It is a short 30 minute drive from Lee Vining to the town of Mammoth Lakes. We had plans to meet Ray Milano for a couple of days of fishing in the eastern Sierras. It has been almost a decade since we have been out in this direction, and since we have seen Ray and Monica, whom we have known since graduate school days. Ray met us in the morning and we followed him to the Owens River where we fished all morning with the Sierras as our backdrop. You certainly can’t ask for a more beautiful setting. The fish were elusive though the guys caught a couple.
In the afternoon we fished nearby Hot Creek which is a narrow river that winds through a deep canyon. This too proved to be a challenging fishing spot but we had fun trying. Monica met us for dinner at an Italian restaurant in Mammoth Lakes. It was fun catching up and it was like no time had passed.
The next day, our plan was to drive to Devils Post Pile and fish the San Joaquin River. Because of restrictions on the number of cars allowed into the park, we needed to pass the ranger station before it opened at 7am. We met a bit after 6 and got to the river while mist was still rising. This is an easily accessed river with lots of flat open areas to fish from, and a flat bottom for wading. I even caught a couple of trout and had a few nice grabs. We spent the entire day here with a brief break walking to the Devils Post Pile. This is a rare geologic sight of columnar basalt rising up to 60 ft. About 100,000 years ago, cooling lava cracked into these symmetrical columns; 45% are hexagonal and form a mosaic pattern.
We ended our trip with dinner at the Milano’s mountain home. We hope to be back before a decade this next time.