Great video and nice catches! Thanks for sharing. Keep the videos coming! Some details about roads/locations would be nice for those unfamiliar with the area.
Excellent video. You've inspired me to drive up the Highway 395 and I'm leaving this weekend for an extended fishing vacation. I have two technical qualms with this video though. 1) "The eastern Sierra is no trees" There are a lot less trees than the western Sierra, but there are still plenty of forests. If you drive a few minutes west from Bishop or Mammoth you'll see. Are you sure that you're still in the Sierra Nevada? The Sierras don't extend all the way to the Nevada border except in the regions very close to Lake Tahoe. For example, Bridgeport is not in the Sierras, it's in a high-elevation valley between the Sierras and the Bodie Hills, and formally it's in the Basin and Range Province. There are a lot less trees there due to the rain shadow effect of the Sierras. Lahontan cutthroat trout (LCT) are from the Lahontan Basin and the eastern Sierras are only the very western edge of their native range. 2) Regarding "protected fish so catch-and-release only period": The LCT is a protected species, but under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) it's listed as Threatened not Endangered, so the feds have some leeway how they manage the species' populations. For the three cutthroat trout subspecies listed in the ESA (Lahontan, Paiute, and greenback) the feds have turned over responsibility for the management to the states and anglers are allowed to catch and keep the trout if state law allows it. California has its own ESA and there are no cutthroat trout listed on it, so the law generally treats them the same as rainbow trout. The biggest problem with preserving the LCT (and there are many problems) is that they can breed with rainbow trout (RT). The hybrid offspring are called cutbows and sometimes the cutbows are fertile so this messes up the LCT gene lines in areas where LCTs and rainbow trout exist together. There are RT in both the Carson River and the Walker River and in all tributaries that they can reach, very likely including the filming location(s) in this video. That's why catch-and-keep is legal -- because the LCT could very well be a LCT/RT hybrid and it's difficult for anyone except a professional ichthyologist to tell the difference. California protects the LCT by protecting the pure strains in actively-managed sections of river/creek upstream from fish barriers. If you look at the freshwater fishing regulations you'll see that By-Day Creek (tributary of the East Walker River) and all tributaries, and the Carson River, East Fork and all tributaries above Carson Falls are totally closed to fishing year-round. It's because there are pure strains of LCTs living tnere and there's no way for rainbow trout to swim there because they're blocked by fish barriers. Those two examples are just off the top of my head, there are at least a dozen more like that. Most of them were stocked there from trout in Independence Lake. So if you're fishing in the Carson River or in the Walker River watersheds in a place where it's legal to fish then just follow the regulations and you'll be fine. If you catch-and-keep-and-eat a cutbow trout then you're not harming the LCT as a Threatened species.
Hi Brother. I want to try this. I love the compactness of the set up. I just got a dual-sport motorcycle I will bring with me to take me to those more remote areas where 4x4 is required. And this would be perfect. Fast set up and finesse fishing.
If it was the Truckee River then he probably would have taken the US 80 to get there. He went over Sonora Pass so it's either the West Walker River, the East Walker River, the West Fork Carson River, or the East Fork Carson River.
Amazing scenery and fish
Great video and nice catches! Thanks for sharing. Keep the videos coming! Some details about roads/locations would be nice for those unfamiliar with the area.
Yesterday are very pretty those Lahanton
It's nice to see you out fishing again. Beautiful scenery and fish.
Thanks, David, and Thanks for helping catch all my fish too.
Excellent video. You've inspired me to drive up the Highway 395 and I'm leaving this weekend for an extended fishing vacation. I have two technical qualms with this video though.
1) "The eastern Sierra is no trees"
There are a lot less trees than the western Sierra, but there are still plenty of forests. If you drive a few minutes west from Bishop or Mammoth you'll see. Are you sure that you're still in the Sierra Nevada? The Sierras don't extend all the way to the Nevada border except in the regions very close to Lake Tahoe. For example, Bridgeport is not in the Sierras, it's in a high-elevation valley between the Sierras and the Bodie Hills, and formally it's in the Basin and Range Province. There are a lot less trees there due to the rain shadow effect of the Sierras. Lahontan cutthroat trout (LCT) are from the Lahontan Basin and the eastern Sierras are only the very western edge of their native range.
2) Regarding "protected fish so catch-and-release only period":
The LCT is a protected species, but under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) it's listed as Threatened not Endangered, so the feds have some leeway how they manage the species' populations. For the three cutthroat trout subspecies listed in the ESA (Lahontan, Paiute, and greenback) the feds have turned over responsibility for the management to the states and anglers are allowed to catch and keep the trout if state law allows it. California has its own ESA and there are no cutthroat trout listed on it, so the law generally treats them the same as rainbow trout.
The biggest problem with preserving the LCT (and there are many problems) is that they can breed with rainbow trout (RT). The hybrid offspring are called cutbows and sometimes the cutbows are fertile so this messes up the LCT gene lines in areas where LCTs and rainbow trout exist together. There are RT in both the Carson River and the Walker River and in all tributaries that they can reach, very likely including the filming location(s) in this video. That's why catch-and-keep is legal -- because the LCT could very well be a LCT/RT hybrid and it's difficult for anyone except a professional ichthyologist to tell the difference. California protects the LCT by protecting the pure strains in actively-managed sections of river/creek upstream from fish barriers. If you look at the freshwater fishing regulations you'll see that By-Day Creek (tributary of the East Walker River) and all tributaries, and the Carson River, East Fork and all tributaries above Carson Falls are totally closed to fishing year-round. It's because there are pure strains of LCTs living tnere and there's no way for rainbow trout to swim there because they're blocked by fish barriers. Those two examples are just off the top of my head, there are at least a dozen more like that. Most of them were stocked there from trout in Independence Lake.
So if you're fishing in the Carson River or in the Walker River watersheds in a place where it's legal to fish then just follow the regulations and you'll be fine. If you catch-and-keep-and-eat a cutbow trout then you're not harming the LCT as a Threatened species.
Hi Brother. I want to try this. I love the compactness of the set up. I just got a dual-sport motorcycle I will bring with me to take me to those more remote areas where 4x4 is required. And this would be perfect. Fast set up and finesse fishing.
Yes, it is super compact and light. (~2 oz)
Where is this?
Beautiful, great video and nice catch. This is not Upper Truckee, is it?
Nope, but the Upper Truckee also has Lahontan.
You can catch them on the Meiss Meadow or Slinkar.
If it was the Truckee River then he probably would have taken the US 80 to get there. He went over Sonora Pass so it's either the West Walker River, the East Walker River, the West Fork Carson River, or the East Fork Carson River.