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The trout brigade at Walker
Rural tourism encompasses many venues in the Sierra Nevada, but none so popular as fishing during its season. Tallying in at number one for tourism is angling and all of its associated angles, fishing holes and lodging opportunities. And while the Mammoth Lakes region tends to get most of the press locally, the northern reaches of Mono County have their fair share of angling hot spots. Recently, the DFG trout stocking truck was in the town of Walker and a crowd gathered to help with the delivery. Sam Foster manned the trout brigade at the Walker River-a makeshift line of all ages, each delighted to see trout leave the metal confines of the truck's tanks and land in the water.Walker's trout stocking is repeated in many of the towns and it's not just the local fishing guides who get into the action for the planting locations or the actual trout drops.
Fish hopping for hoppers
As a general rule of thumb, the insects that make up the trout diet tend to get smaller as the summer progresses. The most notable exception is the grasshopper.
These bugs are relatively long-lived, and they grow larger during the season. In the last week of July the hoppers made their appearance in the Sierra, and they have the trout looking up for chow. The most common color at this time is tan. The critters are young (1-inch long) and size No. 12 or 14 flies will be a close match.
The most notable hopper bite from an anglers perspective has been on the Walker River drainage on the east side of the Sierra. Jim Weil from Kens Sporting Goods in Bridgeport reports that on the West Walker river along Highway 395, hopper fly patterns are the No. 1 fish catcher.
The West Walker is just now getting down to fishable flows, and a big fly will get the trout to swim up through fast water to take an insect on the surface.
Like shooting fish in a barrell
I just got home from a week-long road trip and I think I may have found some of the best fishing on the planet. That is if you like yanking on halibut until your arms feel like they're full of wet cement and hooking so many coho salmon that it seems a little like bluegill fishing out of a 5-gallon bucket.And the best part of the deal is this angling paradise is relatively close.My base of operations was Juneau, Alaska which is a short three-hour flight from Sacramento, with a stop in Seattle. On assignment for Fish Alaska Magazine, my orders were to explore and report back on the fishing opportunities available in the waters within easy striking distance of Alaska's capital city.On day one, my assistant Khevin and I rented a car and buzzed around the Juneau road system, where we found massive amounts of salmon in all the small streams we visited, catching more than we could count on fly and conventional tackle.
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