the night before the season opened….come on,DFW…use your head !!!…stock the whole creek at multiple locations…not just the spots that allow easy access to the trucks and those that putting the fish in the creeks.
Desco: The reason for your 3″ Brookies in the upper Rock Cr area is that they are stunted do to being more fish than the body of water can handle, which means no or very little food. More fish need to be harvested in those areas to return the fish to normal size. Go ask a Fisheries Biologist. By the way, I fish the Wild Trout section of the Owens multiple times a week and hardly ever see any lure or illegal bait fishermen. And trash, very little until you go below Highway 6 bridge, well out of the Wild Trout area.
There is only one reason we have great trout fishing up here. Stocking. And all the money that pays for it comes from fisherman’s license fees.
I thought fishing was supposed to be fun.
I quit fishing because I felt like I was experiencing nature in Disneyland. It was all fake. The lakes are artificial and the fish are brought in by truck. And then I have to find a spot that is not already occupied and look at all the debris left behind by the others. Just doesn’t satisfy….
Agree with u on this one KW
Yeah, if I had the time and energy to find and fish the right streams and creeks, I’d probably have a different opinion. But I’m just not that into it.
Oh come on Ken !!!….plenty of spots here in the Owens Valley and Mono County where you can go fishing at 7 A.M till 5 P.M. and see few people around,if any,if you go to the right spots…especially if done during the week….but I do agree about all the trash and “fishing supplies” that get left behind ,and sometimes in the dogs hair and feet….For native Browns,try the back side of Convict Lake up into the creek going into the lake….small,but put up a heck of a fight (catch and release,of course).
Catch and release, barbless hooks. What’s the problem?
Humanity in general and the dishonesty of many “fishermen”.
The number of treble hook lures hanging in the trees and bait containers along the “catch and release” section of the Owens is testimony to this.
If it wasn’t for the license fees and taxes these fisherman pay for, we wouldn’t have any fish in our waters.
Very little of the fishing license fee goes to planting. And the fee goes up every year.
The planting truck shows up once a week. The streams get planted by the net full.
A net holds about twenty fish. Maybe four nets per spot. That spot can be cleaned out in a day. Especially by the “locals” that follow the truck.
What ever is left over in the truck gets dumped in lakes.
The biggest complainers about the cost of license fees all the “sportsmen” who take more than the limit, then bitch because there aren’t as many fish as in the good ol’ days.
what’s more important huge public pensions or Huge Fish…
Govt gone Wild…
Yes, public pension debt is a problem — now — but problems have solutions. The problems started with the Bush recession that put a lot of people and financial entities in a hole..
I don’t have any answers. It’s a complicated question. But “The Sky is Falling” rhetoric. isn’t going to fix it. Courage upthecreek….
http://www.mercurynews.com/california/ci_24998205/californias-wall-debt-is-only-slice-its-liability
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-03/buffett-says-pension-tapeworm-means-decade-of-bad-news.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/25/us/efforts-to-rein-in-public-sector-pension-costs-are-falling-short-experts-say.html
Catch and release, barbless hooks. What’s the problem?
This will decimate the wild fish population regardless of revenue. Most ES locals aren’t looking to catch stockers.
Resort- I’m guessing you mean native fish. Inyo and Mono County has no native trout from what I have been told.
To Trouble,
Yes, in the grand scheme of things there are no native trout in the local mountains.
But, the almost century old long attempts of people to plant trout in the area has succeeded beyond most peoples wildest dreams. Look at the monsters hanging on the wall in Jacks in Bishop. These are not planters but the offspring of fish who were fortunate enough not to get get caught by the meat hunters and poachers of the time. There were breeding populations of Rainbows, German Browns and Brooks for many years. That population could not keep up with today’s current demands, thus the need for planters. The wilderness areas can no longer be planted by law.. The new frog preserve will eliminate even more planting.
I no longer hike far, far up into the Rock Creek area because the only thing left is a million 3″ Brooks as no one puts anything back.
If you want to see the future of the Owens Valley with out trout and with massive solar farms, go look at Darwin.
2 Cents- your comment is clueless. Bishop makes a small fortune on year round fishing in the Owens and the Reservoir .It has nothing to do with the natural spawning season of trout. It’s called STOCKING!
Bye bye fish population 🙂