Big brookies on a day hike in the Sierra is not a common occurrence. But during our first trip to the Sierra in the fall, we managed to come across a lake with the biggest brookies we had ever caught. They were feisty and fun to catch with homemade leeches!
While the pandemic unfortunately forced us to cancel most of our travel plans, the one place we were able to get away to was Cory’s family’s new home in Mammoth Lakes. We escaped to the Sierra multiple times this year, including our very first time visiting in the fall. We were excited to see what the fish were up to this time of the year…
We decided to do some investigating at a lake we suspected would have some big brookies. We’ve visited a nearby lake several times but until this trip had never thought to stop by this one. Mistake. There are indeed big brookies here!
While the smoke from the Creek Fire wasn’t the most pleasant, it may have coaxed the fish out to play at the lake by blocking the sun. Shortly after arriving at the lake we spotted a couple of fish cruising around the outlet. Cory quickly tricked a plump 14″ female with a black leech.
The fishing slowed after this, so we decided to eat lunch and start making our way around the lake.
There was a peninsula that extended into the lake where we could see 270 degrees around and sight fish and prospect at the same time. Unfortunately, there were no cruisers, but fortunately blind prospecting paid off as we found a little honey hole where quite a few fish seemed to be hanging out.
We both managed a few shockingly large brook trout. They were bigger than any we had previously caught in the High Sierra. The smallest was a fat 14″ and the longest a skinny 17″.
Some of the males had a touch of their spawning colors, but we were a little early for their peak.
It was fun stripping leeches to aggressive, heavy fish. We never had to switch flies or tactics because we were producing a fish every 15 minutes or so. It was the perfect tempo for a cool fall day in the high Sierra.
When it was time to head back to the car, we had each managed to catch our personal best brookie plus a few more. We were surprised to say the least. And we definitely won’t be skipping this lake in the future!
