JMT and fishing advice

[Dogwood]

Get the Cal fishing license in the same place as U get your JMT hiking permit in Yosemite Valley at the Backcountry Office. Don't know if the 2 10 day licenses will fly but give it a try. Do buy the license. Rangers are out in July and have a way of sneaking up on U. Besides, most of the money goes to supporting a underfunded good cause. Keep it simple. A small UL pole and reel w/ 4 lb test and a handful of trout size spinners(Panther Martin, 0 Mepps, 1/32 oz Rooster Tails, tiny spoons, etc, will do, consider buying single hook spinners or filing off the barbs on treble hooks so any unwanted fish or deeply hooked fish can be safely released, also the bubble and fly combo should be fine unless U R a fly fishing purist or attempt to lure some of the harder to catch fish). Brookies and small Rainbows are relatively easy to catch! Saw someone at Rae Lakes make 33 casts w/ a small spoon(I was counting) and catch 29 fish! Mostly small Brookies. Fresh trout in the Sierras is pink to red, clean, and delish!

Clean your fish away from where U camp. Cook away from where U sleep. Dispose of the remains in deep water.

Early morning and evening tend to be the best times, but I've had success on overcast days too.

Plenty of fishing and camping opps along the JMT. Enjoy!

[PorterTockMan]

we carried a fishing rod last year but only spent about 3 hours fishing on the entire trail. I wasn't going to bring the rod again this year but then I read this article and I may just go back and try to take more time around the lakes, given we are doing a yo-yo hike and will be spending a month up there

http://www.thru-hiker.com/articles/thru-fishing.php

I read that article too, that's what got me thinking about fishing on the trail! Thanks for the help.

[PorterTockMan]

Get the Cal fishing license in the same place as U get your JMT hiking permit in Yosemite Valley at the Backcountry Office. Don't know if the 2 10 day licenses will fly but give it a try. Do buy the license. Rangers are out in July and have a way of sneaking up on U. Besides, most of the money goes to supporting a underfunded good cause. Keep it simple. A small UL pole and reel w/ 4 lb test and a handful of trout size spinners(Panther Martin, 0 Mepps, 1/32 oz Rooster Tails, tiny spoons, etc, will do, consider buying single hook spinners or filing off the barbs on treble hooks so any unwanted fish or deeply hooked fish can be safely released, also the bubble and fly combo should be fine unless U R a fly fishing purist or attempt to lure some of the harder to catch fish). Brookies and small Rainbows are relatively easy to catch! Saw someone at Rae Lakes make 33 casts w/ a small spoon(I was counting) and catch 29 fish! Mostly small Brookies. Fresh trout in the Sierras is pink to red, clean, and delish!

Clean your fish away from where U camp. Cook away from where U sleep. Dispose of the remains in deep water.

Early morning and evening tend to be the best times, but I've had success on overcast days too.

Plenty of fishing and camping opps along the JMT. Enjoy!

29 fish on 33 casts! Wow, I read a similar report online somewhere (don't remember at the moment) and it made me think that even might be able to catch a fish. By the end of his trip he caught over a hundred fish!

I'm definitely getting at least one license, I strongly believe in supporting the park system and good causes.

Thanks for the great advice.

[Helmuth.Fishmonger]

This thread may be valuable too:

http://www.highsierratopix.com/commu...php?f=6&t=3243

basically, there are a number of places where fish were removed to allow some frog populations to recover. I recall vividly from last summer how different those lakes are - hundreds of frogs at this unnamed lake in Le Conte Canyon south of Muir Pass:



so when you see a lot of frogs, don't even bother with the fishing rod - there's nothing in those lakes.

[HikerDave]

For my 2009 JMT hike, I also checked into the out-of-state fishing license choices.

• You can purchase multiple 10-day licenses for $40 each. You must declare the exact start date for each at time of purchase.
• Or purchase a 2009 annual license for $110.

Since I plan to take my time on the trail, don't want to be tied to particular dates, and plan to do a shakedown hike also in California, I opted for the annual option.

Sure it's pricey, but don't try to go without... The only time I have ever been asked for my fishing license in my life was in California (Sequoia National Park).

Happy fishing,
Dave