Lee Vining Trip 8-18 thru 8-24

Kevin J. Oliver · Aug-29-2008, 12:26 AM

First off I want to thank all the BD bro's for the pre trip info. We ended up in Lee Vining Canyon, up 120, there were bear boxes and we didn't see any bears. I heard the bears are a problem up Lundy Canyon (no boxes) and they know what trash day it is in Mammoth ... Ended up in the same campground as drdiesel, met the family, great Bd'ers once again. Short story, it was one of the best vacations we've had as a family: fishing, checking out the Beaver ponds, canoeing in Mono Lake, fishing, hot tubbing in the wilderness above Bridgeport, more fishing, hitting the ghost town at Bodie, did I mention my son was fishing, dinner at the "Mobil", relaxing, more fishing ... We fished the creek right behind our camp primarily; I fished a nymph the whole time, caught fish when I tried, spent a lot of time with the kids unhooking snags, trees, fish, tying on new rigs, teaching neighbor camping kids to fish. This was the first fishing for the kids on a stream, so it was all new and about learning (for at least ten minutes "ok, we got it dad"). Jake fished salmon eggs for his first two fish (attained about an hour after the first day's lesson) and then everybody went on artificials so that we could c/r the rest of the time. Finally pried the rods out of the kids hands on about day 4 when some other kids came into an adjacent spot and everybody had to dip in the creek after fishing all day. Melanie also got her first stream trout reeled in (dad cast) on roostertail, Mom smiled a lot (really good), and I lost track of days. We camped right above a waterfall and it was music to the ears, next time it'll be a week longer ...

Long version, see miscellaneous trip photos, last photo was about 1/2 way home on 395 ..... as a last note, my son spent every moment he could fishing and I don't know how many he caught, but at one point he got over confident and just started fishing the micro lead head and bare hook after the trout teaser got beat off. I got sorta frustrated with him, messing around and being silly while I'm trying to make a couple of tight roll casts and finally left the 8 year old to do what he wanted while I tried another stretch of water. During which my uncle asked me "what are we going to do if he catches a fish like that?" Every time we wandered down the stream looking for the kids Jake would be whistling and fishing, just whistling away, another fisherman noted "that boy's got more patience than I've ever seen" ....... I gotta figure out how to bottle that for home .....

Life is good, thanks for letting me share:

drdiesel · Aug-29-2008, 06:28 AM

Nice Pics Kevin, really enjoyed metting you, lets keep in touch, maybe next trip we can do together. drdiesel

Capt. G · Aug-29-2008, 06:33 AM

Glad you had a great trip.
It is a good thing to be extra careful regarding bears, especially when you bring little ones (kids).

megatrout · Aug-29-2008, 10:37 AM

Awesome pics of the Mrs., you and the kids proving this is a great time of the year to be in the Sierras. It was a huge relief to hear I wasn't the only dad out there frustrated by kids being kids, unhooking snags and constantly tying new rigs. Thanks, I feel less Catholic Guilt; in the end great memories well worth the drama.
That ghost town (Bodie) looked interesting. Is it worth the extra gas?ffice

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Kevin J. Oliver · Aug-29-2008, 09:47 PM

[quote=megatrout;1103129]Awesome pics of the Mrs., you and the kids proving this is a great time of the year to be in the Sierras. It was a huge relief to hear I wasn't the only dad out there frustrated by kids being kids, unhooking snags and constantly tying new rigs. Thanks, I feel less Catholic Guilt; in the end great memories well worth the drama.

That ghost town (Bodie) looked interesting. Is it worth the extra gas?I thought so, although it was 8 bucks to get in and we were too late to check out the museum .... can also dovetail that excursion into hot springs in the area and then hit "Rhinos" for dinner in Bridgeport if one's thinking ahead ... I was teaching some of the other kids to fish and the dad (a non fisherman) commented on my calm demeanor and patience ... it's less stress than teaching kids baseball for me and this vacation I was truly on a level of relaxation that I hadn't experienced for a long time. I did miss the fall color though, might have to do next year a little later in the year or go up twice in the fall ...... ;>)

Dizzole · Aug-29-2008, 09:57 PM

Good looking family, looks like you guys had a great time.

FB Coach · Aug-30-2008, 07:45 PM

Glad you had a great trip. I see you went to Lundy Canyon to check out the beaver ponds. I have actually caught small brookies out of there. My sierra trip seems like a thousand days ago. Counting the days to July already. Bodie is annual stop for us. If you get a chance next time take the stamp mill tour. It takes you inside the big gray building and they show you how they extracted the gold.

gatothecat · Aug-30-2008, 07:57 PM

Looks like good times with the family

26grumpy · Aug-31-2008, 04:09 PM

That whole Bridgeport area is where I got addicted to fishing. Many a big fish in them thar' lakes and streams ! We'd lie to our parents (I'm 16 and my bro is 17) and say we were going camping/fishing at Huntington Beach. We'd run that 65' VW up and down 395 for around $ 20.00 round trip !

I never could tell the folks about those trips. I hope my son does the same thing, I just don't want to know about it !

Bodie is well worth it, if not just once.

Awesome pics Kevin, thank you for sharing !