Primed for fishing opener

On everyone’s mind this weekend is the fishing opener, big fish, and bad weather. But is bad weather a bad thing? According to the fisherman I spoke to, it may help.

Dennis McDonald, 72, and Fred Mascorro, of Rosemead CA, partnered up about five years ago to make the trip to Crowley lake. Dennis has being coming to the fishing opener since 1987.

“I’ve never gotten skunked,” (skunked = no fish caught) said Dennis. Fred, before coming up to Crowley lake with Dennis, was part of the Eagle Rock Sports Club and had been coming to Crowley with the sporting club for 10 years.

“It’s a tradition to come to Crowley for the opener,” Fred said.

I asked Fred and Dennis how they thought the cold weather and the drought was going to effect their fishing. Dennis responded, “Only thing that’s going to change is what I wear. And drought?” he chuckled. “It puts the fish in a smaller area.”

Fred and Dennis said they would be at the deck at about a quarter to 5 in the morning, and on the water for first light.

“When it’s cold, the eyelets on the rod freeze up, and it makes it feel like you have a fish on,” said Dennis. “So I have to dip my rod in the water every couple of minutes.”

After talking with Dennis and Fred, I ran into the owner of the Trout Fitter: long-time fisherman Kent Rianda, or “The Trout Master,” as I like to call him. Kent has been fishing the area since 1992 and guiding Crowley for 15 years, with over 3,000 hours on the lake.

I asked Kent If the drought or the cold weather will effect the opener. “Rough weather sometimes is the best fishing,” he said.

Rianda told me that 80 percent of the fish’s diet in Crowley Lake are midges (small larva). When the weather is fair to sunny, the hatch happens and these little organisms make their way to the surface. The fish, on the other hand, stay close to the bottom to feed. The bigger the fish, the closer to the lake floor they will be.

During rough weather, the hatch may not happen, forcing the fish to spread out and hunt for food, which in turn makes for better fishing.

“The Drought will have really no effect to the fish besides, more fish in a smaller hole,” Rianda concluded. Troll on, fishermen.